5 killed in Pak gas explosion due to heat
Karachi, May 31: At least five people– four children and a woman– were killed and 50 others injured in a gas explosion, reportedly caused by hot weather conditions, in Pakistan’s Sindh province, police said on Friday. The incident happened on Thursday when a gas cylinder malfunctioned and blew up due to hot weather conditions in a shop in Sindh’s Hyderabad area. “Four children and a woman have died after a gas cylinder explosion inside a shop left 50 other people injured in the Pakistani city of Hyderabad,” said the police. (PTI)
Several hurt in Germany stabbing
Berlin, May 31: An assailant with a knife attacked and wounded several people in a square in the southwestern German city of Mannheim on Friday, police said. Police shot at the attacker, who also was hurt. Police said the incident happened shortly after 11:30 am. They said that they couldn’t immediately give any information on the severity of the injuries. They said in a statement that there was no longer any danger to the public. The incident happened on the Marktplatz, a square in Mannheim’s downtown area. (AP)
UK declares itself free from bird flu
London, May 31: The UK has declared that the country is now free from highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the declaration has been reviewed and published by the World Organization for Animal Health. This follows Northern Ireland’s declaration of freedom from bird flu on March 31. The UK had faced its largest outbreak of bird flu with more than 360 cases confirmed across the country since late October 2021. The UK has had no recent cases of avian influenza in kept birds, with the last case confirmed on February 14, 2024, DEFRA said. The current risk to poultry from HPAI H5 in Britain is low. The UK health authorities advise that the available evidence suggests viruses currently circulating in birds in the UK do not spread easily to people and food standards bodies advise that avian influenza pose a very low food safety risk for UK consumers. (IANS)
Over 900 Afghan refugees return home from Pak
Kabul, May 31: Over 900 Afghan refugees have returned to their native country, Afghanistan, from neighbouring Pakistan over the past two days, according to the country’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation. The refugees returned via Torkham and Spin Boldak border crossing points, the ministry on Friday said in a statement, reports Xinhua news agency. According to the statement, the Afghan caretaker government has provided necessary facilities, including temporary shelters and other essential aid packages for the returnee’s families at the crossing points. More than 1.5 million Afghan refugees have returned from neighbouring Pakistan and Iran over the past year, from March 21, 2023, to March 19, 2024, as per the ministry’s report. (IANS)