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SIALKOT: Police on Tuesday claimed to have busted an infamous gang of robbers and seized Rs20.3 million looted cash from their possession, ARY News reported. A spokesperson for the police confirmed the arrests saying the eight-member gang had looted a pharmaceutical company’s truck full of medicine. He said the looted cash to the tune of Rs20.3 million was also recovered from their possession. The police said the recovered cash and truck have been handed over to their owner. Read More: Youngster battles for life as Punjab police ‘mistakenly’ opens fire on him Earlier, on June 20, Karachi police had apprehended six robbers allegedly involved in a bank robbery of Rs10.5 million last month. The robbers had produced Rs9 million from the bank robbery in front of the police after being taken under arrest. The police also recovered the weapons used by the criminals in the bank robbery. The gang was stated to have a previous record of robbing various places in the city, the police said.

KARACHI: Gold prices hit an all-time high of Rs102,000 per tola in the domestic market on Monday. The per tola price of yellow metal rose by Rs1,300 to Rs102,000 while 10 gram gold rate rose by Rs1,114 to trade at Rs87,448, according to All Sindh Saraf Jewellers Association (ASSJA). The increase in domestic gold prices was attributed to $12 per ounce rise in world gold rate to $1,746. According to Reuters, gold jumped to its highest in more than a month on Monday as investors sought the safe-haven metal after surging coronavirus cases intensified concerns over a delay in global economic recovery . Spot gold was up 0.7% to $1,754.74 per ounce by 0225 GMT after hitting its highest since May 18. U.S. gold futures rose 1.1% to $1,771.40. “General risk aversion is helping the market, we are seeing pressure on growth exposed currencies and on share markets. Overall, there are concerns about increasing infection rates,” said Michael McCarthy, chief strategist at CMC Markets. The post G

ISLAMABAD: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) killed 105 more people in the country in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 3,695. According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 3,946 fresh cases were detected, taking the national tally of the cases to 185,034. 3,946 new infections were detected when 24,599 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours. Thus far, more than 1.1 million tests have been conducted in the country. 107,863 COVID-19 patients are under treatment while 73,471 patients have so far recovered from the disease. Read More: Govt to account for every penny of corona relief fund: PM Imran Khan 71,092 cases have been detected in Sindh so far, 68,308 in Punjab, 22,633 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 9,587 in Balochistan, 11,219 in Islamabad, 869 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 1,326 in Gilgit Baltistan. Worldwide coronavirus death toll The number of coronavirus cases across the world has surpassed nine million while the pandemic has so far claimed more than

SUKKUR: An accountability court in Sukkur on Monday adjourned the hearing of assets beyond means case against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader and former opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah, reported ARY News. The hearing was adjourned until July 14 due to non-appointment of a presiding officer of the Sukkur accountability court. The court has been lying vacant for the past one and a half month since the completion of former accountability judge Ameer Ali Mahesar’s tenure. Many important references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) are facing delays owing to the non-availability of a judge. The anti-graft watchdog had filed the assets beyond means reference of Rs 1.23 billion against Syed Khursheed Shah and 17 co-accused. The bureau nominated his two wives, two sons, and son-in-law in the reference. It is noteworthy that the accountability court had granted bail to Shah last year in December due to delay on the part of the bureau to file the reference against

LAHORE: The Punjab government claimed on Monday to have raked in a huge sum of over Rs750 million by auctioning non-operational vehicles, machinery, and furniture that lay idle on the premises of various government offices. Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar in a statement today said the provincial government generated Rs750 million funds without using any public money. “This step of ours is a remarkable example of cleaning offices and making the system transparent,” he said. Read More: FM Qureshi, CM Buzdar discuss south Punjab secretariat He said divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners, and police helped complete the auction process. The amount generated through the auction has already been deposited in the provincial kitty, he added. CM Usman Buzdar said there was a paucity of space for staff and visitors in government offices as most of the space was occupied by useless things. “We are trustees of hard-earned public money”, he said, lamenting the government’s c

