World

Politics

As of 04^th July latest on corona Virus

Cases and deaths due to corona Virus as of  03rd July
	cases	Deaths
World	11,190,678	529,113
Top 12 countries
USA	2,890,588	132,101
Brazil	1,543,341	63,254
Russia	667,883	9,859
India	649,889	18,669
Spain	297,625	28,385
Peru	295,599	10,226
Chile	288,089	5,068
UK	309,360	44,131
Mexico	245,251	29,853
Italy	241,184	34,833
Iran	235,439	11,260
Pakistan	221,896	4,551

 

News about corona virus epidemic

1. A study of 138 hospitalized patients with NCIP found that the median age was 56 years (interquartile range, 42-68; range, 22-92 years) and 75 (54.3%) were men.
2. The WHO, in its Myth busters FAQs, addresses the question: “Does the new corona virus affect older people, or are younger people also susceptible?” by answering that: People of all ages can be infected by the novel corona virus COVID-19.Older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease) appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the virus.

·Former French Prime Minister François Fillon sentenced to five years

Former French Prime Minister François Fillon, his wife Penelope, and his former assistant Marc Joulaud, have been found guilty of misappropriation of public funds, complicity and concealment by the Paris tribunal. The judgment concluded Fillon paid his wife and children, as well as Joulaud, hundreds of thousands of Euros from the public payroll for little or no work. Fillon was sentenced to five years in prison, three of them suspended, as well as a fine of 375,000 Euros ($423,000) and a ten -year ban on running for elections.

• Afghanistan: 23 civilians killed in rocket attack

At least 23 civilians were killed in a rocket attack on a marketplace in southern Afghanistan on 29^th June, followed by a car bomb explosion, local media reported. Unknown assailants launched the attack on unarmed civilians in a market in Sang in the southern province of Helmand in the war-torn country.

• Tehran clinic hit by deadly explosion

At least 19 people have been killed in an explosion at a clinic in Iran’s capital Tehran, officials say. Several people were injured at the Sina Athar clinic, and there are fears the death toll will rise further. Iran’s state media quoted senior officials as saying the blast was caused by a gas leak.

• Gunmen burst into an unregistered drug rehabilitation center in central Mexico and opened fire on ist July, killing 24 people and wounding seven, authorities said.

Police in the north-central state of Guanajuato said the attack occurred in the city of Irapuato. Three of the seven wounded were reported in serious condition. Apparently the attackers shot everyone at the rehab center.Guanajuato are the scene of a bloody turf battle between the Jalisco cartel and a local gang, and the state has become the most violent in Mexico.

• Slain Ethiopian activist and singer buried as 81 killed in protests

At least 81 people are dead in Ethiopia in massive protests that erupted after the killing of singer and activist Hachalu Hundessa, local police commissioner told state media. The 34-year-old singer was shot by unknown gunmen in Addis Ababa on 29^th June, sparking demonstrations in the capital that have spread to several towns in the Oromia region of the country.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin is already one of the world’s longest-serving leaders, and on IST July, voterspaved the way for him to rule the country until 2036.

 Referendum results show overwhelming support for Putin’s proposed constitutional reforms, including one that resets the clock on the President’s term limit. Should he win the 2024 election and the next one, six years later, Putin could cling onto power until he is 84, pushing his reign to more than 36 years.

• Turkey convicts human rights activists on terror charges

A Turkish court sentenced four Amnesty International activists to between two and six years in prison on terrorism charges in a high-profile trial Friday, which the human rights group described as a “travesty of justice of spectacular proportions.” The human rights group denies all the charges and said that every allegation against its members has been “comprehensively exposed as a baseless slur.”

·Jade mine landslide kills at least 160 Myanmar, with more people still missing

At least 162 people have died and others are feared trapped after a landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar’s Kachin State, according to officials. The landslide was triggered by heavy rain and swept through the site in the jade-rich area of Hpakant on 2^nd July morning. Myanmar Fire Department said 162 bodies had been recovered. Thursday local time and another 54 people have been taken to hospital. Local lawmaker Khin Maung Myint warned that the death toll is expected to rise, but heavy rain had forced rescue efforts to be called off.

