Category: Lifestyle

The lifestyle of millennials is underreported in our mainstream media. The Current’s lifestyle news covers social events and issues that are unique.

  • Groping a girl okay, if it’s less than ten seconds, rules Italian court

    Groping a girl okay, if it’s less than ten seconds, rules Italian court

    Trigger warning: discussion of harassment, victim blaming

    Protests and demonstrations are erupting in Italy after a judge cleared a man of charges of sexual harassment of a teenager because the groping had lasted “a handful of seconds”.

    The survivor, a 17 year old student, took 66 year old Antonio Avola to court when he groped her in school while she was walking up the staircase with a friend in April 2022.

    She recalled her trousers fell from her waist and as she was pulling them up, she felt a hand touching her buttocks and then grabbing her underwear to lift her up by an inch.

    When she turned around, the caretaker brushed off the harassment by saying “Love, you know I was joking.”

    Avola confessed to the groping in court but said it was a joke. Prosecutors were seeking a three year jail term if convicted.

    However, the judge ruled that the grope could not be counted as harassment since it lasted “between five to 10 seconds” and was too short to be considered a crime. The judgement also ruled:

    “Furthermore, it seems likely that the brushing of the buttocks was caused by an awkward manoeuvre of the defendant which, due to the dynamics of the action, was carried out while the subject was in motion.”

    This ruling has outraged Italians who protested by posting 10 second videos of themselves touching private body parts along with the hashtag “palpata breve” (brief grope) and “10 secondi” (10 seconds).

    Speaking to The New York Times, ‘The White Lotus’ actor Paolo Camilli, who had participated in the trend, spoke about how outrageous the ruling was.

    “My first thought was, how can a person measure 10 seconds while they were being molested”, he said, further pointing out that 10 seconds can be an infinity for someone in a painful situation.

    Popular Italian influencer Francesco Cicconetti slammed the ruling in a video shared to his 200,000 followers on Instagram, writing that no man is allowed to turn a woman into their property.

    “Women’s bodies are not men’s property. Owned by no one but women themselves. It’s not the father who wants to hand it over to the husband, it’s not the boyfriend who wants to hide it, it’s neither the mate who wants to govern him, it’s nor the son who wants to protect him, he’s not the brother who wants to defend his honor.”

  • Unveiling the ‘Demon Catshark’ and a growing catalog of shark species

    Unveiling the ‘Demon Catshark’ and a growing catalog of shark species

    In the realm of deep-sea exploration, humanity’s quest for knowledge has revealed a plethora of a new shark species, the Demon Catshark.

    Once believed to consist of approximately 360 distinct species, sharks have surpassed expectations with recent discoveries pushing the count beyond 500.

    From the delicate dwarf lanternshark, measuring a mere 20cm (8in) in length, to the colossal whale shark, a filter-feeding gentle giant and the largest known fish on Earth, the diversity within the shark family continues to astonish.

    With no signs of slowing down, scientists are left to wonder what other remarkable findings await them in the uncharted depths of our oceans.

  • Suspect handed over to police by SHC for murdering his teenager wife

    Suspect handed over to police by SHC for murdering his teenager wife

    Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday rejected a suspect’s plea for pre-arrest bail in a case pertaining to the murder of his teenaged wife.

    He was handed over to the police.

    In an Instagram post, Pakistani civil rights activist and lawyer Mohammad Jibran Nasir shared that the suspect Hassan is finally in police custody almost a year after brutally murdering 19-year-old Hifza. The suspect strangled his wife and then hung her body by the ceiling fan to make it look like suicide.

    Nasir further stated that two days before her murder, Hifza on a recorded phone call, complained to her brother-in-law about being subjected to sexual violence, beatings and abuse by the suspect.

    The suspect runs a madrassah, along with his father who is co-accused in the murder case. The lawyer pinpointed that they lived in the upper portion of the madrassah where the murder was committed.

    Nasir admired the efforts made by the victim’s mother Farzana, saying it was her struggle for justice that led to the culprit’s arrest.

    In the video posted by him, police can be seen taking the suspect away while the mother of the victim tells him that he is an imposter not a mullah, “I had married my daughter to you because of your religious status, but you are a phony.” In response, the suspect threatened her that “You will be next.”

  • Iran’s ‘morality police’ back in action 10 months after nationwide protests 

    Iran’s ‘morality police’ back in action 10 months after nationwide protests 

    Iran’s notorious morality police have resumed patrolling the streets of the country, after policing efforts had been scaled back following nationwide protests that broke out across the country last year. 

    Following the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini while she was held in police custody, tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets to protest, in what some analysts say was the ‘biggest challenge‘ posed against the government since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

    During the mass protests, which lasted for months, the morality police were largely absent from Iranian streets, refraining from highly confrontational methods of enforcing mandatory hijab laws that were imposed shortly after the ‘79 revolution. There were even some reports – later denied – that they had been disbanded.

    The protests largely died down earlier this year, after a brutal crackdown in which more than 500 protestors were killed and nearly 20,000 detained by authorities. 

