Two weekly holidays have been announced in the government schools of Punjab, after which there will be two days off on Saturday and Sunday.
Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat said that public schools in Punjab will have holidays on Saturday and Sunday.
He said that due to the teachers’ high workload, they decided to take Saturday off, while daily teaching hours in schools will be extended from Monday to Friday.
He said Saturday will be used for teacher training, capacity building and other matters.
Rana Sikandar Hayat further said that problems related to teachers’ promotions will also be solved soon, and the regularization plan for 14 thousand AEOs and SSEs is coming very soon.
Singer and social activist Shehzad Royal has requested the government to undo the book sales tax it has recently imposed, and restore teacher salary rebates.
Taking to his X (formerly Twitter) handle, the singer said that he also requested the Prime Minister and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal to reinstate the 25 percent tax rebate for teachers. Shehzad Roy tweeted, “I have spoken with the Prime Minister @CMShehbaz & planning Minister Ahsan iqbal @betterpakistan sahab & requested to reverse the 10 percent sales tax on books and reinstate the 25 percent tax rebate for teachers. They both reassured me that they will reconsider this decision with a favorable outcome.”
The federal government, through the Finance Bill 2024, removed tax rebates for full-time teachers and researchers which created panic in the education sector. The proposal was aimed at teachers at both private and public education institutions. The Finance Bill proposes a 10 percent sales tax on books, with the condition that any refund of excess input tax would not be allowed. When the International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants Pakistan to tax stationery products, which include books, pens, paper, sticky notes, and similar material, it is uncertain if the government would remove this tax rate.
Karachi Cattle Farms Association spokesperson Shabir Dar has reported that 150 animals have died in a span of three days as temperatures increase in the coastal city, Samaa news has reports.
Cattle farmers are facing financial losses as timely treatment remains elusive.
Shabir Dar emphasised that despite the challenges, including the absence of veterinary doctors from the livestock department, it is crucial for the department to ensure the supply of care and medicines.
Yesterday, following the mercury hitting 41 degrees Celsius in Karachi, concerns among residents escalated. Over the past four days, more than 70 people affected by extreme heat sought treatment at Civil and Jinnah Hospitals.
Dr. Nizam, AMS Civil Hospital, reported that 67 heat-affected individuals were admitted to the emergency room, predominantly elderly or those suffering from various illnesses.
Chief Meteorologist Sardar Sarfraz has forecast a partial heatwave in Karachi for the next two days, attributing the intensified heat to changing winds. Temperatures are expected to decrease after two days, with monsoon rains likely starting in the first week of July.
A man named Guru from Jaipur, India, has sparked online outrage by posting a video of himself assigning rates to foreign women tourists visiting the state.
Unaware of Guru’s intentions, women tourists reacted normally and smiled in the reels. However, his derogatory tone in the name of generating content offended many people online.
He was detained on June 23 by the local police for harassing women tourists and posting their videos online.
Shared on the Instagram account @guru__brand0000, Guru can be seen saying in the videos, “Guys, you will get these women for Rs 150.” Pointing out to individual women, Guru assigns different rates and says, “She is available for Rs 150, she is for Rs 200, you can get her for Rs 500 and this one is for Rs 300.”
Since Guru was speaking in Hindi, none of the women tourists could decipher the offensive content of his video.
In another video, Guru went beyond limits by approaching a couple and saying that the woman tourist was his wife. He said, “Guys, she is my wife. He is my brother-in-law. How do you guys like him? My brother-in-law.”
Police have also found that the man forcibly made foreign tourists buy products from his shop in the Amer Market of Jaipur.
This is not the first time foreign tourists have been harassed in India. Recently, a Spanish woman who was out on a bike tour with her partner was gang-raped during her stay in Jharkhand state.
A video of a janitor at a hospital in Punjab’s Wazirabad district, posing as a doctor and attending to patients, went viral on social media. Many doubted the video’s authenticity, but Geo Fact Check claims it to be true, as confirmed by government officials and the inquiry report.
On May 16, an X user posted a 19-second video purportedly showing a person examining patients at a hospital.
The user stated that the man checking the patients is actually a sweeper employed at the Wazirabad Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital in Punjab and pretending to be a doctor.
The video has been viewed over 149,000 times and reposted over 1,000 times to date.
Identical claims also took off on Facebook.
Dr Hassan Tariq, the medical superintendent of Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, verified that the janitor indeed impersonated a doctor at the nursing station and performed tasks such as checking a patient’s blood pressure and adjusting a drip.
