LONDON – British Health Minister Matt Hancock resigned after a clip emerged of him kissing a colleague in his ministerial office in a breach of Covid restrictions.
The 42-year-old, father of three, handed his resignation to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday after a British tabloid published the pictures of him embracing a woman who he had appointed to a taxpayer-funded role to scrutinize the performance of his department.
I have resigned as Health Secretary pic.twitter.com/eyWi1AA19i
— Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) June 26, 2021
In his resignation letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the 42-year-old wrote ‘I want to reiterate my apology for breaking the guidance, and apologize to my family and loved ones for putting them through this, and I also need to be with my children at this time.’
— Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) June 26, 2021
‘The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis.’ He further said ‘we owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down as I have done by breaching the guidance.’
Reports in international media cited that the pictures that enraged the masses were captured on May 6 - almost 11 days before lockdown rules were eased.
The conservative party member has been at the center of the government’s campaign against the Covid pandemic, routinely appearing on mainstream media to tell people to follow the strict rules to contain the deadly virus.
An opposition leader took to Twitter and wrote that ‘Hancock was right to resign but Boris Johnson should have sacked him.’
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has one of the highest official death tolls from the novel disease in the world as almost 128,000 people have succumbed to the pandemic.
Pakistani rupee continued its momentum against the US dollar, and orther currencies in the open market on Thursday, as the local currency also improved in the inter-bank market.
On Thursday, the US dollar moved down and was being quoted at 283.2 for buying and 286.15 for selling.
Euro comes down to 308 for buying and 311 for selling. British Pound rate dropped to 358.5 for buying, and 362 for selling.
UAE Dirham AED witnessed slight drop and new rate stands at 77.4 whereas the Saudi Riyal remained stable at 76.
Source: Forex Association of Pakistan. (last update 09:00 AM)
Currency | Symbol | Buying | Selling |
---|---|---|---|
US Dollar | USD | 283.2 | 286.15 |
Euro | EUR | 308 | 311 |
UK Pound Sterling | GBP | 358.5 | 362 |
U.A.E Dirham | AED | 77.4 | 78.1 |
Saudi Riyal | SAR | 76 | 76.8 |
Australian Dollar | AUD | 187.2 | 189 |
Bahrain Dinar | BHD | 757.23 | 765.23 |
Canadian Dollar | CAD | 209 | 211 |
China Yuan | CNY | 39.89 | 40.29 |
Danish Krone | DKK | 41.19 | 41.59 |
Hong Kong Dollar | HKD | 36.41 | 36.76 |
Indian Rupee | INR | 3.42 | 3.53 |
Japanese Yen | JPY | 1.39 | 1.45 |
Kuwaiti Dinar | KWD | 921.71 | 930.71 |
Malaysian Ringgit | MYR | 61.02 | 61.62 |
New Zealand Dollar | NZD | 174.54 | 176.54 |
Norwegians Krone | NOK | 26.05 | 26.35 |
Omani Riyal | OMR | 739.62 | 747.62 |
Qatari Riyal | QAR | 78.22 | 78.92 |
Singapore Dollar | SGD | 211 | 213 |
Swedish Korona | SEK | 27.12 | 27.42 |
Swiss Franc | CHF | 324.94 | 327.44 |
Thai Bhat | THB | 8.06 | 8.21 |
Gold price in Pakistan remained under pressure as the yellow metal moved down despite an upward trend in the international market.
On Thursday, the price of a single tola of 24-karat gold stands at Rs217,100 and 10 grams of 24k gold costs Rs186,130.
Single tola of 22 Karat Gold costs Rs199,000, 21 karat rate for per tola is Rs189,960 and 18k gold rate is Rs162,825.00 for each tola.
In the global market, gold prices hover at around $2026, gaining $8.30 on Thursday.
Today Gold Price in Pakistan (4 September 2023)
City | Gold | Silver |
---|---|---|
Lahore | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Karachi | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Islamabad | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Peshawar | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Quetta | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Sialkot | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Attock | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Gujranwala | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Jehlum | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Multan | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Bahawalpur | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Gujrat | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Nawabshah | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Chakwal | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Hyderabad | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Nowshehra | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Sargodha | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Faisalabad | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
Mirpur | PKR 217,100 | PKR 2,565 |
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