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.

  • ‘It’s my great honour to be called Daughter of Buner’: Dr. Sawera Prakash on Indian TV

    ‘It’s my great honour to be called Daughter of Buner’: Dr. Sawera Prakash on Indian TV

    Dr. Sawera Prakash, the first Hindu woman to contest general elections from Buner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, recently appeared on a talk show on an Indian TV channel and amazed the host with her honesty and confidence.

    She was asked by host Sudhir Chaudhary of Aaj Tak TV about whether Muslim voters in Pakistan will ever vote for a Hindu woman to which Miss Prakash replied that she fully believes that. “The positive response I have been receiving has exceeded my expectations.” She asserted that she has never felt discriminated against, neither as a minority nor as a woman, during her campaign. Upon this the interviewer told her that it feels like she has embraced Pakistan like no other, even though she is a Hindu. Sawera promptly reminded him she was born in Pakistan and being a citizen, she is a patriot. She especially mentioned that she has been given the title of “Daughter of Buner” and this makes her responsible towards not just her district but her country as well.

    Sudhir Chaudhary however kept on trying to rattle the calm Dr. Prakash, asking her about the situation of minorities in Pakistan. He quoted disgraced former cricketer Danesh Kanaria who has said that he could not flourish because of his minority status. Miss Prakash vehemently denied that by saying that she is getting support from people of her district, an area which is traditionally conservative yet they own her. Punjab and Sindh must be more open towards minorities, she implied.

    Towards the end, the interviewer asked her about Ram Mandir which is about to be opened in Ayodhya, India, built on the site of Babri Masjid, and whether she would come to visit. Dr. Sawera answered that she has never thought about it.

  • Heavy penalties on traffic violations to be imposed from today

    Heavy penalties on traffic violations to be imposed from today

    Drivers violating traffic rules on motorways and national highways will pay a heavy price for transgressions from today (January 1).

    National Highways and Motorway Police have revised fines, applicable from January 1.

    As per the details released by NHMP, the fines range from Rs. 750 to Rs. 3000 for covering the backscreen partially or completely and not following the stop-line protocols respectively.

    The details of the rest of the fines are in the tweet below:

  • Israeli soldiers getting infected with parasitic skin disease

    Israeli soldiers getting infected with parasitic skin disease

    Israeli newspapers have reported that dozens of Israeli soldiers serving near Gaza border are suspected to have been infected by a skin disease known as leishmaniasis.

    Anadolu Agency quotes Israeli newspaper Maariv stating that the infection results in skin lesions caused by the Leishmania parasite which leads to Rose of Jericho disease (leishmaniasis) because they have “ulcerative skin lesions”.

    The parasite is transmitted through a fly’s bite which results in an “inflamed and painful lesion that does not heal”. They are, however, not life-threatening, Anadolu Agency quotes an expert.

    According to an Israeli army spokesman: “Various actions to prevent Leishmania infection among the soldiers are (being) taken in various units.”

    “Explanatory sheets on the subject and mosquito repellent preparations were distributed to soldiers in field units,” the spokesman said.

    “All patients who suffer from suspicious symptoms are examined by a military dermatologist, receive appropriate treatment and are referred to a dedicated leishmania clinic as needed,” he added.

  • Our people of the year 2023: Motaz and Mahrang

    Our people of the year 2023: Motaz and Mahrang

    2023 saw the world witnessing war and injustices on a global scale, and the rise of indigenous leadership. It is said that leaders are not born, they are made. The war on Gaza and some indigenous movements have caused a paradigm shift in the collective consciousness of people by changing the way pop culture approaches celebrity culture. This time the choice was not hard. Heroes of 2023 are neither politicians nor actors, they are people who have not deliberately made their way to the limelight. Circumstances made them stand up for the cause they stood for.

    Motaz Azaiza

    Motaz, the photojournalist famously known as “The Eye of Gaza”, has emerged as the world’s window into Gaza. His Instagram and Twitter accounts provided a very real and horrifying peek into the oppression carried out by the Israeli forces.

    The world saw his transformation over a short time, as the war lingered on for more than 80 days. From grey hair at 24 to his struggle to have access to the internet, the world him document the horrors unfolding in Gaza’s genocide. His followers increased from thousands to millions and he became that one person who people prayed for when seen offline for a long time.

    This young man graduated from the University of Gaza in English Language Literature, pursued his passion for photography, and struggled as a freelancer in the limited options available in Gaza but his efforts got recognized post-October 7. His valour and commitment got appreciated in the form of him being declared the “Man of the Year” by GQ Middle East and the pictures taken by him making it to Times Top 100 Photos of 2023.

    “No one is safe, nowhere is safe, and fear is everywhere. Either I stay at home or I go outside. Why should I stay at home? I have to stand up and show the world the truth through the camera lens,” Motaz told The New Arab in an interview and this encapsulates the motive behind his work.

    Mahrang Baloch

    Mahrang, a student leader from Balochistan, is again a leader crafted by circumstances. At 30, she is leading a movement against the extra-judicial killings and missing persons in the country.

