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.

  • Climate change hitting home once again with wildfire in forests of Balochistan

    Climate change hitting home once again with wildfire in forests of Balochistan

    A fire has broken out over the weekend in the forests of Sherani and Musakhail, divisions close to the border area of Balochistan, reports Geo.

    This is not the first time that these regions have been caught in a wildfire as last year in May, another fire destroyed a vast cultivation of Chilgoza pine plants spread on almost 30 square kilometer area. The fire lingered on for more than 10 days and took the lives of three people.

    Deputy Commissioner Musakhail Zulfiqar Kirar has employed Levies Force and fireballs to curb the fire in the mountainous forests. As cars can not reach the region, the Levies force is heading the firefighting effort on foot. He further said that inmates of the two houses have been relocated due to the fire. The operation will continue all night while the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) will remain in close coordination with the administration.

    Caretaker Chief Minister Balochistan Ali Mardan Domki has also directed officials to stop the spread of the fire.

  • World Health Organization’s annual report highlights growing threat of malaria due to climate change

    World Health Organization’s annual report highlights growing threat of malaria due to climate change

    World Health Organization (WHO) has released an annual malaria report which includes, for the first time, a dedicated chapter focused on the intersection of the disease with climate change. “We are at the crossroads of opportunities and challenges,” says the report.

    As described in the report, climate change is one of many threats to the global response to malaria. Millions of people continue to miss out on the services they need to prevent, detect, and treat the disease. Conflict and humanitarian crises, resource constraints and biological challenges such as drug and insecticide resistance also continue to hamper progress.

    The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted malaria services, leading to a surge in both incidence and mortality rates, exacerbating already stalled progress against the disease. The world is in danger of losing the fight against malaria, as cases of the disease rose by around 5 million year-on-year in 2022, exceeding global targets to contain it, a new World Health Organization (WHO) report.

    Pandemic-related disruptions and extreme weather events linked to climate change have hindered the fight against malaria in recent years.
    Cases surged in areas where weather was most extreme.

    Floods in Pakistan last year, for example, led to a five-fold increase in malaria cases in the country, the report showed.
    Two new malaria vaccines, both of which are due to be available next year, provide some hope.

    But the report also showed a significant funding gap in the response. While $4.1 billion was invested in the global effort to tackle malaria in 2022, roughly $7.8 billion was needed, it said.

    Globally there were an additional five million malaria cases in 2022 over the previous year and five countries bore the brunt of these increases. Pakistan saw the largest increase, with about 2.6 million cases in 2022 compared to 500 000 in 2021.

  • Elon Musk thinks visiting Gaza “seems a bit dangerous”

    Elon Musk thinks visiting Gaza “seems a bit dangerous”

    Elon Musk was invited by Hamas to witness the destruction in Gaza, in the light of his visit to Israel earlier in the week. The controversial owner of X (former Twitter) responded to the invitation by posting online that it “seems a bit dangerous there right now, but I do believe that a long-term prosperous Gaza is good for all sides.”

    The invitation from senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan came on Tuesday. Hamdan called on Musk, who recently met Israel’s prime minister and president, to also visit Palestine and acquire a more rounded perspective.

    “We invite him to visit Gaza to see the extent of the massacres and destruction committed against the people of Gaza, in compliance with the standards of objectivity and credibility,” Hamdan said in a press conference in Beirut. “Within 50 days, Israel dropped more than 40,000 tonnes of explosives on the homes of defenceless Gazans,” the official added.

    Elon went to Israel and met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Herzog earlier in the week. “It was jarring to see the scene of the massacre,” said Musk later in an X Spaces conversation with Netanyahu, adding Israel has “no choice” but to eliminate Hamas.

    Musk’s Israel visit was roundly criticised by users of his platform, coming on the heels of what was perceived as an anti-Semitic tweet he had posted earlier.

  • Israel knew about Hamas’ October 7 attack, claims New York Times

    Israel knew about Hamas’ October 7 attack, claims New York Times

    A recent report by The New York Times published on November 30 reveals that a blueprint containing the details of the October 7 attack by Hamas was in the knowledge of Israeli officials, however, they dismissed it as aspirational.

