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.

  • JN.1 : New Covid variant spreading in Pakistan

    JN.1 : New Covid variant spreading in Pakistan

    The emergence of a new coronavirus variant, JN1, a subvariant of Omicron, has raised concerns as four cases were confirmed on Sunday in Pakistan.

    A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health confirmed that all four patients had recovered without encountering any complications, reports the Express Tribune.

    Amid global attention on the new strain, the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified JN1 as a “variant of interest.” Presently, WHO assesses the risk to public health from this strain as low based on existing evidence.

    Dr Nadeem Jan, the caretaker health minister, has said that authorities are closely monitoring the situation, adding that approximately 90 per cent of Pakistan’s population has received vaccination against Covid-19, a critical measure in combatting the spread of such variants.

    As winter brings its challenges, Dr Jan reiterated the importance of preventive measures, urging the public to continue wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and following health guidelines to curb the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

    A few days ago, the federal government decided to secure 500,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine in response to the potential resurgence of the new variant observed in multiple countries.

    The procurement strategy for Pfizer vaccines from the US was devised based on recommendations from the Emergency Operation Centre’s (EOC) technical advisory group.

    Previously, the Sindh Health Department confirmed the presence of a new variant of COVID-19 in two passengers arriving from overseas at Karachi Airport. However, it had clarified that no cases of the variant have been reported within the Sindh province.

  • Winter vacations extended in KP, timings changed in Sindh

    Winter vacations extended in KP, timings changed in Sindh

    Winter vacations extended in KP on the pretext of cold while the timings for schools have been revised in Sindh for the same.

    The caretaker government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has extended winter holidays for government and private primary schools until January 13 due to severe cold and fog.

    As per official notification, all private and government primary schools (from playgroup to Class 5) across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will remain closed till January 13 due to the prevailing cold weather conditions.

    The timings for the middle/ primary, high, and higher secondary schools will be from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, instead of the previous 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. The notification further mentioned that these timings will remain in force for a week, after which the previous schedule will be followed.

    Sindh government has revised the timings for all government and private educational institutions till January 31, reportedly owing to the cold wave.

    As per a notification issued by the provincial School Education and Literacy Department dated January 8, public and private schools under the administrative control of the School Education and Literacy Department will function from 9am onwards.
    However, this notification does not apply to private institutions.

  • Gunman dressed as lawyer opens fire in Peshawar court

    Gunman dressed as lawyer opens fire in Peshawar court

    A gunman opened fire within the premises of the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Peshawar’s judicial complex on Monday, injuring three persons and killing one, media reports have said.

    Eyewitnesses on the scene reported that the alleged shooter, disguised as a lawyer, opened fire inside the ATC, creating panic throughout the judicial complex.

    The incident left four individuals severely injured, prompting an urgent response from law enforcement.

    The injured victims were swiftly and efficiently transported to the hospital.

    Tragically, Lady Reading Hospital Spokesperson Muhammad Asim revealed that one of the wounded individuals succumbed to injuries before reaching the medical facility.

    “Four people were brought to the hospital – one deceased and three injured,” stated the hospital’s spokesperson.

    According to senior journalist Iftikhar Firdous, the attacker has been arrested by police from the premises. He was one of the parties whose case was scheduled for hearing.

    Firdous questioned the level of security in the court in a tweet he posted on X, “And this is the security in a courtroom?”

    However, investigations are underway to ascertain the motives behind the attack and the identity of the assailant.

  • India’s Top Court Overrules Early Release Of 11 In Gang Rape Case

    India’s Top Court Overrules Early Release Of 11 In Gang Rape Case

    India’s top court ruled Monday that 11 murderers convicted of a gang rape that drew global outrage but who were released early must return to jail.

    Bilkis Bano and two of her children were the only survivors among a group of Muslims attacked by a Hindu mob in the western state of Gujarat in 2002 during one of post-independence India’s worst religious riots.

    Bilkis was pregnant at the time and seven of the 14 people murdered were relatives, including her three-year-old daughter.

    The attack took place when Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi, now India’s prime minister, was the premier of Gujarat.

    Modi was accused of turning a blind eye to the riots but was cleared of any wrongdoing in 2012, two years before his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won national power.

    The 11 convicts were freed in August 2022 following a recommendation by a state government panel, but must now return to jail within two weeks, the Supreme Court in New Delhi ruled.

    “Their plea for protection of their liberty is rejected,” the Supreme Court said.

    Allowing them to remain free would “not be in consonance of the rule of law”, it added.

    The men were accorded a heroes’ welcome when they were released in 2022 and a viral video showed relatives and supporters welcoming them with sweets and garlands.

    The convicts’ release triggered angry reactions across the country, especially since it coincided with India’s Independence Day celebrations, when Modi spoke about women’s safety and security.

    Soon afterwards, Bilkis said she was “bereft of words”.

    At the time, she said in a statement released by her lawyer that she “trusted the system” and was “learning slowly to live with her trauma”.