KARACHI: After continuing its protests for more than two weeks in all the government-run hospitals, the Grand Health Alliance (GHA) has decided to organise a protest outside Sindh CM House today, ARY News reported on Monday The Grand Health Alliance staged a sit-in outside Karachi press club and has announced to march towards CM House today as the deadline given to the Sindh government for acceptance of demands has ended. The GHA has put forward 13-points demands including immediate construction of isolation centres in the province amid coronavirus outbreak. The protesting doctors are demanding risk allowance as number of doctors have tested positive for the deadly virus. Read more:  Coronavirus: Doctors call for imposition of health emergency in Sindh A spokesperson for the alliance warned that if the Sindh government forcibly tried to stop their peaceful protest, the healthcare workers across the province would shut down the emergency services in the state-run hospitals. Ear

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad police have arrested a man for shooting videos with arms and ammunition and posting them on the highly popular video-sharing platform TikTok. According to the DIG Operations Islamabad, the Aabpara police made the arrest. The arrested man is a resident of the federal capital’s G-7 area. He had created a TikTok group under the name of ‘313’ where he used to post videos displaying different kinds of weapons and ammunition, the police said. تھانہ آبپارہ پولیس نے سوشل میڈیا پر ویڈیو کے ذریعے اسلحے و ایمونیشن کی نمائش کرنے والا ملزم گرفتار کرلیا،ملزم جی سیون کا رہائشی ہے اور 313 کے نام سے ٹک ٹاک پر گروپ بنا رکھا تھا، ملزم ٹک ٹاک پر مختلف قسم کے اسلحے و ایمونیشن کی نمائش کرتا تھا۔ pic.twitter.com/vPfySfYWcD — DIG Operations Islamabad (@DigIslamabad) June 21, 2020 Also Read: Differently-abled man becomes TikTok sensation A day earlier, a 17-year-old boy had accidentally shot himself dead while making a TikTok video in Karachi’s Sikandar Goth area. Tanveer had

ISLAMABAD: Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has issued registration letters for import and manufacturing of remdesivir used for critically ill patients of COVID-19. According to the Ministry of National Health Services, on increasing demand, approvals are issued to two importers and 14 local manufacturers. The spokesperson said COVID-19 drug was approved for emergency use in a special emergency meeting in order to ensure early availability. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza yesterday said the government is ensuring sufficient supplies of remdesivir for critical Covid-19 patients. Separately, Dr Zafar Mirza in a tweet said the DRAP has completed “national stock taking” of dexamethasone – a steroid drug that has shown to be effective in the treatment of critical Covid-19 patients. “I am pleased to report that we have enough stocks of the medicine available in Pakistan.It is available on prescription only. Any availability issues can

KARACHI: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Monday forecast drizzle for Karachi. It said the port city is likely to experience cloudy weather with light rain tonight and on Tuesday morning. The PMD said the maximum temperature recorded in the metropolis this morning was 33 degrees centigrade and is expected to remain in the range of 37 to 39 degrees centigrade during the day with 59 per cent humidity in the air. It said mainly hot and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country while very hot in central and southern parts of the country during the next twelve hours. Dust raising winds are also expected in Bhakkar, Layyah, Multan, D.G Khan, Sukkur, Larkana, and Shaheed Benazirabad during this period. The maximum temperature recorded in Islamabad this morning was 26 degrees centigrade, Lahore 28, Peshawar 29, Quetta 22, Gilgit 16, Murree 20, and Muzaffarabad 21 degree centigrade. According to the Met Office forecast about Occupied Kashmir, the weather in Srina

Brazil registered its 50,000th death from the coronavirus outbreak on Sunday, underlining Latin America’s desperate struggle to contain the disease, as Europe’s gradual emergence from lockdown was marked by Spain reopening its borders. Brazil is the second worst-affected country behind the United States, and the spread of COVID-19 is accelerating across Latin America, with Mexico, Peru and Chile also hard-hit as death tolls soar and healthcare facilities are pushed toward collapse. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been fiercely criticized for comparing the virus to a “little flu,” argues the economic impact of shutdowns is often worse than the virus itself. But Mexico City has delayed reopening markets, restaurants, malls, hotels and places of worship, with the country now recording over 20,000 COVID-19 deaths. Highlighting the region’s woes, Peru passed 8,000 deaths on Sunday despite preparing to reopen shopping malls on Monday. In contrast, primary and secondary scho