Economy

GLOBAL INDICES AS OF 05th July 2020

As Compared to 28^th June 2020

 

Global indices as of 05th July 2020
Name	Current Value	Prev Close
US MARKETS
NASDAQ (Jul 02)	10,207.63	10154.63
EUROPEAN MARKETS
FTSE (Jul 03)	6,157.30	6240.36
CAC (Jul 03)	5,007.14	5049.38
DAX (Jul 03)	12,528.18	12608.46
ASIAN MARKETS
SGX NIFTY (Jul 04)	10,573.50	10588.00
NIKKEI 225 (Jul 03)	22,306.48	22145.96
STRAITS TIMES (Jul 03)	2,652.94	2636.69
HANG SENG (Jul 03)	25,373.12	25124.19
TAIWAN WEIGHTED (Jul 03)	11,909.16	11805.14
KOSPI (Jul 03)	2,152.41	2135.37
SET COMPOSITE (Jul 03)	1,372.27	1374.13
JAKARTA COMPOSITE (Jul 03)	4,973.79	4966.78
SHANGHAI COMPOSITE (Jul 03)	3,152.81	3090.57

 

Global indices as of 28th June 2020
Name	Current Value	PrevClose
US MARKETS
NASDAQ (Jun 26)	9,757.22	10017.00
EUROPEAN MARKETS
FTSE (Jun 26)	6,159.30	6147.14
CAC (Jun 26)	4,909.64	4918.58
DAX (Jun 26)	12,089.39	12177.87
ASIAN MARKETS
SGX NIFTY (Jun 27)	10,223.50	10340.00
NIKKEI 225 (Jun 26)	22,512.08	22259.79
STRAITS TIMES (Jun 26)	2,604.51	2590.15
HANG SENG (Jun 26)	24,549.99	24781.58
TAIWAN WEIGHTED (Jun 24)	11,660.67	11612.36
KOSPI (Jun 26)	2,134.65	2112.37
SET COMPOSITE (Jun 26)	1,330.34	1325.88
JAKARTA COMPOSITE (Jun 26)	4,904.09	4896.73
SHANGHAI COMPOSITE (Jun 24)	2,979.55	2970.62

 

Pakistan

As of 05th July latest on corona Virus

Position as of 05th July 2020 as compared to 28th June 2020
Cases 05th July	Death 05th July	Cases 28th Jun	Death 28th Jun	Increase cases	Increase death
221,896	4,551	195,745	3,962	26,151	589

 

• Vietnam’s aviation authority said on 29^th June it had grounded all Pakistani pilots working for local airlines, amid concern from global regulators that some pilots may have been using “dubious” licenses.

The issue of dubious licenses drew global attention after Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan in the National Assembly declared that 150 pilots of the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, had fake licences.

• An investigation after the terror attack on Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) building in Karachi on Monday revealed that the vehicle used during the incident was bought by one of the terrorists in his name from the port city’s Karsaz neighborhood.

Salman was one of the four gunmen killed with three others during the attempted attack on the PSX building. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility in a post on Twitter Two security guards and a policeman was also martyred during the terrorist activity which only lasted eight minutes due to the valiant effort of the security forces. The Pakistan Stock Exchange did not suspend trading during the attack. Its main KSE-100 index dropped 220 points but it later recovered and was 242 points higher when the market closed.

• PIA services suspended in European Union countries by safety regulators. The revelation of pilots holding “dubious” licenses continued to take its toll as the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority said it was withdrawing the Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) permit to operate from three of its airports and the United Arab Emirates sought to verify the credentials of its Pakistani pilots and engineers. With the matter of pilots’ credentials snowballing, Malaysia’s aviation regulator said it has temporarily suspended pilots employed by domestic airlines who hold Pakistani licenses.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) confirmed that it has banned from the European Union on Tuesday for six months after the government-owned flight company grounded nearly 150 of its pilots (roughly 1 third) for having false or questionable licenses. According to company spokesman Abdullah Khan speaking to AFP, European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) told  that “EASA has temporarily suspended PIA’s authorization to operate to the EU member states for a period of 6 months effective July 1, 2020 with the right to appeal against this decision”, Khan said.

• Accused hurling threats at Justice Isa tenders apology

Maulvi Agha Iftikharuddin Mirza – accused who had uttered abusive/derogatory words against the institution of judiciary and judges especially Justice Qazi Faez Isa – tendered an unconditional apology in the Supreme Court. In response to the Supreme Court notice, Mirza submitted an unconditional apology wherein he surrendered himself at the mercy of the court.