    “The release of these convicts has taken from me my peace and shaken my faith in justice,” she said then. “My sorrow and my wavering faith is not for myself alone but for every woman who is struggling for justice in courts.”

    The opposition Congress party welcomed Monday’s ruling, saying it exposed the BJP’s “callous disregard for women”.

    “It is a slap on the face of those who facilitated the illegal release of these criminals and also those who garlanded the convicts and fed sweets to them,” spokesman Pawan Khera posted on X, previously known as Twitter.

    “India will not allow administration of justice to be incumbent on the religion or the caste of the victim or the perpetrator of a crime.”

  • Bomb Kills Five Police From Pakistan Polio Protection Team

    Bomb Kills Five Police From Pakistan Polio Protection Team

    A bomb targeting a polio protection team in Bajaur, northwestern Pakistan, on Monday killed at least five police officers, officials said.

    “A police truck transporting around 25 policemen for anti-polio campaign duties was targeted by an IED (improvised explosive device),” Anwar ul Haq, a senior government official in Bajaur district, told AFP.

    He said at least five police officers were killed and at least 20 others were wounded.

    Kashif Zulfiqar, a senior police officer in the district, confirmed the death toll.

    The attack happened in Mamund in Bajaur district, on the border with Afghanistan, in an area where militancy has been rising since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021.

    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but Islamist militants, including the Pakistan Taliban, have killed scores of polio vaccination workers and their security escorts in the past.

  • Can’t access your social media? Services are down all over Pakistan

    Can’t access your social media? Services are down all over Pakistan

    Social media platforms are down across Pakistan. Millions of users suffered due to the sudden shutdown of services of social media platforms across the country.

    For the past few hours, users have been facing trouble accessing social networking sites Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok. YouTube’s service is also extremely slow.

    Users are unable to access social media platforms Facebook, X, Instagram, and video-sharing site YouTube due to the shutdown. Apart from this, users are also facing difficulties in accessing other websites due to slow internet speed.

    It should be remembered that on December 17, 2023, social media networks and internet services were down in different cities of the country.

  • Four dead, 40 hospitalised in Tunisia alcohol poisoning

    Four dead, 40 hospitalised in Tunisia alcohol poisoning

    Four people have been killed and 40 hospitalised after consuming tainted alcohol in southern Tunisia, an official said.

    An inquiry has been opened and the person who supplied the alcohol has been arrested, Fethi Baccouche, a spokesman for the Medenine court, told AFP.

    An analysis of the alcohol is underway to determine what was behind the mass poisoning.

    Of the 40 surviving victims, most left hospital but some were transferred to the capital Tunis for treatment, Baccouche said, without providing exact numbers.

    Poisonings from incorrectly produced or adulterated alcohol are common in Tunisia and often fatal.

    In 2021, Tunisian health authorities announced five deaths and the hospitalisation of 25 more in Kasserine in the country’s west after they drank contaminated alcohol.

    And in May 2020, 39 people were poisoned, including six who died, after drinking methanol near the city of Kairouan.

    The consumption of home-made alcohol is common in some working-class neighbourhoods of Tunis and remote regions of the country where poverty rates are high.

    The alcohol, which is illegal, is often much cheaper than that sold in shops.

  • India’s Ambani no more the richest man in Asia. Who has grabbed the title?

    India’s Ambani no more the richest man in Asia. Who has grabbed the title?

    India’s Mukesh Ambani lost the title of Asia’s richest man after almost a year. He has been replaced by Gautam Adani who once again became Asia’s richest man after cracking a deal worth over half a billion dollars for the Adani group.

    It should be noted that in January 2023, American short-selling company Hindenburg said in a report that Adani Group has been involved in stock market manipulation and fraud accounting for decades. It called Gautam Adani the biggest fraudster in corporate history.

    Gautam Adani’s wealth declined after the report, pushing him to the bottom of the list of the world’s richest people in 2023, while Mukesh Ambani took the title of Asia’s richest person.

    But in recent days, the Supreme Court of India has issued an order that there is no need for a new investigation on Hindenburg’s allegations. Gautam Adani’s assets consequently increased and now he has once again become the richest man in Asia.

    According to a Bloomberg report on January 4, Gautam Adani’s net worth increased by $7.7 billion to $97.6 billion, after which he overtook Mukesh Ambani to become Asia’s richest man. Ambani currently owns $97 billion.

    Gautam Adani started 2023 as the third richest person in the world with $119 billion and then went down after a steady decline in wealth. Now, a year later, he has become the richest person in Asia and the 12th richest person in the world.

    Syed Mohammad Ali wrote in an article for The Express Tribune that the deal with the USA is part of the greater scheme of countering China’s growing influence in the region. Half a billion dollars is a sign of the restoration of confidence for the Adani conglomerate-backed Colombo seaport project in Sri Lanka.

