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23 people have died during the monsoon as rain-related incidents plague Punjab and KP.

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— The ongoing monsoon spell continues to wreak havoc in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as at least 23 people were killed and dozens others injured in rain-related accidents including roof collapses, electrocution incidents and flash floods. Several homes were also damaged in the affected areas.

Nine people have died in Punjab due to heavy rains, including roof collapses and other weather-related mishaps, while scores were injured, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said.

The roof of a house fell in Kot Babu Khan neighbourhood of Raiwind in Lahore, killing one person and injuring three others. LAHORE: Four people were injured when a roof caved in near Band Road in Gulshan Ravi.

In village 75-D of Pakpattan, a woman died when the roof of a room collapsed, while a young man was electrocuted in Hota. In Gujarat, one person was killed and six others injured in separate roof collapse events while three others were hurt after a house roof collapsed in Sialkot.

Rescue personnel in Gujranwala reported three persons were killed and 14 injured in eight separate incidences of roof and wall collapses. There were three electrocutions, one death and two injuries.

In Sahiwal, a woman was murdered and three injured in episodes of roof collapse. Eight persons sustained injuries in separate roof and wall collapses incidents in Mandi Bahauddin while one person got injured in shed collapse in Bahawalnagar.

The roads in Pindi Bhattian were also inundated due to heavy downpour disrupting traffic and causing problems for commuters. Faisalabad, Bhalwal and Jhang also saw significant rain, inundating some low-lying districts.

The PDMA said that the current monsoon spell in Punjab is likely to continue till July 24.

In the meantime, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority said 14 people were killed and 19 injured in various rain-related incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Of the dead, six were men, six were children and two were women. Among the injured were 11 men, four women and four children.

Heavy rains and flash floods affected 28 houses, including six that were entirely demolished and 22 that suffered partial damage, the report added.

The PDMA said the instances were recorded from Peshawar, Nowshera, Khyber, Mardan, Buner, Bajaur, Shangla, Swabi, Lower Chitral, Lower and Upper Dir, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Torghar, Kurram and North Waziristan.

A PDMA spokesperson said rescue activities were being carried out in all the affected districts with the help of Rescue 1122 and district administrations. Sporadic rainfall is anticipated to continue until July 23, authorities said, adding that water levels of rivers and streams in the province are still within normal ranges.

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LHC issues show-cause notice to senior police officer

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The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to the Superintendent of Police (SP) Model Town,

The court ordered the SP concerned to appear before it today (3 Nov). It also warned him of contempt of court proceedings against him if he does not appear before the court.

Citizen Muhammed Sajid has moved the petition which would be heard by Justice Tariq Mehmood Bajwa.

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Saudi Aramco profits surge 34.6% in third quarter

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Saudi oil company Aramco said Tuesday its third-quarter net earnings soared 34.6 percent as the Middle East war has kept crude prices high and the kingdom’s energy infrastructure regularly struck.

Since hostilities erupted in July, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have routinely targeted Saudi tankers, pipelines, storage facilities and refineries but have stepped up their attacks in recent weeks.

The monarchy also has had to deal with the Houthis and Iran disrupting commerce in the straits of Bab al-Mandeb and Hormuz making exports more difficult.

But Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s economic engine and one of the world’s most valuable firms, posted soaring earnings in the third quarter, powered in large part by stubbornly high oil prices.

The company stated net profit in the third quarter was 135.9 billion riyals ($36.2 billion), compared with roughly 101 billion riyals in the same time a year earlier.

The results come as energy majors throughout the world have seen profits jump on the back of interruptions to oil and gas supplies in the Middle East pushing up refining margins and prices.

But the head of Aramco cautioned the dispute was still a major drag on energy security.”Geopolitical uncertainty and attacks on key energy facilities continued to amplify the global energy supply crisis in the third quarter of 2026, with serious implications for global energy security,” said president and CEO Amin H. Nasser in a statement.

Adjusted net income, excluding exceptional items, was 116.9 billion riyals.

An outside estimate based on 12 experts estimates puts the median analyst expectation for third-quarter adjusted net income at $30.66 billion.”The earning results are likely to be rosier (compared) to a year ago, when oil prices were much lower, but less promising compared to last quarter,” Robert Mogielnicki, a research fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, told AFP.

Aramco’s net profit rose 44 percent year-on-year to 122.6 billion riyals in the second quarter.

The Middle East war, which began on February 28 with Israeli and U.S. assaults on Iran, has disrupted global energy markets, triggered a global run on critical reserves, and fed inflation.

And as conflict continues to rage in the Gulf, Ukrainian drones have also struck Russian energy infrastructure, causing Moscow to block shipment of several items – particularly petrol and diesel.

The Houthis said last month they attacked Aramco’s headquarters, a sprawling complex of buildings and housing in the eastern part of the kingdom.

Saudi officials stated a structure was damaged in the region housing the operations center of Aramco, while two employees of the business, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said a tower in the headquarters was hit.

  • A tight spot – With the Strait of Hormuz in dispute, US Navy naval escorts have been allowing millions of barrels of crude to flow through the vital waterway each day.

US Central Command said last month it had assisted Gulf nations export more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil through the strait since the summer, and enabled more than 3,000 commercial boats transit over the past six months.

But the rise in Gulf exports has done nothing to stop market volatility.

Oil prices dropped more than seven percent on Monday as signals that Tehran and Washington were resuming communication raised hopes for an end to the Middle East turmoil.

Back in the kingdom, months of uncertainty have compounded economic challenges.

Saudi Arabia has raised its estimated budget deficit for 2026 to 245 billion riyals, or 4.9 percent of gross domestic product, from an initial forecast of 165 billion riyals. Government receipts were higher than previously forecast.

Government spending will rise 9.3 percent more than previously predicted, but the finance ministry expects the Saudi economy would shrink 3.6 percent in 2026, as oil-related activity will fall 21.8 percent.

The kingdom aims to lower its deficit to 191 billion riyals in 2027, or 3.6 percent of GDP, while continuing to invest in economic diversification programs.

The IMF now expects Saudi Arabia’s GDP to shrink by 3.3% at the end of the year, five percentage points less than its previous prediction in July.

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Binance to reopen withdrawals for more assets on several networks

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Binance announced on Monday that it will ‌reopen withdrawals for more ​assets on ​networks including as BSC, ⁠ETH, SOL, ​XRP and ​SUI.

Reopenings will commence at 04:00 ​GMT ​on Tuesday, the business said.

Some ⁠crypto-assets on networks ARBITRUM, OPTIMISM, ​TRX, ​and ⁠BASE will also be restored for withdrawals at the same time.

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