Three 16th century paintings stolen from Oxford University
London: Three high-value 16th century paintings have been stolen from a gallery within the Oxford Universitys Christ Church college, police said on Monday.
Police said that the burglars broke into the Christ Church Picture Gallery on Saturday night and took Italian Baroque painter Salvator Rosa’s “A Rocky Coast, With Soldiers Studying A Plan”, from the late 1640s; Flemish Baroque artist Anthony Van Dyck’s “A Soldier On Horseback”, circa 1616; and Italian painter Annibale Carracci’s “A Boy Drinking”, circa 1580, reports the Metro newspaper.
Detective Chief Inspector Jon Capps, said: “The paintings which have been stolen are very high-value pieces dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries.
“The artwork has not yet been recovered but a thorough investigation is underway…”
In a statement, Christ Church said the gallery would remain closed until further notice.
The Christ Church Picture Gallery has 300 paintings and almost 2,000 drawings.
The purpose-built gallery that houses the collection was opened by the Queen in 1968. (IANS)
Italian newspaper prints 10 pages of obituaries
Rome: A newspaper in a coronavirus-hit Italian town went from having one and a half pages of obituaries to printing 10 now in just a month, a media report said.
On February 9, there were only a few to print, but by March 13 there were dozens in the L’Eco di Bergamo newspaper from the Bergamo town in Lombardy, one of the worst-hit regions in Italy, the Metro newspaper said in the report on Sunday.
A video on Twitter showed both editions of the newspaper side by side, showing the contrast as Italy’s death toll soared to 1,809 with 24,747 cases, the highest figures outside mainland China, where the virus originated last December.
A post accompanying the video said: “This is the daily newspaper of Bergamo, one of the epidemic hotspot in Italy. ePlease, stay at home and show this to anyone who tells you Covid-19 is just like the flu’.” Italy has now been on lockdown for almost a week.
The Transport Ministry banned passengers from taking ferries to the island of Sardinia and banned overnight train trips – which many in the north had been taking to reach homes and families in the south. (IANS)
Karachi shopkeepers arrested for selling overpriced sanitisers
Karachi: Two shopkeepers were arrested in Karachi for selling overpriced hand sanitisers which are high in demand as health experts have advised people to ensure hand hygiene to prevent the spreading of the novel coronavirus.
Last week, the Sindh government had imposed Section 144 (power to issue order absolute at once in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) against overpricing, reports Dawn news.
On Sunday, police raided a pharmacy in Dolmen Mall, Clifton, and arrested the shopkeeper, who was allegedly selling sanitisers at over four times the original market price.
According to the FIR, sanitisers that originally cost 120 Pakistani rupees were being sold for 500 Pakistani rupees at the. Another raid was carried out in DHA Phase VI and the shopkeeper was arrested for the same reason.
According to the FIR, police were tipped off about the alleged malpractice by an “informer”.
Currently, 35 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been detected in Sindh, out of which 18 emerged today.
In Pakistan, the number of people who tested positive for the virus stands at 53. (IANS)