    “This American deal with Adani seems compelled by growing great power competition across South Asia. The US government intends to use its International Development Finance Corporation to counter the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative in the Indo-Pacific, and its investment in Sri Lanka is part of that plan,” asserts Ali.
    Adani is closely linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he has long been accused of benefitting from this friendship for the growth of his business. Like Modi, Adani has emerged unscathed from a potentially devastating storm of alleged wrongdoings. And both these men have the US to thank for helping them not only survive but thrive, due to America’s own vested interests, Ali explains.

  • India’s solar observation mission reaches its final orbit

    India’s solar observation mission reaches its final orbit

    India’s solar observation mission on Saturday entered the Sun’s orbit after a four-month journey, the latest success for the space exploration ambitions of the world’s most populous nation.

    The Aditya-L1 mission was launched in September and is carrying an array of instruments to measure and observe the Sun’s outermost layers.

    India’s science and technology minister Jitendra Singh said on social media that the probe had reached its final orbit “to discover the mysteries of Sun-Earth connection”.

    The United States and the European Space Agency have sent numerous probes to the centre of the solar system, beginning with NASA’s Pioneer programme in the 1960s.

    Japan and China have both launched their solar observatory missions into Earth’s orbit.

    But the latest mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation is the first by any Asian nation to be placed in orbit around the Sun.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed it as yet another “landmark” in the country’s space programme.

    “It is a testament to the relentless dedication of our scientists,” he said on social media.

    “We will continue to pursue new frontiers of science for the benefit of humanity.”

    Aditya, named after a Hindu Sun deity, has travelled 1.5 million kilometres (932,000 miles) from the Earth — still only one percent of the distance between humanity’s home planet and the star at the centre of our solar system.

    It is now at a point where the gravitational forces of both celestial bodies cancel out, allowing it to remain in a stable halo orbit around the Sun.

    The orbiter, which reportedly cost $48 million, will study coronal mass ejections, a periodic phenomenon that sees huge discharges of plasma and magnetic energy from the Sun’s atmosphere.

    These bursts are so powerful they can reach the Earth and potentially disrupt the operations of satellites.

    The mission also aims to shed light on the dynamics of several other solar phenomena by imaging and measuring particles in the Sun’s upper atmosphere.

    India has a comparatively low-budget space programme, but one that has grown considerably in size and momentum since it first sent a probe to orbit the Moon in 2008.

    In August last year, India became the first country to land an uncrewed craft near the largely unexplored lunar south pole, and just the fourth nation to land on the Moon.

    India became the first Asian nation to put a craft into orbit around Mars in 2014, and it is slated to launch a three-day crewed mission into Earth’s orbit later this year.

    It also plans a joint mission with Japan to send another probe to the Moon by 2025 and an orbital mission to Venus within the next two years.

  • Talk TV presenter Julia lambasted for racist interview with Palestinian MP

    Talk TV presenter Julia lambasted for racist interview with Palestinian MP

    British radio presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer has been slammed on social media for an unprofessional and racist interview after a clip from her show went viral.

    During an interview on Wednesday with Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, Hartley-Brewer raised her voice while he was speaking to say he was “not used to women talking” and disrespectfully spoke to him throughout the interview.

    While Julia’s tone was aggressive and harsh, Dr Barghouti kept his tone calm and listened to her patiently, winning over the hearts of netizens with his courtesy.

    In the clip, Julia can be seen aggressively counter-arguing, not letting him speak, and using the rhetoric of telling Muslim men that they are not used to hearing women.

    Barghouti was interrupted several times by the journalist, who prevented him from finishing his remarks on Benjamin Netanyahu and the moral imperative of supporting Palestinians’ struggle for a dignified life in their homeland.

    “Please don’t say that again, we don’t have time for that, you’ve made that point five times already,” she said in one instance.

    When Barghouti attempted to respond, she screamed, saying: “For the love of god, let me finish a sentence man.”

    She then made a sexist accusation: “Maybe you’re not used to women talking, I don’t know, but I’d like to finish the sentence!”

    Barghouti remained calm during the interview while stressing that the journalist has been attempting to “mislead the public.”

    In response, the presenter raised her voice again: ‘If you don’t think Israel’s reaction is acceptable, what would have been an acceptable reaction to you? You’ve got ten seconds left.”

    The Palestinian politician then replied calmly, calling for ending the occupation and oppression of Palestinians to allow peace to prevail for both people.
    Seemingly unsatisfied with the reply, the presenter sarcastically responded: “Brilliant.”

    Hartley-Brewer’s haughty attitude throughout the interview has been heavily criticized, with many pointing out that the show was a display of Islamophobia.

    Social media user Nadene commented that Julia is an utter disgrace in this interview, showcasing Islamophobic tropes 101.

    Another pointed out that she is using imagined sexism to hide her racism.

    Dima Khatib wrote, “Journalism is committing suicide after this interview.”

    Sana Saeed posted, “What an absolutely disgusting, racist display of whatever “journalism” this is supposed to be.”

    Bisan poured her heart out and said that after this I have discovered that Western media is a lie.

    Maryam Alkhawaja lamented that not only are Palestinians being subjected to a genocide, they also have to put up with being dehumanized and insulted.