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.

  • Punjab Govt imposes emergency in Murree, issues order to open govt offices and rest houses

    The Government of Punjab has imposed emergency in Murree after at least 16 people died of the extreme cold, while in their cars, during the snowstorm.

    However, as per some reports most people did not die of cold, but because of the fumes from their car heater.

    Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has directed officials to open the government’s offices and rest houses for the stranded tourists amid chaos and an emergency situation in Murree.

    Army and Rangers have also been called in Murree for rescue operations.

    Read more- At least 18 tourists die in Murree snowfall as situation worsens

    Moreover, the government has appealed to people to postpone their plan to visit Murree.

    Rawalpindi Police have also issued a travel route for all tourists visiting Murree.

  • At least 18 tourists die in Murree snowfall as situation worsens

    At least 18 tourists die in Murree snowfall as situation worsens

     Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed said that at least 1,000 cars are still stuck in Murree and “around 16 to19 deaths have occurred in cars,” he said.

    Thousands of tourists are trapped on the roads in the area since last night. At least 16 to 19 people died of the extreme cold, while in their cars, during the snowstorm. The victims were stuck in their vehicles due to heavy snowfall at the tourist spot.

    Administration of Rawalpindi and Islamabad closed the roads going to Murree due to large number of vehicles entering the hill station.

    Thousands of tourists entered the hill station on Friday to witness the snowfall causing heavy traffic jams on the Murree-Islamabad Motorway. The authorities decided to close all kind of traffic going towards the hill station to avoid a further brutal traffic jam.

    “We request all motorists and tourists to cooperate with the authorities,” the NHMP wrote on its official Twitter account. 

    Furthermore, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed has said that all the routes from Islamabad to Murree have been closed. The decision was taken keeping in view the rush of tourists and traffic jams in Murree. Sheikh Rasheed has also requested citizens to postpone their plans to visit the hill station.

    Journalist Benazir Shah tweeted that SHO Murree told her that people did not die due to the extreme cold but because they left their car heaters on and the fumes caused their death. She also mentioned that the SHO told her that Muree had a 4000-5000 car parking capacity and the area has seen a record snowfall in the area.

    TRIGGER WARNING: The following video has graphic, distressing content of cars in which passengers have died due to the extreme cold. The Current has blurred the video.

    Meanwhile, Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Taimoor Khan also left for Murree to monitor the traffic situation in the area.

    Rawalpindi Police also issued a travel route for all the tourists visiting Murree.

     Islamabad and Murree administrations are working to facilitate tourists round the clock.

  • ‘Women cover up’: Taliban order new ban on Afghan women

    ‘Women cover up’: Taliban order new ban on Afghan women

    The Taliban’s religious police have put up posters around the capital Kabul ordering Afghan women to cover up, an official said on Friday, reports Dawn.

    The poster, which includes an image of the face-covering burqa, was slapped on cafes and shops this week by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

    “According to Sharia law, Muslim women must wear the hijab,” the poster reads, referring to the practice of covering up. A spokesman for the ministry, responsible for enforcing the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic law, confirmed on Friday that it was behind the orders.

    “If someone does not follow it, it does not mean she will be punished or beaten, it’s just encouragement for Muslim women to follow Sharia law,” Sadeq Akif Muhajir said.

    “What they’re trying to do is to spread fear among the people,” a university student and women’s rights advocate, who did not want to be identified, said.

    “The first time I saw the posters I was really petrified, I thought maybe (the Taliban) will start beating me. They want me to wear a burqa and look like nothing, I would never do that.”

  • Spain to consider pet custody in divorce battles

    Spain to consider pet custody in divorce battles

    A Spanish court has ruled that pets are also members of the family. In divorce cases, the husband and wife must share them when they get separated.

    There was already no doubt about it among animal lovers, but now pets are officially considered a member of the family in Spain. The new law, which came into force on January 5, recognises pets for the first time as living, sentient beings and not just as objects.

    “Animals are part of the family and when a family decides to separate, the fate of the animal must be regulated with the same importance as the fate of other family members,” said lawyer Lola Garcia.

