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.

  • 2023 terror stats: Suicide attacks highest since 2014

    In a report issued by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), it has been revealed that the country has experienced a surge in suicide attacks, reaching the highest level since 2014.

    According to the data released by PICSS, reported by Geo, 29 attacks have been reported in the year 2023, claiming 329 lives. 582 individuals were injured in these attacks. This marks the highest death toll since 2013 when 683 people lost their lives in 47 suicide bombings. 623 militant attacks in 2023, as compared to 380 such attacks in 2022. Among total attacks in 2023, 29 were suicide attacks; whereas in 2022, 15 were suicide attacks.

    Compared to the previous year, 2022, the report shows a tragic 93% increase in the number of suicide attacks, a 226% rise in resultant deaths, and a 101% surge in the number of injured individuals.

    In a comparative analysis of the regions, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bore the brunt of these attacks, reporting 23 instances that resulted in 254 fatalities and 512 injuries. Within KP, newly merged districts (NMD) experienced 13 suicide attacks, leading to 85 deaths and 206 injuries. Balochistan faced five attacks, causing 67 deaths and 52 injuries, while Sindh witnessed one suicide attack resulting in eight deaths and 18 injuries.

    There was a stark increase in the attacks against military forces, with civilians constituting the second-largest victim category. A visual representation in the form of pie charts illustrates that 48% of deaths (157) and 58% of injuries (340) were inflicted upon security personnel. The number of civilian casualties was close to these statistics with 130 deaths and 242 injured.

    Taking notes from the historical trajectory, PICSS’s militancy database indicates a notable decline in suicide attacks from 30 in 2014 to a mere three in 2019. Contrary to the earlier statement, there was no significant surge in 2020 and 2021, as both years witnessed only four attacks each.

    The year 2022 witnessed a sudden and significant surge, recording 15 attacks resulting in 101 deaths and 290 injuries. This worrisome trend persisted into 2023, reaching a new high with 29 reported suicide attacks.

  • Palestinians feel ‘no joy’ as Israel bombs Gaza on Christmas

    Palestinians feel ‘no joy’ as Israel bombs Gaza on Christmas

    Palestinians said they felt “no joy” this Christmas as Israel bombed Gaza on Monday, with no end in sight to the war that Hamas says has claimed more than 20,000 lives.

    Festivities were effectively scrapped in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, revered as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, with few worshippers or tourists on the usually packed streets.

    In the besieged Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run ministry of health said early Monday Israeli strikes had killed at least 18 people in the southern city of Khan Yunis, the centre of recent fighting.

    At a hospital in the city, Fadi Sayegh — whose family has previously received permits to travel to Bethlehem for celebrations — said he would not be celebrating Christmas this year.

    “There is no joy. No Christmas tree, no decorations, no family dinner, no celebrations,” he said while undergoing dialysis. “I pray for this war to be over soon.”

    Sister Nabila Salah from the Catholic Holy Church in Gaza — where two Christian women were killed by an Israeli sniper earlier this month according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem — struck a sombre tone.

    “All Christmas celebrations have been cancelled,” she told AFP. “How do we celebrate when we are… hearing the sound of tanks and bombardment instead of the ringing of bells?”

    The war broke out when Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7 and killed about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, and seized 250 hostages, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

    Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas in response and its military campaign, which has included massive aerial bombardment. The campaign has killed 20,424 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

    Pope Francis kicked off global Christmas celebrations on Sunday with a call for peace.

    “Our heart goes to Gaza, to all people in Gaza but a special attention to our Christian community in Gaza who is suffering,” the Catholic leader said.

    Christmas eve strike

    Just ahead of Christmas, the Hamas-run health ministry said at least 70 people were killed in an Israeli air strike on Sunday at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza.

    Health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said the “toll is likely to rise” as many families were thought to be in the area at the time of the strike.

    In a separate incident, the ministry said 10 members of one family were killed in an Israeli strike on their house in the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza.

    AFP was unable to independently verify either toll.

    Vast areas of Gaza lie in ruins and its 2.4 million people have endured dire shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine due to an Israeli siege, alleviated only by the limited arrival of aid trucks.

    Eighty percent of Gazans have been displaced, according to the UN, many fleeing south and now shielding against the winter cold in makeshift tents.

    The head of the UN refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, called for an end to the suffering.

    “A humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza is the only way forward,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “War defies logic and humanity, and prepares a future of more hatred and less peace.”

    World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also renewed calls for a ceasefire, saying: “The decimation of the Gaza health system is a tragedy.”