    Mahrang was just a young girl when her father was forcibly abducted and later found dead with signs of torture back in 2009. According to her, this incident changed her life completely. Unfazed, she became vocal about the inhumane acts. Her brother faced the same persecution in 2017 but that made her even more resolute to speak against this injustice. She actively led different movements in her student years. Mahrang was a student leader in 2020 when the removal of the quota system at Bolan Medical College emerged and she led the campaign to oppose the suggestion successfully as she believed that this quota system preserve opportunities for students from remote areas.

    The human rights activist describes herself as a political worker and an advocate of #endenforceddisappearences.

    She is currently leading the sit-in by Balcoh protestors in Islamabad, becoming the voice of tens of thousands of Baloch suffering the loss of their beloved in the province through the platform of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee. The death of Balach Baloch instigated a new wave of awareness about the issue and this time Mahrang is determined to not let the phenomenon of the “Baloch Genocide” go unnoticed.

    Both causes are close to our hearts, inspiring us with their bravery and determination.

  • Pakistan declared ‘best performing destination’ in tourism

    Pakistan declared ‘best performing destination’ in tourism

    Pakis­tan was the ‘best performing destination’ in terms of tourism during the first nine months of 2023, according to the ‘World Tourism Barometer’ published by the World Tourism Organisation of the United Nations, reported Dawn.

    Pakistan made a remarkable 92 percent recovery to pre-pandemic levels in 2023, as the country experienced a 115 percent surge in foreign tourist arrivals compared to the previous year, signaling a robust comeback post-Covid.

    With the recovery reaching 115 percent and projections of international receipts reaching $1.3 billion by the end of the year, Pakistan stands as a beacon in tourism resurgence, showcasing its potential on the global stage, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director Aftab Rana said.

    He attributed this success to the concerted efforts in tourism promotion. Pakistan actively participated in six major global events to project the tourism potential in the country.

    A strategic online outreach, along with the launching of the “Salam Pakistan” tourism brand in August 2023, contributed significantly to attracting a diverse range of visitors from across the globe.

    Minister of State for Tourism Wasi Shah congratulated the PTDC team and industry partners for the achievement, expressing optimism for a stronger performance in 2024 despite existing challenges. Mr. Rana spoke highly of the collaborative efforts of PTDC, provincial tourist departments, and private sector operators, emphasising the role of global events in expanding international partnerships.

    According to the WTO Tourism Barometer, other leading best performing destinations were Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Turkiye, and Romania among countries from Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East. Egypt and Serbia were at the bottom of the destination countries list.

    Key findings of the barometer show international tourism recovered 87pc of pre-pandemic levels in January-September 2023.

    An estimated 975 million tourists traveled internationally between January and September 2023, an increase of 38 percent over the same months of 2022, though 13 percent fewer than in 2019.

    International tourism receipts could reach $1.4 trillion in 2023, about 93pc of the $1.5tr earned by destinations in 2019.

    These results reflect the strong recovery of demand in 2023. By regions, the Middle East continued to lead the recovery by regions in relative terms, with arrivals 20pc above pre-pandemic levels in the first nine months of 2023. Europe, the world’s largest destination region, reached 94pc of pre-pandemic levels, supported by robust intra-regional demand.

    Africa recovered 92 percent of pre-crisis visitors during these nine months and the Americas 88 percent. In Asia and the Pacific, arrivals climbed to 62 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

    By sub-regions, North Africa (+5pc), Central America (+4 percent), and Southern Mediterranean Europe (+1 percent) continued to exceed pre-pandemic levels in January-September 2023.

    International arrivals are expected to reach 1.3 billion overall in 2023, up 33 percent over 2022 and almost 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels, in line with UNWTO scenarios published in January.

    Against this backdrop, international tourism is well on track to fully recover pre-pandemic levels in 2024 despite economic challenges and uncertainty derived from certain geopolitical tensions and conflicts, WTO says.

  • Winter school holidays extended in Punjab

    Winter school holidays extended in Punjab

    The caretaker government of Punjab has extended winter holidays till January 9 in all public and private schools in the province.

    Schools will now reopen on January 10.

    All colleges will also remain closed till January 10, however BS Honours programs will continue on normal schedules.

    The announcement has come as the province deals with intensifying cold and dense fog, reducing visibility greatly at night and early morning when most students are on their way to school.

  • Girls’ school in Bannu set on fire by terrorists

    Girls’ school in Bannu set on fire by terrorists

    A girls’ school in district Bannu’s Meryan Tehsil was set on fire on Friday night in what is being perceived as a terrorist attack amid an increase in militancy in the tribal region.

    The terrorists targeted the Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Kotka Mumbati Barakzai, inflicting significant damage on the building. The school’s science lab was turned to ashes.

    The miscreants stole solar panels and other items and vandalised the school’s boundary wall as well. They also wrote threatening messages near the main gate, warning of additional attacks if the school tried to resume classes.

    Police officials collected evidence from the site, kicking off an investigation into the terror act, District Police Officer Iftikhar Khan told Geo News.

    Schools in the district are currently closed due to the winter break. Meanwhile, the incident marks the first instance of a school being set on fire in Bannu following the upswing in militant attacks which came after the end of the ceasefire with the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan last year.