• Hundreds of people in occupied Kashmir staged protests on Ist July, accusing government forces of killing an elderly man in front of his minor grandson during a gun battle with Kashmiri fighters, which also left a trooper dead.

The Kashmiri fighters opened fire from a mosque attic in the northern town of Sopore, setting off a battle with security forces, paramilitary police spokesperson Junaid Khan told AFP. The family of Bashir Ahmed Khan alleged that he was dragged out of his car after the showdown and shot dead by paramilitary troopers. His three-year-old grandson, who was travelling with him, was later pictured sitting on his chest.

• PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday held the PTI government responsible for the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) being barred from operating flights to European countries, saying the government wants to sell off the national flag carrier’s assets based on “lies”.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, he said PIA’s permit to fly to EU countries was suspended because Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan had accused its pilots of holding dubious licenses “without any evidence”. “The minister whose own degree is fake … leveled this type of allegation against our pilots without any evidence [leading to] them being banned across the world. No one has caused this type of damage to PIA in history as this government,” he said, referring to Khan.

• The Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP) on 2^nd July decided against privatizing the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, owned by the embattled Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), and to run it through a joint venture instead.

A meeting of the committee was chaired by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh to review the one-point agenda of the privatization of Roosevelt Hotel, owned by PIA Investment Limited in the Manhattan borough of New York City. According to a Finance Division statement, the CCoP directed the Privatization Commission to hire the services of a financial adviser to start the process for the transaction in light of a report by accounting firm Deloitte from July 2019 which recommended that “the highest and best use of the Roosevelt Hotel property is to redevelop the site into a mixed-use [property] (through joint venture) of primarily an office tower over retail and condominium.”

• At least 20 people have been killed in a crash between a coaster and the Shah Husain Express train near Sheikhupura, DPO Mohammad Ghazi Salahuddin said.

According to Rescue 1122 officials, along with 20 dead mostly Sikh immigrants, at least eight people have also been injured in the accident, all of whom are being shifted to District Headquarters Hospital, Sheikhupura. The bodies are also being shifted to the DHQ hospital.

• PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and Vice President Maryam Nawaz on 3^rd July said that the reported dismissal of former Islamabad accountability court judge Arshad Malik “proved the innocence” of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

“Mian sb’s sentence ought to be declared null and void,” said Shehbaz of his brother’s seven-year sentence in the Al Azizia corruption reference.

• Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on 3^rd July that he had tested positive for the novel corona virus, but was feeling “strong and energetic”.

In a tweet, Qureshi said that he had a slight fever earlier today and had immediately quarantined himself at home.

• The Pakistan Meteorological Department on 3^rd July issued a weather advisory for Sind in which it said widespread rainfall and intermittent thundershowers were expected in several areas of the province for three days.

In a notification, the Met department said monsoon currents were expected to strengthen in Sind, which would generate widespread rainfall in the province, particularly in Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar, Umerkot, Jamshoro and Dadu from 6^th July (night) to 8^th July.

Economy

• The National Assembly on 29^th June passed the Finance Bill 2020-21 with a voice vote, after debates and amendments. Earlier, the government defeated the opposition with 160-119 votes at the time of passage of clause nine of the bill.

The opposition did not insist for a vote at the final passage as it had already been defeated during clause-by-clause vote.

F.C Exchange Rates of PKR as of  05th July 2020 as compared to 28th June 2020
Countries	PKR rate as of 28th June   2020	PKR rate as of   05th July  2020
U.S.A. $	168.00	167.50
U.K. Pounds	210.00	209.00
Euro	189.00	188.00
Japan Yen	1.56	1.56
Saudi Arabia Rial	44.50	43.50
U.A.E. Dirham	45.50	45.00

Pakistan Stock Exchange Indices

As of 05th July 2020 As Compared

To 28th June 2020

Position as of 5th July 2020
Symbols	KSE100 Index	PSX-KMI All Shares Index
Advance 138 (Curr)	Current 35051.38	Current 17473.20
Decline 162 (High)	High 35105.16	High 17511.02
Unchanged 19 (Low)	Low 34918.52	Low 17418.77
Total Change 319	73.20	9.93

Position as of 28th June 2020
Symbols	KSE100 Index	PSX-KMI All Shares Index
Advance 153 (Curr)	Current 33939.49	Current 16901.08
Decline 145 (High)	High 34028.77	High 16999.00
Unchanged 22 (Low)	Low 33709.63	Low 16810.09
Total Change 320	229.86	90.99