    ‘No choice’

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday the war was exacting a “very heavy price”, as the death toll of soldiers killed in the conflict continued to mount.

    “But we have no choice but to keep fighting,” he said, adding: “This will be a long war.”

    The army said Monday two more soldiers had been killed, taking to 17 the number of troops killed since Friday and 156 since Israel’s ground assault began on October 27.

    Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus indicated that forces were close to gaining control in northern Gaza and that now “we focus our efforts against Hamas in southern Gaza”.

    Two freed detainees and a medic said Sunday that Palestinians held by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip had suffered torture, a charged denied by the military.

    The two men were among hundreds detained by Israeli forces over alleged links with Hamas during Israel’s ground offensive.

    About 20 men released from Israeli custody “have bruises and marks of blows on their bodies”, Marwan al-Hams, hospital director in the southern city of Rafah, told AFP.

  • Rs 2.5 crore gold stolen from Lal Shehbaz Qalander shrine

    Rs 2.5 crore gold stolen from Lal Shehbaz Qalander shrine

    The Sindh Auqaf Department has nominated one of the managers of the tomb of Lal Shehbaz Qalander shrine in a First Information Report (FIR) filed for allegedly stealing gold and silver worth Rs 25.7 million from the shrine.

    Muhammad Zubair Baloch, serving in the shrine for 12 years, was suspended from his job a day earlier. Caretaker Sindh Minister for Auqaf and Religious Affairs Mohammad Umer Soomro suspended him for stealing gold worth Rs. 12.3 million from the offering box over the last month, as reported by Dawn. The case was registered at Sehwan police station, Jamshoro district.

    A private employee, Ali Raza Gopang, was also named in the FIR along with Baloch under sections 407, 409, 380, 457, 427, and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). He is yet to be arrested.

    Auqaf’s administrator for Sukkur and Larkana divisions, Irshad Ali Samo, the complainant in the FIR, told police that over 57 tolas of gold and 3,133 tolas of silver had been stolen from the shrine’s maalkhana [store]. He told the police that the shrine received 210.6 tolas of gold in 20 years from November 22, 2004, to August 17, 2023, reported the Express Tribune.

    The Auqaf department deposited 141 tolas in a locker of the National Bank of Pakistan’s (NBP) main branch in Hyderabad on July 2, 2013. While 68.15 tolas of gold and 4,836.13 of silver accumulated at the shrine’s storage during the last decade. “However, when a jeweler was called to weigh gold and silver on December 19, only 11.8 tolas of gold and 1703.4 of silver were found in the store”, the spokesperson of the department added.

    The administrator informed the police that during the departmental investigation, the suspect conceded negligence and admitted that he gave keys to the store to Gopang without authorisation.

    Devotees give gifts in the form of cash and ornaments during their visits to the Lal’s shrine and at other shrines in the province. However, embezzlement of those gifts has long remained a subject of concern.

    The spokesperson of the ministry quoted the minister saying that a similar investigation into possible theft of offerings against managers of all shrines in the province would be conducted.

  • Shaun King suspended, Motaz asked to remove content by Instagram

    Shaun King suspended, Motaz asked to remove content by Instagram

    American writer and activist Shaun King, famous for pro-Palestine advocacy on social media, has been suspended from Instagram.

    The news of the suspension was reported by Khalid Beydoun, another important voice on social media, speaking for the distressed in Palestine. “I felt it was a violation of my principles to not tell the truth about Gaza out of fear of getting banned,” Shaun reportedly told Beydoun.

    Earlier, Motaz Azaiza, photo-journalist from Gaza with a large following, also posted that he was receiving notifications from Instagram of either deleting or editing his content with the objection that they go against the guidelines on nudity or sexual activity of Instagram. The videos showed injured children crying out in pain after being hit by Israeli strikes.

    Motaz protested, “Am I shooting Nudes or what ? A lot of naked girls keep posting on Instagram which is (normal for them) and I don’t see them removing any of their content! But showing what kids of Palestine are facing in Gaza is nudity and sexual activity? Tell me if I’m right or wrong?”

    Another Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary also posted about her account being shadowbanned by Instagram. This implies that her posts are not visible or are losing engagement because they are against the narrative Meta wants to propagate.

  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Oath of Khatm-e-Nabuwat made mandatory before Nikkah

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Oath of Khatm-e-Nabuwat made mandatory before Nikkah

    The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has made the oath of Khatm-e-Nabuwat mandatory for marriage certificates.

    According to the Department of Local Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial government has made amendments to serial numbers 13 and 25 of the Muslim Family Ordinance.

