Author: newsdesk

  • Ministry of Science solves hand sanitisers shortage

    Ministry of Science solves hand sanitisers shortage

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry tweeted on Wednesday that hand sanitizers made by PCSIR (Ministry of S&T) with WHO-approved standards are now available at a mass level. He said that all provincial governments are advised to contact PCSIR in provincial headquarters for mass supplies and they will also be made available in utility stores.

    Speaking exclusively to The Current, Chaudhry said, “We have made these hand sanitisers as per WHO [World Health Organisation ] standards. Their cost is Rs 350 per 250ml bottle. They are available at all regional headquarters and we have informed all provincial governments that if they need these for their hospitals, they can pick them up from PCSIR.”

    Read more – Can’t find hand sanitizers? Here is an effective homemade recipe

    Chaudhry further shared another major breakthrough is in the offing.

    ”NUST has made a testing kit for coronavirus so we are trying to get its commercial production started in the next 10-15 days. There were some legal matters, which we have cleared now. Expression of Interest will be with us in a day or two. Cost of this kit will be then reduced to Rs 800-1,000. Right now, private testing costs about Rs 8,000 so it will be cut down manifold. This will be a huge breakthrough,” Chaudhry told The Current.

    This announcement comes at a time when hand sanitisers are not readily available in the markets or are being sold at high prices.

  • Twitter in the time of corona

    Twitter in the time of corona

    On March 16, Brooklyn-based author Isaac Fitzgerald tweeted a question to his followers on Twitter asking them to share the object in their home that holds the most significance.

    Fitzgerald has been in self-quarantine as a precaution due to recent travel.

    He asked Twitter: “What’s the object in your home that means the most to you?” He posted a picture of the sword hanging above his desk, which he says was given to him by the King of Bhutan.

    The responses he got were quite interesting. Hundreds of responses poured in: a teacup that belonged to someone’s grandmother. A portrait of a woman’s mother, painted by her 16-year-old son. A World War II lighter that belonged to the grandfather one man had never met.

    https://twitter.com/nick_ramsey/status/1239622462171688961?s=20

    https://twitter.com/stacy_reading/status/1239569755918532608?s=20

    Fitzgerald says that in a time of social distancing, social media has allowed a new level of sharing stories and memories with each other. “Hopefully some folks took a little comfort in realising the simple fact that their homes are filled with beloved objects,” he said.

  • Tennis star helps Romania fight coronavirus

    Tennis star helps Romania fight coronavirus

    Former Wimbledon champion Simona Halep has said she has decided to donate medical equipment in Romania as her native country deals with the coronavirus pandemic.

    “We are so grateful for the bravery of our medical workers at these difficult times. I am committed to helping my country and have decided to donate medical equipment,” Halep said in a tweet. “This is the perfect opportunity to show that we know how to be supportive and responsible with our lives and those around us,” Halep told fans in a video message posted on her official Facebook page.

    “While we are at home, doctors and medical personnel make huge efforts to treat and save each life by exposing themselves for the general good…decided to donate a sum of money for the purchase of the necessary equipment and materials in such situations, the amount that will be directed immediately to the medical authorities in Bucharest and Constanta,” she added.

    “I encourage everyone who can to contribute to the joint efforts to combat this virus. In the meantime, let us all take care of ourselves, be responsible and stay positive!”

    Simina Halep is a Romanian professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles twice between 2017 and 2019. In total, she has been No. 1 for 64 weeks, which ranks tenth in the history of the Women’s Tennis Association rankings. Halep was the year-end No. 1 in 2017 and 2018.

    Over 200 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported in Romania so far.

  • Woman discovers she has been washing her hands with cheese

    Woman discovers she has been washing her hands with cheese

    A woman in the US accidentally washed her hands with a block of cheese for days after mistakenly thinking it was a bar of soap.

    Miley from Vancouver, Washington, became confused after realising her soap wasn’t foaming as usual, before she discovered it was in fact a lump of cheddar. She was trying to do her bit to stop the spread of coronavirus by thoroughly washing her hands with a bar of soap.

    Unfortunately, she instead succeeded in spreading some rather mature looking cheddar on her hands over the course of several days.

    Sharing her sorry tale on Reddit, Miley explained how the cheese ended up being mistaken for a bit of soap after it was left out of the fridge following a drunken late-night snack.

    Waking the next morning, she assumed that the lump was the remnants of a bar of soap. She also was keen to stress that she does actually keep a bar of yellow, unscented soap nearby for such use with the two evidently getting mixed up.

    “Just realised my soap wasn’t working because it’s literally a block of cheese,” she wrote.

    “I use a liquid soap for the dishes, bar soap like this is gentler on my hands after I do chores if that makes any sense [sic].”

    “It was a couple days of ‘Why isn’t this foaming?!’