Gold jumped to its highest in more than a month on Monday as investors sought the safe-haven metal after surging coronavirus cases intensified concerns over a delay in global economic recovery. Spot gold was up 0.7% to $1,754.74 per ounce by 0225 GMT after hitting its highest since May 18. U.S. gold futures rose 1.1% to $1,771.40. “General risk aversion is helping the market, we are seeing pressure on growth exposed currencies and on share markets. Overall, there are concerns about increasing infection rates,” said Michael McCarthy, chief strategist at CMC Markets. “The market is concerned about the outlook for growth and that of course is supportive for gold.” The World Health Organization reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases on Sunday, with the total rising by 183,020 in a 24-hour period. Rising infections in the United States and elsewhere dented hopes for a quick economic recovery and weighed on investors’ appetite for riskier assets. Meanwhile, two U.S. Fe

ISLAMABAD: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) killed 89 more people in the country over the previous 24 hours, taking the death toll to 3,590. According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 4,471 fresh cases were detected, taking the national tally of the infected cases to 179,592. 4,471 new infections were detected when 30,520 tests were conducted over the past 24 hours. Thus far, more than 1.1 million tests have been conducted in the country. 106,040 COVID-19 patients are under treatment. Read More: Sufficient Dexamethasone to become available from tomorrow: Zafar Mirza 69,628 cases have been detected in Sindh so far, 66,943 in Punjab, 21,997 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 9,475 in Balochistan, 10,912 in Islamabad, 845 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 1,188 in Gilgit Baltistan. Of the total coronavirus-related deaths, 1,435 were recorded in Punjab, 1,089 in Sindh, 821 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 102 in Balochistan, 101 in Islamabad and 22 in Gilgit Baltistan. Read More: 92 coron

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary education (FBISE) on Sunday announced the date for the release of SSC part- II and intermediate exam results, ARY News reported. As per details, the FBISE will announce SSC part-II examination results in the first week of July, while the Intermediate exam results will be announced in the third week of the next month. Meanwhile, Chairman FBISE Rao Atiq Ahmed has summoned the Board of Governors meeting on June 30 to seek approval for the promotion policy and postpone examinations. Earlier today, the federal government has asked the provincial authorities to come up with their proposals to resume academic activities amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Ministry of Education sought proposals to reopen education institutes on a trial basis in the country. It will convene an inter-provincial conference of education ministers to thrash out a strategy to resume educational activities. The Ministry of Education instructed all provinces

KARACHI: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Sunday distributed cheques for six-month rent to the residents of Model Colony, whose houses were damaged by the PK8303 crash. The cheques were handed to the owners of 21 affected houses at a ceremony held at the national flag carrier’s Training Centre. PIA Chief Operating Officer Aijaz Mazhar, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Firdous Shamim Naqvi and Aftab Siddiqui were present on the occasion. Speaking to the participants, Naqvi, who is also the opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly, said that thankfully, no loss of life was reported on ground as a result of the crash and reiterated that the government stands by the victims. Aftab Siddiqui said all damaged houses at the crash site will be restored to their original condition. He said funds earmarked for MNAs will be utilised for construction of a road at the site of the incident. Earlier, a spokesperson for PIA had said cheques for payment of rent for the six months w

LARKANA: Local police claimed to have recovered large quantity of medicines stolen from government hospitals in a raid at a house in Larkana, ARY News reported on Saturday. The police on a tip-off, conducted raid at a house in Murad Wahan neighborhood of Larkana and recovered several cartons filled with government medicines which had stamps of ‘Government of Sindh’ and ‘not for sale’, police officials said. House owner, Saddam Unar fled from the scene after the police raid on his house. It is to be mentioned here that police had earlier on Wednesday claimed to have recovered huge quantity of stolen medicines of government hospitals from a private godown in Larkana. The police conducted raid at a godown in Ahsan colony area of Larkana and recovered hundreds of cartons filled with government medicines, officials said. The police also arrested a suspect from the godown and apprehended an owner of a private medical store in connection with the scam. On the other hand, Larkana’s Seni

