RAWALPINDI   –   The increasing number of stray dogs in Rawalpindi and nearby areas has become a serious concern for residents, especially children, women, and elderly people. 
Stray dogs are often seen in residential areas, parks, markets, and around schools, making many people feel unsafe. Citizens have called on the authorities to take effective and long-term action to solve the problem.
A resident, Hassan Nawaz, said that groups of stray dogs are frequently seen in several neighbourhoods, creating fear among children and older people.
 He urged the local authorities to adopt a permanent and humane plan instead of temporary measures.
Another resident, Abrar Ahmed, said that vaccination, sterilization, registration, and proper monitoring are necessary to control the stray dog population. He added that close cooperation between the district administration, local government, health department, and veterinary authorities is needed for a lasting solution.
Health experts warned that dog bites can spread rabies, a dangerous disease. However, they said that immediate medical treatment and anti-rabies vaccination can prevent the disease. 
They advised people not to approach or disturb stray dogs. If someone is bitten, the wound should be washed immediately with soap and clean water, and the person should go to the nearest hospital for medical care and an anti-rabies vaccine.

Heavy, acrid smoke blanketed the eastern United States on Saturday, marring preparations for the weekend’s highly awaited World Cup final to be held in an open stadium in New Jersey.

Wildfires burning in Canada have sent the noxious smog billowing across the border, with residents in New York, Washington and the US Midwest urged to stay indoors due to dangerously low air quality.

At one point on Saturday, the smoke made New York City the most polluted city in the world, followed closely by Toronto and Washington, according to air tracker IQAir.

The marquee World Cup match, pitting Argentina against Spain, will be played Sunday in an open stadium in New Jersey, right across the river from New York City, where the city skyline was obscured by dense smoke and people wore masks outdoors.

Tournament organisers are “monitoring closely,” White House World Cup task force executive director Andrew Giuliani told a briefing.

But a respite of sorts was expected to come in the form of heavy storms hitting the Big Apple on Saturday, which could wash some of the smoke away — but also trigger flash flooding and dangerous winds.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani asked residents to stay indoors and avoid travel.

“Thunderstorms are expected to bring damaging winds strong enough to down trees and power lines, along with heavy rainfall that could cause flash flooding,” Mamdani wrote on X.

“Smoke will continue to affect the area through this afternoon,” the US National Weather Service said.

In the US capital, the department of homeland security and emergency management said air quality was “unhealthy for at-risk groups” including children and the elderly, urging people to limit time outdoors.

More than 950 wildfires were raging across Canada as of Saturday morning, the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System reported.

US President Donald Trump has blamed Canada for the smoke pollution, threatening to impose additional tariffs, accusing the northern neighbor of “willful negligence” by “not properly maintaining” its forests.

Advocates have stressed the connection between repeated episodes of wildfire smoke and climate change.

Spanish football star Lamine Yamal’s girlfriend, Ines Garcia, an influencer from Seville, recently experienced a minor setback. The influencer revealed that her TaikTok account was blocked for an unexpected cause in a story posted on her Instagram feed.

Talking about the TikTok account blockage Ines Garcia wrote, saying, “They had blocked my TikTok account, and I was really bitter. Bitter I was. I couldn’t upload anything; I couldn’t do anything.  I couldn’t even access my profile because they said I was underage. Underage… I’m already 21 years old. Come on, show some respect!”

“Then I had to wait for them to review my account… and that was it.  I have it active again. I’m back, and hopefully I won’t have problems again for a long time,” she explained. She wanted to make the people understand that the people who said to her that she made a restricted profile and that she never made a private account on TikTok “had blocked it.”

After the dominance over the tough side France in the semifinals, Luis de la Fuente gave the players a few hours free prior to the match between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium, the site of the 2026 World Cup final. They all made the decision to spend that time with their admired families.

Star La Roja and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal on the matter was with his younger brother Keyne and partner Ines Garcia. The three of them are seen grinning in a photo that the Barca football player posted to the video and sharing app, Instagram.