    As per the amendment, details of the dowry must be entered in the form of cash, movable and immovable property, and the oath of end of Prophethood ﷺ has also been made mandatory in the marriage certificate. Both the bride and groom will be bound to take the oath of end of Prophethood ﷺ.

    The marriage certificate must be signed by the bride, bridegroom, bride and groom’s lawyers, and witnesses, while the signature and seal of a marriage registrar are also mandatory on the marriage certificate.

    The Oath of Faith form on Khatm-e-Nabuwat for marriage already exists in Punjab.

    In a conversation with Geo News, Secretary Local Government Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Daud Khan said that the provincial cabinet had decided to amend the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, the amendments were related to the educational qualification of Nikah Khawan.

  • Writer Mohammed Hanif returns Sitara-e-Imtiaz to protest against Baloch persecution

    Writer Mohammed Hanif returns Sitara-e-Imtiaz to protest against Baloch persecution

    A Case of Exploding Mangoes and Red Birds famed writer and journalist Mohammed Hanif has returned the prestigious civilian award, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, in protest against this week’s crackdown on Baloch protestors by Islamabad police.

    In a post on X, Hanif shared the video of a Baloch girl stating her demands and wrote, “In protest, returning my Sitara e Imtiaz, given to me by a state that continues to abduct and torture Baloch citizens.”

    He went on to mention two female Baloch activists Sammi Baloch and Mehrang Baloch, writing that journalists of his generation have seen these young women grow up in protest camps. “Ashamed to witness a new generation being denied basic dignity,” Mohammed Hanif lamented.

    Hanif’s literary genius was recognized by the government of Pakistan back in 2018 when one of the highest national laurels, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, was conferred upon him.

    Along with being a journalist and novelist, Hanif is also a playwright and writes for the BBC.

    His novel A Case of Exploding Mangoes was long-listed for the Booker Prize, shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, and won the Commonwealth Prize for Best Book. His second book, Our Lady of Alice Bhatti, won the Wellcome Book Prize.

    Baloch protesters are on roads demanding the release of all “missing persons” and an end to “extrajudicial killings” in Balochistan under the leadership of activist Dr Mahrang Baloch and Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC).

  • KMC admits traffic engineering department is dysfunctional

    KMC admits traffic engineering department is dysfunctional

    The Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered that strict action be taken against those who run illegal charged parking in other places in Karachi.

    While hearing a petition against illegal parking in the Court, DIG Traffic submitted a report which was then made part of the record as well.

    In the report, the court was informed that charged parking lots have been constructed on 46 roads of Karachi.

    The court ordered that a case should be registered if parking lots are made anywhere other than the charged ones.

    During the hearing, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) admitted that the traffic engineering department is dysfunctional, reports Geo News.

    The traffic engineering department plays a key role in traffic matters.

    The court adjourned the hearing by directing the Secretary of Local Government to implement court orders.

  • Climate activist Greta Thunberg commends Baloch protestors; Islamabad police gets trolled in replies

    Climate activist Greta Thunberg commends Baloch protestors; Islamabad police gets trolled in replies

    Climate activist Greta Thunberg has expressed solidarity with Baloch Protestors who had to face police brutality on Wednesday night after marching to Islamabad.

    Taking to X, Thunberg tagged the female leader of the march Mehrang Baloch, and condemned Islamabad Police for detaining, torturing, and disrupting peaceful protestors. “Climate justice activists all over the world stand in solidarity with Mehrang Baloch and other peaceful protesters who have been detained, tortured and disrupted by Islamabad police for protesting against human rights abuses in Balochistan.”

    Islamabad Police is being slammed for using baton charges, water cannons, and arrests to deter the protestors. However, the response by the police under Greta’s post enraged many.

    The official handle of the police stated, “There is no evidence of any injured persons at all.”

    To this people started sharing the pictures and videos of police assaulting the protestors as proof.

    A user responded sarcastically, “Dear Islamabad Police, Greta doesn’t watch Pakistani TV channels.”

    Baloch protesters are on roads demanding the release of all “missing persons” and an end to “extrajudicial killings” in Balochistan under the leadership of activist Dr Mahrang Baloch and Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC).

  • Class of 2022: Apply for this Chinese scholarship before it ends

    Class of 2022: Apply for this Chinese scholarship before it ends

    China Scholarship Council (CSC) is providing a great opportunity for Pakistani students to pursue a degree in the country with the support of the Chinese government.

    For the academic year 2024–2025, the Chinese government has entrusted the Higher Education Commission (HEC) with the responsibility of managing these scholarships on behalf of the Government of Pakistan.