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has asked the provincial authorities to come up with their proposals to resume academic activities amid the coronavirus pandemic, ARY News reported on Sunday. The Ministry of Education sought proposals to reopen education institutes on a trial basis in the country. It will convene an inter-provincial conference of education ministers to thrash out a strategy to resume educational activities. The Ministry of Education instructed all provinces to put forward their suggestions by June 23. They are required to suggest steps about how to protect students and teachers from the coronavirus contagion. Read More: PM Imran directs to ensure distance education, easy access to teaching process After the proposed conference, the ministry will forward its recommendations to the National Coordination Committee (NCC) to take a final decision with regard to resumption of academic activities in the country. Earlier, June 18, Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed

QUETTA: One more polio case was reported from Balochistan on Sunday, taking the countrywide figure for this year to 53, ARY News reported.  According to health officials, the latest victim of the virus is a three-month-old infant hailing from the Duki area of Balochistan. The children infected with the crippling disease has never been administered the anti-polio vaccine, said sources. Earlier on May 7, three new polio cases had surfaced in Balochistan, raising the tally of such patients in the province to 10 during the ongoing year. Read More:  Two more polio cases surface in country, tally reaches 53 According to health officials, the polio cases had been reported in Naseerabad, Zhob and Jhal Magsi districts of the province. A four-year-old girl had been tested positive for poliovirus in Naseerabad, a 13-month-old minor in Jhal Magsi and an 8-month-old minor girl in Zhob The post Polio cripples another minor in Balochistan appeared first on ARY NEWS . from ARY NEWS https:/

Skywatchers along a narrow band from west Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, India and the Far East witnessed Sunday a dramatic “ring of fire” solar eclipse. Annular eclipses occur when the Moon — passing between Earth and the Sun — is not quite close enough to our planet to completely obscure sunlight, leaving a thin ring of the solar disc visible. They happen every year or two, and can only been seen from a narrow pathway across the planet. Sunday’s eclipse arrived on the northern hemisphere’s longest day of the year — the summer solstice — when Earth’s north pole is tilted most directly towards the Sun. The “ring of fire” was first visible in northeastern Republic of Congo from 5:56 local time (04:56 GMT) just a few minutes after sunrise. This is the point of maximum duration, with the blackout lasting 1 minute and 22 seconds. Arcing eastward across Africa and Asia, it  reached “maximum eclipse” — with a perfect solar halo around the Moon — over Uttarakhand, India near the Sino

SRINAGAR: Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three more Kashmiri youth in Srinagar city of occupied Kashmir today, taking the number of martyred youth in the territory to 14 in last four days. According to Kashmir Media Service, the youth were killed by the troops during a cordon and search operation in the Pazwalpora area of the city. The operation was going on while mobile internet services were snapped in all areas of the city. Meanwhile, Indian troops and police personnel during house raids arrested over a dozen youth in Sopore and Badgam area. Earlier on June 19, Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism martyred six more Kashmiri youth in Shopian and Pulwama districts of occupied Kashmir. During cordon and search operations, the troops martyred four youth at Bandpawa Chitragam in Shopian and two others inside a mosque in Pampore area of Pulwama, today. The troops had martyred one youth each in these areas, yesterday. On June 8, Pakistan

The summer solstice, also known as midsummer, occurs when one of the Earth’s poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere. Earth hosting a rare type of solar eclipse this June 21 (today), which is coinciding with the summer solstice. June 21 also marks the longest day and shortest night of the year. From here the days will become smaller, while the nights start gaining more duration till they become longest on December 22. This year, we are also witnessing a celestial event, the ‘Ring of Fire’ solar eclipse or annular solar eclipse on summer solstice. The Northern Hemisphere, where Pakistan is also located, witnessing the longest day of the year on June 21, Sunday (today). The day will be the longest this year in terms of more daylight hours in the 24 hour cycle. The word Solstice is derived from the Latin word “Sol” meaning Sun and “Sistere” meaning stationary or stand still. Summer Solstice is also referred to as Midsummer. This ph