NEW ORLEANS: At least one person died and power was out across the US states of Louisiana and Mississippi on Monday as officials warned residents against venturing out on roads littered with downed power lines and debris from Ida, which remained a powerful storm. “Virtually no one in the state has electricity and many water systems are also out,” Louisiana …

US Senator Chris Van Hollen on Tuesday thanked Pakistan among other countries for helping evacuate American nationals and others stranded in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of the country. “Even as the last US troops leave Afghanistan I’ll continue to do everything in my power to bring home all Americans and provide asylum to our Afghan partners endangered by their support to …

Celebratory gunfire echoed across Kabul as Taliban fighters took control of the airport before dawn on Tuesday following the withdrawal of the last US troops, ending 20 years of war that left the group stronger than it was in 2001. Shaky video footage distributed by the Taliban showed fighters entering the airport after the last US troops took off a minute before …

KARACHI: A soldier was martyred in South Waziristan district when an improvised explosive device went off on Monday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. An ISPR statement released late into the night said that during an exchange of fire that followed the deadly IED explosion, one of the terrorists trying to flee from the area was killed. “During area clearance …

LAHORE: Following a tremendous pressure of Covid cases, the Punjab Health Department has suspended all kinds of elective surgeries at the four major teaching hospitals for two weeks. The procedures were suspended at the Lahore General Hospital, Mayo Hospital, Jinnah Hospital and Nishtar Hospital, Multan. Issuing a notification here on Monday, the health department said the decision was taken in …

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi on Monday allotted portfolios to his 16-member cabinet, in exercise of his powers under rule 3 (4) of the Rules of Business, 1985. All but one of these 16 ministers was appointed by Mr Niazi on Thursday, three weeks after assuming the office of prime minister. According to …

ISLAMABAD: A retired senior bureaucrat, Abdul Qayyum, arrested by police on the charge of killing a cat, was released on bail, police said. The retired official was arrested by Lohi Bher police on Sunday after a cat was found hanged inside his house, located in Bahria Town. A man residing in the same locality spotted the animal and informed police. …

GILGIT: A resident of Karachi lost his life while trekking the Biafo glacier to reach a snow lake here on Monday. An army helicopter shifted the body to the District Headquarters Hospital, Skardu. A three-member trekking team comprising the victim, Talha Shakeel, 31, Ammara Khan and Affifa Haider from Karachi had started their trek of the glacier from Shigar district …

KARACHI: Amid years-long direct confrontation mainly with the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and the powerful military est­a­b­lis­hment, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Monday came up with the idea of a national government to take the country out of uncharted waters while claiming that no single party including itself can take up the insurmountable challenges Pakistan is facing. Leader of the …

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi will address a joint sitting of parliament on Sept 13 which will formally mark the beginning of the fourth parliamentary year of the present National Assembly. The decision to convene the joint sitting of the two houses of parliament for the constitutionally mandatory presidential address was made at a meeting between Adviser to the Prime …