    Saeid Montazeralmahdi, the spokesperson for the Iranian law enforcement force, confirmed on Sunday that police patrols were now operational on foot and with vehicles to crack down on people whose head covering is not deemed appropriate in the Islamic Republic, according to Al-Jazeera.

    The Guardian reported that in Tehran, morality police has been seen patrolling the streets in marked vans.

    For the past few months, morality police have also been employing surveillance cameras with face-recognition software to identify hijab violators. The violators are given warnings, fines, or sent to appear in court.

    Mahsa Amini was detained last year on September 13th, on accounts of violating the draconian dress code law the Iranian government has in place, which mandates women wearing the hijab. According to authorities, Mahsa Amini was not wearing her hijab ‘properly’.

    Witnesses reported that she was beaten by morality police after her arrest in Tehran. The morality police maintain that Mahsa Amini suffered a heart attack and died. 

    Demonstrators initially gathered outside Kasra hospital in Tehran, where Amini was being treated. Human rights groups reported that security forces deployed pepper spray against protesters and that several were arrested.

    This year alone, there have been many high-profile hijab related incidents, including an incident in Mashadd, where a man dumped yoghurt on two women for not wearing the hijab properly. All three parties were arrested by authorities.

  • FIA report reveals fake LLB students

    FIA report reveals fake LLB students

    Nearly 4000 students from affiliated law colleges of Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) in Multan are suspected of being “non-genuine”, according to a  Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) report.

    The FIA submitted the report to the Supreme Court on Monday, which disclosed that 3,997 individuals allegedly attempted to sit the LLB exam without ever attending classes.

    According to Dawn, the FIA, along with officials from the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Higher Education Commission (HEC), constituted a joint investigation team (JIT) to question BZU officials and law college owners as ordered by the Supreme Court.

    The team examined BZU’s records and found that 3,997 students were suspected of being non-genuine. An additional 2,230 students are currently under investigation, but no adverse findings have been reported thus far.

    The JIT recommended taking legal action against the BZU officials and law colleges involved in the alleged fraud. It also called for improvements in the system of affiliating law colleges, registering students, collecting fees, and monitoring attendance to prevent future scams.

  • Orangi Town trolls Mayor of Karachi for claiming Jahangir Road storm water drainage has been completed

    Orangi Town trolls Mayor of Karachi for claiming Jahangir Road storm water drainage has been completed

    On Saturday, the Mayor of Karachi, Murtaza Wahab, published a tweet claiming that work on the storm water drain of Jahangir Road had been completed, and now contractors are beginning the construction phase of the road itself. 

    However, the tweet read that road work would not be finalised and that the storm water train would be ‘tested’ during the oncoming expected rain before a final binder takes place.

    It didn’t take long for the Orangi Town Twitter to clap back with its response: “It’s time to do the test, why is Murtaza bhai making a fool of the public? Now when this road sinks, you’ll say we were only testing it.” 

    Many Twitter users chimed in with similar opinions.

    One account tweeted, “Testing the drainage or [testing] public patience? This road has been in poor condition for ages. But now you have the plausible deniability, have to give it to you.”

    Another one added, “I hope the root of issue was solved or else it will be the same after a month just like at NIPA, where you posted pictures too.”

    Jahangir Road has for years been subject to terrible conditions, with poor drainage systems leading water to inundate the 1.5 kilometre long road, triggering terrible congestion as well as accidents. 

    Many residents complain that Jahangir Road is practically inundated the entire year, according to Geo News.

  • Police arrest suspect behind rape at Islamabad’s Margalla hill hiking trail 

    Police arrest suspect behind rape at Islamabad’s Margalla hill hiking trail 

    Islamabad police have on Sunday arrested the suspect involved in the alleged rape of a woman that took place on trail 3 of the capital’s Margalla Hills.

    Last week Friday, the Islamabad police registered a first information report (FIR) after a woman complained that a man had lured her with a job prospect before raping her at gunpoint on Thursday afternoon. 

    According to the FIR, the complainant had been looking for a job and received a message via WhatsApp from a person around two months ago, Dawn reports.

    “He told me he was an accountant in the education department, where some vacancies were available,” the victim is quoted as saying in the FIR. In return for a job, the man asked for Rs50,000. 

    After some correspondence, where the victim met the suspect and provided him with her curriculum vitae and Rs30,000, saying she would pay the remaining 20,000 once she received a written order of employment.

    Under the guise of picking up the victim for a job interview, the suspect drove her to Margalla Hills’ trail 3, where the victim said she was taken to the jungle and raped at gunpoint around 3pm. 

    In a statement issued on Sunday, the Islamabad Police said it was successful in arresting the suspect after a three-day effort, adding that they arrested the man on ‘technical bases’, claiming the victim was not assisting the police in the investigation. 

    Statement issued by Islamabad Police via Twitter.

    Moreover, they said that the investigation is taking place ‘on merit’, citing the victim’s medical report in which apparently no evidence of abuse was found. 

