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.

  • Fee increased for driving licenses in Punjab

    Fee increased for driving licenses in Punjab

    The Punjab government has announced a new fee schedule for different vehicles, which will be implemented from January 16.

    The driving license fee for motorcycles and motorcycle-rickshaws is reduced from Rs. 550 to 500 while the fee for other vehicles has been greatly increased.

    For instance, the license fee for the Motorcar Jeep has been increased from Rs. 950 to 1800. The detailed schedule is mentioned in the tweet below.

    According to the official statement released by the Lahore Traffic Police, you can now apply online via the website https://dlims.punjab.gov.pk/. You can also download e-challans from the same portal.

    Licenses can be applied for via helpline number 735. The fine for driving any vehicle without a license is Rs. 2000.

    Additionally, driving a bike without a helmet will also be fine with Rs. 2000.

  • ‘Aloo Baingan’ ranked one of the worst desi dishes by food, travel survey

    ‘Aloo Baingan’ ranked one of the worst desi dishes by food, travel survey

    In a recent survey, food and travel guide ‘Taste Atlas’ published a list, where Aloo Baingan was in the 60th position, with a 2.7 rating out of five.

    TasteAtlas, a global food review publication, compiles its list based on user ratings and reviews. Aloo Baingan received a 2.7 out of 5-star rating, which is apparently low enough to land it on the list. Although listed as Indian, the dish is equally popular in Pakistan.

    As per TasteAtlas, “Simple and flavourful, aloo baingan is a dish made with a combination of eggplants and potatoes, cooked together with onions, tomatoes, and various spices. The name of the dish specifies its key ingredients since aloo means potatoes, and baingan means eggplant.
    It is a type of sabzi (dry curry) that is usually served with flatbreads such as roti and naan. It is said that aloo baingan is even better if made in advance, as the flavours deepen while the dish rests.”

    The rating stirred the internet as everybody started expressing their likes and dislikes but it turns out that people share a love-hate relationship with baingan (eggplant).

    Netizen commented, “How can someone label a dish with baingan as one of the worst? Westerners seriously lack taste buds”.

    A user, Nabeel Ahmed commented that it is completely ‘unjust’ as the dish served with boiled rice is commendable. He urged the dish Aloo Baingan to be given due respect.

    Another user, Surbhi shared her preference as aloo baingan to be bearable because in her view Torai is the worst.

    A couple of internet users stated clearly that they do hate the dish and some declared to neither hate it nor like it much.

    The debate tickled a funny bone in some, as a user referred to the famous rhyme, “Aloo Kachalo Miyan Kahan gaye thay” by commenting, “I hate baingan since the day he kicked the aloo in Baingan ne laat mari or aloo ro raha tha”.

  • Having trouble with renewing your passport? There’s a WhatsApp number you can contact for help

    Having trouble with renewing your passport? There’s a WhatsApp number you can contact for help

    The Department of Immigration and Passports has released a phone number and WhatsApp number for complaints and awareness on the issuance or renewal of passports.

    Afzal Nadeem Dogar’s report in Geo states that the Director General of Immigration and Passports, Mustafa Jamal Qazi, explained that due to his efforts, the issuance of passports is going on as usual. However, if the public has any problems, they should call phone numbers 0519107072 and 0519107072 to register their complaints or get information.

    According to DG Immigration and Passports, in case of delays in receipts or printing of passports, citizens should send a photo of their passport token receipt to WhatsApp number 03368566685 so that their complaint can be redressed.

    To read more: Why aren’t you getting your passport?

  • Winter vacations extended for junior students after deaths of 36 children in Punjab

    Winter vacations extended for junior students after deaths of 36 children in Punjab

    The caretaker government of Punjab has extended winter holidays for junior students till Grade One.

    Students of all classes till Grade One will commence school on January 16, whereas middle school students and seniors are advised to stay indoors.

    The caretaker Chief Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, has also cancelled morning assembly sessions till January 31.

    The announcement came as the CM was visiting Children’s Hospital, Lahore. He took notice of about three dozen deaths of children due to pneumonia in the province, the chief minister on Wednesday also decided to postpone all examinations slated to be held during this month.

    Announcing the holiday extension CM added, schools up to class 1 will be shut down across Punjab.

    Mohsin Naqvi summoned an emergency meeting at Children’s Hospital in Lahore on Wednesday in this regard, saying 8 out of every 10 children are suffering from pneumonia. 36 kids have died due to this in Punjab.

    Most of the deceased children are babies younger than six months, he added.

    Mohsin Naqvi emphasized the importance of children using masks and washing hands in Lahore. This is made mandatory in schools.

    He also recommends the use of warm clothes amid the surge in cases of viral Pneumonia, especially in children, as highlighted by health experts in Lahore.

  • Four crores looted from bus passengers in Rawalpindi

    Four crores looted from bus passengers in Rawalpindi

    Four crore rupees were looted late in the night from passengers in a bus on Chakwal road, reports 24 Pakistan.