    However, this is not the first time this year that a girls’ school has been targeted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In May 2023, two girls’ schools were blown up by terrorists in the North Waziristan district.

    The attack came after Islamabad initiated a new offensive against terrorists in response to a surge in attacks, including a destructive mosque bombing that claimed over 100 lives in February this year.

    Historically, the TTP extremists have prohibited female education in areas that came under their control in the province.

    But the country has, regardless, seen a return of terrorism in the form of targeted attacks by terrorists, particularly since late 2022. This year, however, the terror attacks witnessed a surge in militancy, particularly suicide attacks that reached the highest level since 2014.

  • ‘They believe women are queens’, Israeli hostage on Hamas

    ‘They believe women are queens’, Israeli hostage on Hamas

    A mother-daughter duo held hostage by Hamas for 52 days have opened up about their experience in captivity, detailing the “queen-like” treatment they received.

    Hin and Ajam, mother and daughter respectively, detail their experience during the time of their captivity in an interview. From keeping them together and not separating them, to the smallest details of daily life, they explain how Hamas militants were respectful to them as women and took every precaution to make them comfortable.

    Ajam recounts how she arm-wrestled with the fighters, stressing that they maintained distance and avoided physical contact by wrapping a towel around their arms.

    Upon asking why was that, they instantly replied it was forbidden for them to touch women.
    “For them women are sacred. Women are like queens,” she asserted.

    Moreover, Ajam shared how they sweetly named her “Salsabeel” which means “water” in Arabic and it is mentioned in the Quran. It was synonymous to her original name Ajam which means “lake” in Hebrew.

    The two of them were kept in an apartment along with two children and were given best possible facilities.

  • Canal and wuzu water to be used to sprinkle on roads

    Canal and wuzu water to be used to sprinkle on roads

    The Lahore High Court has directed the Water And Sanitation Agency (WASA) to use stored canal and ablution water for sprinkling the roads to combat dust, reports Geo.

    Justice Shahid Karim of Lahore High Court heard petitions for remedying smog, in which federal government’s lawyer Asad Bajwa. appeared in the court.

    During the hearing, the court said that in light of the commission’s report, WAPDA should take immediate action against the industries, the stored water of the canal, and ablutions should be used for sprinkling the roads. If not, WASA will be responsible for violating the court orders.
    The court said that keep things simple and not make things difficult, set new resolutions and targets for the new year, in the new year we have to commit to keeping the environment of the world clean.

  • In pictures: Most iconic photos of 2023

    In pictures: Most iconic photos of 2023

    Pictures open a window into the past, document the present, and predict the future.

    Here we present to you some of the most iconic clicks of the year 2023, providing us a chance to have a glimpse into legendary moments captured by the lens of AFP photographers.

    This underwater picture shows a surfer riding a wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti, French Polynesia on August 11, 2023, during the WSL Shiseido Tahiti pro surfing event.Teahupo’o will host the surfing event of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

    This Photo was clicked by Ben Thouard / AFP.

    US’ Simone Biles competes on the Balance Beam in the Women’s Team Final during the 52nd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, in Antwerp, northern Belgium, on October 4, 2023.

    This photo was clicked by Lionel Bonaventure / AFP.

    SpaceX’s Starship rocket launches from Starbase during its second test flight in Boca Chica, Texas, on November 18, 2023. SpaceX on November 18, 2023, carried out the second test launch of Starship, the largest rocket ever built that Elon Musk hopes will one day colonize Mars, while NASA awaits a modified version to land humans on the Moon. It comes after a first attempt to fly the spaceship in its fully-stacked configuration back in April ended in a spectacular explosion over the Gulf of Mexico.

    This photo was clicked by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP.

    This handout image provided courtesy of Josh Lease on September 3, 2023, shows a rainbow over flooding on a desert plain on September 1, 2023, after heavy rains turned the annual Burning Man festival site in Nevada’s Black Rock desert into a mud pit. Tens of thousands of drenched festivalgoers were stranded on September 3, 2023, in deep, sticky mud in the Nevada desert after torrential rain turned the annual Burning Man gathering into a quagmire. All events at the counterculture festival, which drew some 70,000 people, were canceled after rain tore down structures for dance parties, art installations, and other eclectic entertainment.

    This photo was taken by Josh Lease / UGC / AFP.

    Humanoid AI robot “Ameca” looks on at the booth of Engineered Arts company during the world’s largest gathering of humanoid AI Robots as part of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, on July 5, 2023. The United Nations is convening this week a global gathering to try to map out the frontiers of artificial intelligence and to harness its potential for empowering humanity, hoping to lay out a clear blueprint on the way forward for handling AI, as development of the technology races ahead the capacity to set its boundaries.

    This photo was taken by Fabrice Coffrini / AFP.

    Muslims pray at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi on April 17, 2023, during Laylat al-Qadr, one of the holiest nights during the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

    This photo was taken by Karim SAHIB / AFP.

    This photo taken on December 2, 2023, shows pandas eating inside their enclosure at a zoo in China’s southwestern Chongqing municipality.

    This photo is by AFP.