    Furthermore, the statement reveals the complainant and the accused knew each other. However, Islamabad Police asserted that all aspects of the case will be investigated.

  • Masood suicide case: Recordings of calls with lenders reveal pressure on victim

    Masood suicide case: Recordings of calls with lenders reveal pressure on victim

    Following the suicide of Muhammad Masood, a victim of online loan sharks, his last voice note and conversations with the representative of the online loan lenders have revealed the pressure and emotional strain the deceased person was going through.

    Lahore Rang has shed light on the final days of the man who borrowed money to pay his children’s school fee.

    A recording of Mr Masood’s last message to his loved ones state, “I could neither be a good father, a good husband nor a good son. I’m under debt as I took loan and it’s all piled up with interest now. That’s the reason why I’ve been requesting you to sell the house, but you refused. The loan lenders have made my life miserable. I had no other option. Please forgive me. Keep my phone powered off for at least a month and then hand it over to Muneeb after throwing away the sim cards. I’m so sorry. Masood.”
    The 42-year-old was being incessantly harassed and threatened by the loan lenders. In one recording, a representative of the loan sharks can be heard blackmailing Masood, hurling threats, adding female members of the victim’s family to the call and insulting them along with him.
    In one recording he could be heard telling Masood to kill himself. His exact words were, “Get on video call with me right now and shoot yourself.” To which the poor man replied that he will.
    The victim’s brother has filed a complaint with the cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency, seeking justice for Muhammad Masood.

    Pakistan 24 has reported that two offices of such illegal companies have been sealed by the FIA, during raids carried out in the light of the mobile records of Masood.

  • 69 per cent of child abuse victims are boys, report reveals

    69 per cent of child abuse victims are boys, report reveals

    A ‘confidential’ report from the home department has revealed that the number of boys facing atrocities of child abuse is higher than that of girls in Punjab.

    Dawn shared the findings of the said report on Friday, revealing that during the first five and a half months of 2023, a total of 1,390 incidents of child abuse were reported in Punjab, among them 69 per cent were boys while 31 per cent were girls.

    The report identified several key factors hindering the control of sexual crimes against children and it also provided recommendations to combat them.

    The report disclosed that out of all the culprits facing trials in courts in cases of child abuse, 55 per cent were neighbors, 32 per cent were strangers, and 13 per cent were relatives.

    Furthermore, the report revealed that Gujranwala region/division reported the highest number of child abuse incidents (220), followed by DG Khan (199), Faisalabad (186), Multan (140), Bahawalpur (129), Sheikhupura (128), Sahiwal (127), Sargodha (103), and others. The Rawalpindi region and Lahore city had the lowest numbers, with 69 and 89 cases, respectively.

    “It is also concerning that many cases go unreported. Fear and cultural taboos in our society make it difficult to report such crimes,” read the findings of the report. It underscored that lack of support from family members, friends, neighbors, or the community makes it immensely difficult for the victim to speak up against the abuser.

    The home department recommended that the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) play a more active role in child protection. It suggested that the CPWB should have a dedicated team of professionals, including child protection officers, psychologists, law officers, and doctors, to safeguard children from abuse and aid victim rehabilitation.

    The report stressed the need for a well-defined coordination mechanism among different stakeholders, including police, parents, CPWBs, and relevant federal and provincial agencies. It strongly recommended that national and provincial legislatures review existing child protection laws and reform the existing apparatus.

    The home department has sent the report to the Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) and the Regional Police Officers (RPOs) for strict implementation of provided recommendations.

  • Critics slam world’s largest cruise ship as a “monstrosity” comparable to Titanic

    Critics slam world’s largest cruise ship as a “monstrosity” comparable to Titanic

    The Icon of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, operated by Royal Caribbean International, has faced heavy criticism from skeptics who liken its upcoming maiden voyage to the ill-fated Titanic, according to The New York Post.

    Royal Caribbean International President and CEO, Michael Bayley, views the ship as a revolutionary advancement in sea travel, positioning it as the ultimate family vacation.

    Set to embark on its first journey in January of next year, the ship has an astounding internal volume of 250,800 gigatonnes (GT), dwarfing the Titanic’s 46,328 GT.

    The vessel boasts an array of features, including seven pools, nine whirlpools, and a record-breaking water park with six slides aptly named “Category 6.” It spans 19 floors, equivalent to the height of a New York City building, accommodating approximately 5,610 passengers and 2,350 crew members.

    While the ship has completed its initial tests, critics argue that its grand scale does not guarantee an improved experience.

    Online commentators have expressed their dismay, labeling the Icon of the Seas a nightmare and comparing it to visions of hell. Despite skepticism, the ship has generated significant attention, with the cheapest ticket for a seven-night cruise priced at $1,851 and the most expensive at $10,864.

    As the vessel’s maiden voyage approaches, opinions remain divided, with some fascinated by the ship’s remarkable features while others view it with intense dread. The ship’s size and ambitious design have ignited a spirited debate about the future of cruising and whether bigger truly means better in the eyes of travelers.