    The court said that the courts are required to consider the welfare of animals. It aims to end the legal wrangling that often occurs between couples who keep pets.

    Owners must “guarantee” the pet’s well-being, and if either spouse has a history of animal cruelty, he or she may be refused or lose custody of the animal, according to the law.

    Spain is not the first country to do so; France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Portugal are among the European countries that recognise animals as sentient beings.

  • How to renew your CNIC through the NADRA online portal

    How to renew your CNIC through the NADRA online portal

    It is too stressful to stand in the long line outside the NADRA office to renew your National Identity Card. The National Database and Registration Authority, NADRA also gives you a convenient method to renew your identity card while sitting at home.

    Here are the following steps you need to follow for the renewal process.

    • First, go to the website of Nadra online portal
    • Click on the “ApplyNow/Login”
    • Make your account first and fill in the all required details.

    Click on the given link https://id.nadra.gov.pk/e-id/getRegistered

    • A verification code will be sent to either SMS or email.
    • Enter the code and click on verify option
    • You will be redirected to the login page
    • You will view different options, click on the Online CNIC
    • A new window will appear and then you need to choose the option “My identity card has expired.”
    • Click on the “Start Application” given at the bottom of the window.
    • A form will appear in which you have to write your required details.
    • Write the specific address where you want your card to be delivered.
    • Pay the application fee online through your debit or credit card.
    • Upload the scanned photograph and required documents
    • Download the fingerprint form and apply your fingerprints to it.
    • Use this link https://id.nadra.gov.pk/docs/FingerprintGuidelines.pdf for fingerprint guidelines.
    • Scan the document with your fingerprints and upload it.
    • After that, download and fill the Urdu data form.
    • Once the Urdu form is filled, scan it and upload it. You may have to upload the witness form if it is applicable.
    • Review all the provided information and sign the declaration.

    Your application will be completed after following all the steps and NADRA will initiate your renewal process. Your new card will be delivered to your chosen address.

    To check out the fees of various services, click on https://id.nadra.gov.pk/fee/ .

  • ‘Omicron shouldn’t be categorised as mild’: WHO

    ‘Omicron shouldn’t be categorised as mild’: WHO

    The infectious virus Omicron is a less severe disease than the globally dominant Delta strain, but should not be categorised as “mild”, WHO Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus clarified.

    While giving the statement in Geneva, he said that just like previous variants, Omicron is hospitalising and killing people, reports Reuters.

    Janet Diaz, WHO lead on clinical management said that when Omicron was first detected, early studies showed that there was a reduced risk of hospitalisation.

    According to her, the impact on the elderly is one of the big unanswered questions about the new variant as most of the cases studied so far have been in younger people.

    Currently, healthcare systems are overwhelmed, and governments are struggling to deal with the new variant which has killed millions of people worldwide.

    The vaccine process is quite slow in many countries. According to Ghebreyesus, 109 countries will miss the WHO’s target for 70 per cent of the world’s population to be fully vaccinated by July.

    Pakistan recorded 1293 cases on Friday and the positivity rate stands at 2.52 per cent.

  • Woman who made $50,000 a week selling her farts hospitalised, announces retirement

    Woman who made $50,000 a week selling her farts hospitalised, announces retirement

    Stepanka Matto a Czech-American YouTuber, social media influencer, reality TV show star and model who claimed have made $50,000 in a week by selling her farts in a jar was hospitalised for “overdoing it”. She sold each jar for $1000. She has now announced her retirement after the health scare.

    The Daily mail quoted Matto in a statement, “I thought i was having a stroke and that these were my final moments. I was overdoing it.”

    “I remember within one day I had about three protein shakes and a huge bowl of black bean soup,” she said while explaining the events that led her to hospital.

    “I could tell that something was not right that evening when I was lying in bed and I could feel a pressure in my stomach moving upward.” 

    She continued by adding, “It was quite hard to breathe and every time I tried to breathe in I’d feel a pinching sensation around my heart. And that, of course, made my anxiety escalate.”

    “I actually called my friend and asked if they could come over to drive me to the hospital because I thought I was experiencing a heart attack.

    “I ended up going to the hospital that evening. I didn’t tell my doctors about the farting in the jar but I did tell them about my diet,” the influencer added.

