US Surgeon seeks warning labels on social media apps
Washington, June 17: US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy on Monday urged Congress to impose smoking-style warning labels on social media platforms, citing the threat they pose to children’s mental health. In an op-ed published in The New York Times, the top Indian-American physician said the mental health crisis among young people is an urgent problem, with social media “an important contributor.” Murthy said his vision of the warning label includes language that would alert users to the potential mental health harms of the websites and apps. A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proven safe, he wrote. “The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency – and social media has emerged as an important contributor,” Murthy, 46, said in his op-ed. (PTI)
Indian-origin woman shot at in US
New York, June 17: An Indian-origin woman was killed and another critically injured after they were shot in the US state of New Jersey, allegedly by a 19-year-old Indian-origin man, according to authorities. The shooting occurred on June 12 in northeastern Middlesex County, the county prosecutor said in a press release. Responding to the shooting report, officers located two female victims who had sustained gunshot wounds and airlifted them to the hospital in critical condition. Jasvir Kaur, 29, of Carteret, was pronounced dead at the hospital, while the other victim, a 20-year-old woman, was in critical condition, it said. The other victim was Kaur’s cousin, according to CBS News. “They’re just laid out on the driveway. They weren’t really moving.” (PTI)
Chinese, Indian natls held for gold smuggling in Kathmandu
Kathmandu, June 17: Nepal police have arrested a Chinese man and an Indian national in separate gold smuggling incidents in different parts of Kathmandu. A Chinese national named Sherab Gyalmo alias Sonam Gurung was arrested by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police in Bouddha Tinchuli on the outskirts of Kathmandu with 6 kg of gold and Rs 4.8 million in cash on Monday, police said. The police also confiscated three mobile phones and a Nepalese citizenship document from him. Gyalmo has been linked to a larger gold smuggling operation involving 60 kg and 700 gram of gold concealed in brake shoes, uncovered in July 2023. (PTI)
Passenger plane catches fire, lands safely in New Zealand
Wellington, June 17: A passenger plane landed safely at a New Zealand airport on Monday after a fire shut down one of its engines, the nation’s fire service said. The Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 jet bound for Melbourne, Australia, with 67 passengers and six crew members on board landed in the New Zealand city of Invercargill after the fire forced a diversion. The incident may have resulted from “a possible bird strike,” the airline’s chief operations officer, Stuart Aggs. (AP)