BANGKOK: Authorities in the Thai capital ordered nearly 450 schools to close on Wednesday as pollution levels reached dangerously unhealthy levels. Bangkok, the world’s most visited city, saw levels of PM 2.5 particles at 78.3 pg/m3. A level above 35 is considered unhealthy, according to independent air quality monitor AirVisual. PM 2.5 particles can include dust, soot and smoke and …

WASHINGTON: Democrats began presenting their opening arguments at the historic impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on Wednesday. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, took the podium on the floor of the Senate to make the case that Trump should be removed from office for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Democrats have 24 hours over …

Cases of the new coronavirus pneumonia disease rose to 571 on the Chinese mainland as of Wednesday, including 95 in critical condition, and fatalities rose to 17, China’s National Health Commission said on Thursday morning. In addition, 393 suspected cases were reported as of Wednesday. All the reported deaths were in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak. Outside the …

ISLAMABAD: Despite working in stressful and high-pressure environments, officials in the Islamabad police do not have access to counselling and mental health services to protect them provided to security forces the world over. Police officials face odd duty hours, high pressure environments, financial issues, high expectations from superior officers and many other issues that can lead to depression and other …

DADU: Police on Wednesday registered an FIR under Section 506, 376 PPC against Sehwan’s civil judge on a complaint lodged by a woman that the judge had subjected her to rape in his chamber’s lavatory when police produced her and her husband before him. The woman had married of her free will. The alleged rape victim stated in the FIR …

LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh on Wednesday issued notices to the federal and Punjab governments on a petition questioning their failure to control wheat and flour crisis in the country. Representing the petitioner, Advocate Azhar Siddique argued that the government failed to set a target for procuring an estimated amount of wheat and there was also …

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Cou­rt (IHC) on Wednesday extended the pre-arrest interim bail of former information minister of Sindh Sharjeel Memon till Feb 11. A division bench of the high court asked whether the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) could arrest an accused just for the recovery of an embezzled amount. The IHC bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice …

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has de-registered 65 per cent of the non-governmental organisations functioning in the province before freezing their bank accounts over failure to provide their funding and project details to the government to meet the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global illicit financing watchdog. Sources in the industries and social welfare departments told Dawn that …

HIGH-level engagements between the US and Pakistan on Tuesday resulted in some interesting outcomes. Meeting Prime Minister Imran Khan in Davos, President Donald Trump, who called Mr Khan his “friend”, said that Pakistan and the US had never been as close as they were now. But though this camaraderie is welcome, speaking in Islamabad, Alice Wells, the State Department’s senior …

ISLAMABAD: Senator Raza Rabbani stunned the Supreme Court on Wednesday by reading out the notification and the terms of reference (ToR) for formation of the Asset Recovery Unit (ARU) and arguing that the organisation was functioning without an enabling law. “Can these notifications or ToR override Article 209 — a constitutional provision,” wondered Raza Rabbani, terming the inquiry conducted by …