The couple on the other side additionally spotted Times Square, one of the world’s well-known squares. The Seville influencer posted a video in which she finds an advertisement featuring Lamine Yamal. The content producers are taken aback by the advertisement and exclaims, “How handsome.”

Anthropic said on Saturday that it will reintroduce its most advanced AI model, Fable 5, in the paid Max and Team Premium plans from July 20.

After its redeployment, Fable 5 had been included in the Pro, Max, Team and select Enterprise plans from July 1 to 7 for up to 50pc of weekly usage limits, after which it was available via usage credits.

In a post on Saturday, Claude said, “Beginning July 20, Claude Fable 5 will be included in all Max and Team Premium plans, at 50 per cent of limits.”

However, Pro and Team Standard users “will continue to have access to Fable via usage credits” — rather than as part of weekly usage limits — though they will receive a one-time $100 credit.

Usage credits allow individuals subscribed to paid Claude plans (Pro, Max 5x, and Max 20x) to continue using Claude after reaching their included usage limits.

“Demand for Fable has been challenging to predict, which is why we rolled it out to subscription plans in stages, extending access several times as we secured additional capacity,” Claude said.

It acknowledged: “We know this has been frustrating, and we want to give you more certainty about what your plan includes.”

The AI tool explained it was “making access standard at 50pc usage for the plans that use Fable most intensively”.

“Thank you for your patience over the past several weeks. We’re continuing to invest in new capacity and will keep everyone updated as we do,” the post concluded.

Fable 5, a public version of the Mythos AI model, was rolled out in early June, with Anthropic describing it as its most powerful model ever made for wider use.

“It is state-of-the-art on nearly all tested benchmarks of AI capability, showing exceptional performance in software engineering, knowledge work, vision, scientific research, and many other areas. The longer and more complex the task, the larger Fable 5’s lead over our other models,” Anthropic had said.

Anthropic Mythos 5 and Fable 5 models had been redeployed on July 1, within three weeks of being disabled for all users after the United States government ordered restrictions on access to foreign nationals, citing national security concerns.

Anthropic offers the following user plans: Free, Pro, Max 5x, Max 20x, Team Standard, Team Premium, Self-serve Enterprise, and Sales-assisted Enterprise.

KARACHI: Transporters across the country have announced an increase in fares following the federal government’s decision to raise petrol and high-speed diesel prices.

The Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance has announced a 15 per cent increase in goods transport fares, citing rising fuel costs and a lack of relief measures for the transport sector.

Speaking in Karachi, Alliance President Malik Shehzad Awan demanded the withdrawal of toll taxes and withholding taxes, saying that transporters were facing severe financial pressure due to government policies.

He also called for the removal of additional charges, fines and penalties, warning that many transporters had been forced to park their vehicles because of increasing operational costs.

Malik Shehzad Awan strongly criticised the increase in petroleum prices, saying immediate relief measures were necessary to support the transport industry.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Mini Mazda Goods Transport Association also announced a 10 per cent increase in fares following the rise in diesel prices.

Association President Haji Sher Ali Chaudhry said the latest increase in petroleum prices would further contribute to inflation and place additional pressure on consumers.

Petrol price in Pakistan – July 18, 2026

The federal government on Friday increased petrol and high-speed diesel prices for the next two days.

According to an official notification, petrol prices were increased by Rs5.44 per litre, bringing the new price to Rs316.15 per litre.

The price of high-speed diesel was increased by Rs31.05 per litre, with the new rate set at Rs354.35 per litre.

The revised prices will remain effective from July 18 to July 20, according to the notification.

The increase follows the government’s announcement of a new mechanism under which petroleum prices will be adjusted on a daily basis by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) in line with fluctuations in international oil prices.

This version improves the news flow by putting the transporters’ reaction first, then adding the fuel price hike details and government mechanism as background context.