However, the medical superintendent added that the janitor and the person who recorded the video had been removed from the job.
Khawaja Imran Nazir, Punjab’s minister for primary and secondary healthcare, and Ali Jan Khan, secretary for specialised healthcare and medical education, corroborated the occurrence and confirmed the staff member’s termination following an inquiry conducted in May.
The janitor in the video has been identified as Abdul Sattar, who admitted to attending to patients at the nursing station.
An inquiry report released on May 14 revealed that two nurses had instructed the janitor to attend to patients in the hospital’s emergency ward.
At least 19 children were injured, two of them suffering bone fractures, when a ride collapsed in a play area of Khushab district on Sunday.
Rescue 1122 teams arrived at the incident and provided immediate medical aid to five of the mildly injured children, while 14 others, including two having severe bone fractures, were transferred to the DHQ hospital, as per Dawn.
The region’s DC and MPA ordered the hospital administration to provide the best available medical care to the injured children.
The DC ordered the arrest of the model bazaar Supervisor and the closure of the play area.
He also ordered an investigation into the incident. The staff of the amusement ride fled away following the incident.
The DSP said a case would be registered against those responsible for negligence.
Such incidents are common in Pakistan. Last Eid, a child fell off the swing in a Safari Park.
A Korean Air flight bound for Taiwan faced a malfunction with the pressurization system, leading to the hospitalization of 13 out of 125 passengers.
The plane descended from the height of 35,000 feet to 9,000 feet within the span of ten minutes due to sudden uncontrollable decompression just 50 minutes into the flight.
The pressurization system is responsible for regulating the internal pressure of an aircraft.
The plane was returned to the Incheon International Airport, where it departed from.
15 passengers suffered from eardrum pain and hyperventilation during the descent. Among them, 13 were taken to a hospital, reported Yohap News Agency.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued an alert for floods and landslides as both heavy and light rains are expected in different parts of Pakistan in the first week of July.
As per the NDMA forecast, moderate to heavy rains may increase water flows in streams and rivers, causing flash flooding in low-lying areas.
Monsoon rains may cause torrents in areas of Dera Ismail Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, and the Suleman and Kirthar mountain ranges. Meanwhile, urban flooding in major cities is also possible.
Rains could also trigger landslides in mountainous areas of Murree, Galiyat, Azad Kashmir, GB and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Increased temperatures and rainfall in GB and KP are expected to cause glacial lake outburst flood (Glof) events in at-risk valleys.
The NDMA further said that dust, wind, thunderstorms, and heavy showers may damage structures such as electrical poles, solar panels, hoardings, trees, and under-construction buildings.
Citizens, especially travellers and tourists, have been advised to check forecasts regarding weather and flood conditions before setting out for any travel.
Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz has announced the initiation of the Digital School on Wheels project in Punjab during a meeting with delegations from IT companies. Under the initiative, 1000 teachers from government schools will receive free digital courses.
A delegation from Google for Education also expressed interest in supporting Punjab’s first official autism school project. Google for Education is said to offer free certification courses for 15,000 university students.
CM Punjab asserted that a positive societal change cannot occur without reconstructing the education system. The government is committed to enhancing the system by addressing its shortcomings.
Clerical singer Hassan Iqbal Chisti, known for singing controversial songs that he claims are devotional, is again under fire for yet another rendition against girl’s education, titled ‘Apni Dhi Schoolo Hata Le| Othy Dance Kardi Payi Ae|’ [Take your daughter out of school, she is dancing there.]
Chishti was slammed by social media for his misogynistic approach.
Social activist Asma Azam lambasted him: “They can see girls dancing in the school but not the children getting raped in the Madrassas. Is it approved or Halaal for them?”
انہیں لڑکیاں سکول میں ڈاانس “daanice” کرتی نظر آ گئی ہیں مدرسوں میں چھوٹے بچوں کا ریپ نظر نہیں آتا یا پھر وہ ان کے لیے جائز اور حلال ہے؟؟#MardoodMolvipic.twitter.com/pBiexpOBVX
Another netizen, Maria Amir, wrote, “As if there isn’t enough ridiculous bigoted, backwards propaganda against girls education in our part of the world already, scum like this are now making ‘music videos’ …. so they can hate on ‘girls dancing in school.”
Sumaira Khalid posted, “Is dancing for clerics like these Halaal?”
Mohammad Hassan expressed his anger over this song cum kalam by writing that this satanic cleric should be sent to jail and beaten for this. “It is a matter of shame for those who support these clerics.”