    Interested individuals can submit their applications through the relevant HEC portal or the CSC’s portal before the December 28 deadline.
    The initiative is a proactive step towards promoting educational opportunities for international students and researchers pursuing bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD degrees.

    Eligibility:

    To be eligible for consideration under the Chinese Government Scholarship Program for the academic year 2024-25, applicants must possess a valid Higher Education Aptitude Test (HAT) or Higher Education Undergraduate Studies Admission Test (USAT) score obtained after January 01, 2022.

    How to Apply:

    According to the official Higher Education Commission (HEC) website, the China Scholarship Council (CSC), under the auspices of China’s Ministry of Education, assumes responsibility for the enrollment and administration of the Chinese Government Scholarship Program.

    Applications for the concerned programme can be submitted to the related HEC portal or the CSC’s portal by December 28.

    Enrollment:

    According to the official HEC website, the CSC — entrusted by China’s Ministry of Education — is responsible for the enrollment and the administration of Chinese Government Scholarship Program.

  • Mass shooting at Prague University by student leaves 14 dead, 25 injured

    Mass shooting at Prague University by student leaves 14 dead, 25 injured

    A 24-year-old student killed 14 people and wounded 25 at a Prague university on Thursday in the Czech Republic’s worst shooting in decades before authorities said the attacker was “eliminated”.

    The deadly violence in the city’s historic centre sparked evacuations, a massive response by heavily armed police and warnings for people to stay indoors.

    The shooting erupted at the Charles University’s Faculty of Arts, which sits near major tourist sites like the 14th-century Charles Bridge.

    “At this moment I can confirm 14 victims of the horrible crime and 25 wounded, of which 10 seriously,” police chief Martin Vondrasek told reporters after the shooting.

    All the victims were gunned down inside the building, he said. Media said at least some were the gunman’s fellow students.

    Vondrasek added the gunman, previously unknown to the police, had a “huge arsenal of weapons and ammunition” and that quick police action prevented far more serious carnage.

    Vondrasek said police started a search for the man before the mass shooting as his father had been found dead in the village of Hostoun west of Prague.

    The gunman “left for Prague saying he wanted to kill himself,” Vondrasek said. Police suggested earlier the gunman had killed his father.

    Police searched a Faculty of Arts building where the gunman was expected to show up for a lecture, but he went to the faculty’s main building nearby and they did not find him.

    “At 1359 GMT, we received the first information about shooting,” Vondrasek told reporters, adding the rapid response unit was on the scene within 12 minutes.

    “At 1420 GMT, the officers in action told us about the gunman’s motionless body,” Vondrasek said, adding unconfirmed information showed he had killed himself.

    Another murder

    Citing a probe into social media, Vondrasek said the gunman was inspired by a “similar case that happened in Russia”, without going into details.

    “At the moment, there is nothing to suggest any further imminent danger,” he added.

    Vondrasek said police believed the same gunman had also killed a young man and his two-month-old daughter in a pram during a walk in a forest on the eastern outskirts of Prague on December 15.

    The police investigation into the murder that had shocked Prague was deadlocked until evidence found in Hostoun linked the gunman with the crime.

    Vondrasek said no police officer was wounded in Thursday’s action.

    Police evacuated the building, using a concert hall across the street as a temporary refuge for the evacuees.

    Czech President Petr Pavel said he was “shocked” by the violence and expressed “deep regret and sincere condolences to the families and relatives of the victims”.

    Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the “lone gunman… wasted many lives of mostly young people”.

    “There is no justification for this horrendous act,” he added.

    The worst shooting since the Czech Republic emerged as an independent state in 1993 also prompted messages of support from across the world.

    US President Joe Biden sent his condolences, slamming the “senseless” shooting.

    “The president and the first lady are praying for the families who lost loved ones and everyone else who has been affected by the senseless act of violence,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

    French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed his “solidarity” with the Czech people, as did many other European leaders including European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

    ‘No other gunman’

    Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said that there was no link between the shooting and “international terrorism”.

    He added that “no other gunman has been confirmed” and called on people to follow police instructions.

    Police cordoned off the area and asked people living nearby to stay at home.

    Prague’s emergency service said on X that “a large number of ambulance units” were deployed at the faculty.

    Though mass gun violence is unusual in the Czech Republic, the nation has been rocked by some instances in recent years.

    A 63-year-old man shot seven men and a woman dead in 2015 before killing himself in a restaurant in the southeastern town of Uhersky Brod.

    In 2019, a man killed six people in the waiting room of a hospital in the eastern city of Ostrava, with another woman dying days later. The man shot himself dead about three hours after the attack.