    The late-night robbery was been committed in Dhok Amb area of Jatli police station in Rawalpindi.

    The robbers looted all the passengers on the bus, travelling from Peshawar to Lahore, on Suhawa Chakwal Road after the vehicle had to exit the Motorway at Balaksar Interchange due to intense fog.

    A passenger named Daniyal informed the police over the phone that he was a cattle trader who was going to Lahore from Peshawar by public transport bus. The robbers fled the scene.

    Passengers on the bus were mostly cattle traders travelling from Peshawar to Lahore to buy cattle.

    Police were told that seven robbers, riding in a Toyota Corolla, blocked the bus before looting the passengers.

  • Palestinian Journalist Freed From Israeli Custody Abused: Report

    Palestinian Journalist Freed From Israeli Custody Abused: Report

    London-based media outlet The New Arab announced on Tuesday the release of one of its Palestinian journalists from Israeli custody, alleging he faced torture during more than a month in detention.

    Diaa al-Kahlout, who was among dozens of Palestinians shown detained by Israeli troops and stripped to their underwear in north Gaza last month, had been released back into the Palestinian territory, the Qatari-owned outlet said.

    In an report on its website, Kahlout told The New Arab he had faced “indescribably tough and difficult” conditions following his arrest.

    The 37-year-old said he had been beaten and tortured.

    “The moment I was detained, Israeli soldiers crowded round me… before they gagged me with tape so I couldn’t speak.”

    Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has said following his arrest the journalist was briefly held in Eshel prison in Israel and was subjected to torture, according to several of the organisation’s sources.

    The bloodiest ever Gaza war broke out after Hamas gunmen launched their October 7 attack that resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

  • Grades 9 and 10 to have fewer subjects

    Grades 9 and 10 to have fewer subjects

    Lahore Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) announced the reduction of one subject each for matric and ninth classes.

    In a report, Geo’s Ummay Farwa talked to the spokesperson of the board who said that for the session 2024-2026, only ninth-standard students will take Islamic Studies exams, while matric students will appear for the Pakistan Studies examination.

    The report elaborates that marks for Islamic Studies have been increased from 50 to 100, while the same applies to Pakistan Studies. Since the marks have been moved up, the Punjab Textbook Board has been asked to print books in line with the development, it added.

    Moreover, BISE Lahore has also announced that Punjab Matric Exams for 2024 will begin on March 1.

  • ‘Ceasefire Now’; Joe Biden’s speech interrupted by pro-Palestinian protestors

    ‘Ceasefire Now’; Joe Biden’s speech interrupted by pro-Palestinian protestors

    American President Joe Biden’s speech at a church in South Carolina was interrupted by chants of “Ceasefire Now” by supporters of the Palestinian cause. The president was there as part of the presidential campaign to woo black voters. This is the same church where a white supremacist shot nine black people in 2015.

    As he was talking about the horrific incident, one protestor got up and said, “If you really care about the lives lost here, then you should honour lives lost and call for a ceasefire in Palestine.” She was then joined by others saying, “Ceasefire Now”. One of them was seen shouting “Blood on your hands” to Biden.

    The President was seen calming the charged crowd by raising a hand and saying, “That’s alright”. As security personnel removed the protesters from the church, he said: “I understand their passion, and I’ve been quietly working, quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza.”

    According to the Gaza health ministry, more than 23,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7.

    Biden faced the same situation previously at a human rights’ dinner in Washington DC where pretended to not listen.

  • iPhone found undamaged after 16,000-foot drop from Alaska Airlines

    iPhone found undamaged after 16,000-foot drop from Alaska Airlines

    An iPhone was found undamaged after a staggering 16,000- foot drop from Alaska Airlines flight 1282 on Sunday, January 7.

    A person posted on X that ge discovered the phone and documented their findings with a set of images.

    “Found an iPhone on the side of the road… Still in airplane mode with half a battery and open to a baggage claim for #AlaskaAirlines ASA1282 Survived a 16,000-foot drop perfectly intact! When I called it in, Zoe at @NTSB said it was the second phone to be found. No door yet”.

    According to a report published by Verge, the phone remained intact because the ground absorbed most of the impact.

  • Girl commits suicide from coffee shop’s top floor in Lahore

    Girl commits suicide from coffee shop’s top floor in Lahore

    TW: A young girl jumped from the top floor of a coffee shop in Defence, Lahore, in what is being said was an attempt at committing suicide.

    A report filed by ARY News has said that police officials revealed that the girl fell on the roof of a parked car outside the coffee shop. Rescue officials shifted the girl to the nearest hospital in critical condition.

    According to Propergaanda, The tragic incident took place in The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf of Defence-B area of Lahore. The girl was identified as Esha Jamshaid. According to the police, Esha’s parents stated that she was under mental stress and was on medication when she went to the café with a friend on Monday.

    The video of the girl jumping off the roof has gone viral, prompting people to think about the very pertinent issue of mental health.
    A user wrote, “Psychological issues are main cause of such acts , may Allah create ease for everyone”.