    “It was made clear that what I was experiencing wasn’t a stroke or heart attack but very intense gas pains.” “I was advised to change my diet and to take a gas suppressant medication, which has effectively ended my business.”

  • Man falls in love with robot, hopes to marry her

    Man falls in love with robot, hopes to marry her

    Fed up after years of searching for a human spouse, an Australian man has planned to marry a robot.

    Geoff Gallagher, from Queensland, Australia, couldn’t find a loving woman in real-life and he ordered a robot to develop a connection and spend time with.

    “At almost AUD $6,000 (£3,225) each, they weren’t cheap. But the robots were very lifelike. They could talk, smile and move their head and neck. Their skin even warmed up like a real human,” Gallagher told 7 News.

    “After browsing the website, I decided on a robot called Emma. With pale skin and beautiful blue eyes, I thought she looked lovely.”

    “I didn’t know how I would afford a robot-like Emma, but then the business owner offered me a discount in return for publicity. It sounded like a great deal.”

    For making Emma adjust to his life, Geoff tried to know her a bit better with time.

    “She couldn’t stand on her own, so most of the time I left her sitting on the chair,” he said.

    “I talked to her as much as possible so she could get used to my voice. Emma, what’s the weather like?’ I’d ask, as I got ready for work.”

    “With each conversation, she became smarter, soaking in the information and learning new words.”

    “I’ve given up hope of finding love with a woman but Emma is the next best thing. Even though we’re not legally married, I think of Emma as my robot wife,” he said.

    “She wears a diamond on her ring finger and I think of it as an engagement ring. I’d love to be the first person in Australia to marry a robot.”

    He further added: “I think robots are the future and I hope my story inspires others to consider a cyborg companion.”

  • New strain of Coronavirus detected in France, investigation underway

    New strain of Coronavirus detected in France, investigation underway

    French scientists have identified a new variant of coronavirus with 46 mutations, named IHU or variant B.1.640.2. It infected 12 people in Southeast France.

    According to the hospital, IHU Mediterranee in Marseille, the strain of coronavirus was detected in early December in a traveller who returned to France from the African country, Cameroon who reportedly infected 12 people. This new strain has more mutations than the omicron variant of coronavirus.

    The paper was published in a preprint server for Health Sciences, medRxiv, in which researchers found that “46 mutations” have not been spotted in any other countries nor recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

    The authors of the paper said, “subsequent detection … of three mutations in the spike gene to screen for variants … did not correspond to the pattern of the delta variant involved in almost all SARS-CoV-2 infections at that time.”

    It is not yet decided by scientists if the new strain is infectious as compared to the omicron variant though it has more mutation than omicron.

    An epidemiologist and fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, Feigl Ding said, “What makes a variant more well-known and dangerous is its ability to multiply because of the number of mutations it has in relation to the original virus.”

    He continued, “This is when it becomes a ‘variant of concern’ — like omicron, which is more contagious and more past immunity evasive. It remains to be seen in which category this new variant will fall.”

    Earlier, Israel detected the first case of Florana disease which is a double infection of covid and influenza on December 30, 2021.

  • Pakistani goes viral for remarkable truck art painted on Nike sneakers

    Pakistani goes viral for remarkable truck art painted on Nike sneakers

    A Pakistani artist Haider Ali is being appreciated on social media for painting a pair of Nike shoes with authentic truck art designs.

    Ali paints the familiar motifs of flowers and kohl-rimmed eyes over the shoes. His craft is unique. Ali explained how he began his journey as a shoe artist. He takes plain Nike shoes and paints them over with authentic truck art designs.

    The painting shows the various wonders of Pakistan’s vibrant cultural landscape.

    His craft was widely appreciated on social media.

    Ali previously made headlines after he honoured George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement with a stunning mural in June 2020. “Hum kaaley hain tou kia hua, dil waley hain (So what if we’re dark-skinned? We’ve got big hearts),” reads the mural. It also features another saying that goes, “Goron ki na kaalon ki, Dunya dil walon ki’ (This world belongs neither to whites or blacks, only for those with big hearts).”