    “I come to realise it was a dried-out square of Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese. I suspect I left it out when I was intoxicated and just forgot.”

  • 36 year old dies of coronavirus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

    36 year old dies of coronavirus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

    Confirming the second death due to coronavirus in Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Health Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra tweeted that a 36 year old man died because of the virus in Hangu.

    Jhagra had earlier tweeted that another patient had died due to the virus in Mardan.

    There were unconfirmed reports about a death of a coronavirus patient in Gilgit Baltistan but the government refuted the story.

    There are 296 confirmed cases in Pakistan with 19 in KP, 208 in Sindh, 28 in Punjab, 23 in Balochistan and 16 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, and two in Islamabad. The only two deaths are the patients from KP.

  • Alleged kidnapper involved in Dua Mangi’s case arrested

    Alleged kidnapper involved in Dua Mangi’s case arrested

    The prime suspect in the Dua Mangi kidnapping case has reportedly been caught while trying to escape the country. 

    As per reports, the wanted suspect was caught while boarding an airplane from Islamabad Airport as he was trying to leave the country.

    The suspect, Muddasir is one of the many wanted by the law enforcement agencies for his involvement in the high-profile kidnapping that took place last year.

    Earlier on March 3, investigation agencies claimed a major breakthrough in the investigations of kidnapping incidents of two girls, Bisma and Dua in Karachi.

    Investigation agencies have traced the gang involved in two kidnapping incidents, sources said adding that the agencies have also traced three hideouts of the alleged abductors in the city.

  • R-rated ‘Fifty Shades Freed’ number 1 on Netflix Pakistan

    The third and final installment of the Fifty Shades film trilogy 50 Shades Freed is trending at number one on Netflix Pakistan as citizens of the country practise social distancing and self-isolation amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

    As of late, Netflix has started sharing a list of ‘Top 10’ movies or seasons which are trending in different countries. According to a blog post from the company, the Top 10 row will be updated every day with “the most popular titles within a subscriber’s country, and the position of the row will also change depending on how relevant the shows and movies in the list are to their interests.”

    Subscribers can also get an even better sense of what’s trending by clicking on the individual movies and TV shows tabs to get top 10 lists for each respective category.

    Fifty Shades Freed is a 2018 American erotic romantic drama film based on E. L. James’s 2012 novel of the same name. It is the third and final installment in the Fifty Shades film trilogy, following Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) and Fifty Shades Darker (2017). The film stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan as Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, respectively, and follows the couple as they marry, and deal with Ana’s former boss, who begins to stalk them.

  • TikToker allegedly withdraws kids from school to make videos

    TikToker allegedly withdraws kids from school to make videos

    A woman has registered a case in Peshawar’s family court against her husband for not giving her the custody of their three children claiming that her husband has withdrawn them from school to make TikTok videos.

    The woman has claimed that she is TikToker Waheed Murad’s third wife and her husband has withdrawn of their children from schools and madrassas and makes them record TikTok videos with him instead.

    According to the woman, Murad has gotten married six times. He has divorced two women and now has four wives. He has 13 children from his first wife, five from the second wife and three from the petitioner.

    She claimed that he bears the expenses of his other wives because they make TikTok videos with him.

    The woman has demanded that the court makes sure that she gets her Haq Mehr and the custody of her children.

    The judge has issued notices to the respondent and asked him to appear in court on April 2.

    Here are a few TikTok videos of Waheed Murad.

  • Coronavirus: Mahira Khan reminds us ‘we’re all in this together’

    Coronavirus: Mahira Khan reminds us ‘we’re all in this together’

    With the spread of coronavirus creating panic among the people are causing anxiety, Mahira Khan, took to social media to calm her followers are remind them that “we’re all in this together.”

    She also urged her followers to protect themselves and others.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B94GvEzBbef/

    Earlier, the actor had urged her followers to practise self-isolation as much as possible.

    Cases of coronavirus have crossed 250 in Pakistan.

  • Hira Mani calls US citizens ‘cowards’ for fearing corona

    Hira Mani calls US citizens ‘cowards’ for fearing corona

    The rapid spread of coronavirus around the globe has created panic among the people and the health experts are urging people to stay at home, practise social distancing and not travel abroad.

    Amid all this, Pakistani actors Adnan Siddiqui, Hira Mani and Humayun Saeed are in the United States for Meray Paas Tum Ho ‘Meet and Greets’.

    Though they are taking precautionary measures – like wearing masks – while travelling, Hira does not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation.

    In a video on her Instagram stories, the actor says: “There’s a strict curfew here, big brands are closed, streets are empty. I went to a mall here, First Colony and there, all the Pakistani people, salesgirls were present and all white people were on leave; they turned out to be quite cowardly.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B9xPMtBpshd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
    https://www.instagram.com/p/B906UMGJMS2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    Meanwhile, Hira’s comments sparked outrage on social media.