    Ronen Bergman and Adam Goldman, both stationed in Tel Aviv, claim to have reviewed the classified 40-page document, code-named ‘Jericho Wall’ by the Israeli authorities.

    The Times team, who reviewed the translated document, stated that it does not point out the exact date for the attack but lays out the detailed methodical assault designed to invade the Israeli region around Gaza. “Hamas followed the blueprint with shocking precision,” reports The New York Times.

    The document was circulated among top intelligence officials in Israel more than a year ago but they deemed it beyond Hamas’ capabilities. The Times team sheds light on the doubtful approach of the Israeli intelligence. “It is not yet possible to determine whether the plan has been fully accepted and how it will be manifested,” read a military assessment reviewed by The Times.

    However, it is not confirmed if Prime Minister Netanyahu saw the document or not.

    The research also explains that a colonel in the Gaza division brushed off the warning made by an analyst who claimed that Hamas conducted military exercises as per the content of Jericho Wall, according to encrypted emails viewed by The Times.

    The article goes on to explain the glaring similarities between the attack by Hamas and the intelligence report of the Jericho Wall.

    While the October seven attack has been dubbed the deadliest attack in Israel’s history and the Israeli military has accepted that they failed to protect their state, it has netizens wondering if the Israeli authorities deliberately let it happen to have an excuse to attack Gaza.

    However, there are some criticising the government of Israel for putting the life of so many at risk and benefitting from the situation to the fullest.

    White House Correspondent for ABC News has informed on Twitter that a senior official at the White House has denied to have any knowledge about the Jericho Wall document.

  • Karachi police identified unknown men who left body of eight-year-old boy outside Karachi hospital

    Karachi police identified unknown men who left body of eight-year-old boy outside Karachi hospital

    Update: Police investigation has revealed new details in the case of an eight-year-old boy left by two unknown men at the Jinnah Hospital, Karachi.

    DIG South Asad Raza said that the cause of the death is a road accident but the postmortem examination has revealed that the boy was raped sometime in the near past. DNA report is awaited to proceed with that, reports Geo.

    The police has obtained more CCTV footage regarding the unfortunate incident and has been able to identify the two men who left the body in the hospital emergency. The procured footage shows that the car hit the boy on Korangi Road and brought his dead body to the Jinnah Hospital.

    The family of the eight-year-old Rawal has refused to take any legal action. They have taken the body to their native city, Lodhran.

    Departmental surgeon Samiya has confirmed that the postmortem of the body has revealed that he was tortured and raped, reports Geo.

    The grey car used in the incident is identified as BMT-868 registered in the name of Ahmed Raza who is a resident of Defence Karachi. The team to arrest the suspects has been established.

    Two men have left the body of a young boy at Jinnah Hospital in Karachi, CCTV footage has shown. The men arrived at the hospital in a grey car, while a dent over the car’s dumper is evident, reports Geo.

    The two men, one dressed in a white shalwar kameez and the other in a green shirt and jeans, were seen bringing in the body and leaving instantly when asked to get an entry slip at the reception.

    The footage has been shared with the police by the hospital administration. The eight-year-old boy has been identified as Rawal Fayaz, a resident of Qayyumabad. He was reportedly missing since morning.

    DG South has ordered the concerned SHO to start an investigation. The owner of the car has been tracked down and a lead is expected in the case shortly.

  • How to find a snatched mobile phone? Peshawar police knows the way

    How to find a snatched mobile phone? Peshawar police knows the way

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police have devised a way to curb the snatching and stealing of cell phones, a menace for most of the major cities of the country. FMC (Find my Cell), an app launched by police authorities at the Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines Peshawar, will help trace your stolen phone.

    Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ashfaq Anwar has said that the new app will connect registered mobile dealers to local police stations to stop the sale of snatched or stolen mobile phones.

    Registered dealers, in case of any suspicion, will get details of all the stolen and snatched phones. The dealers will be registered after verification from the concerned police stations and concerned associations.

    All the mobile dealers would be given forms of registration. These forms will hold the details of all those who are selling phones to them. “This will be uploaded to a database that will be available on the FMC,” CCPO added.

    CCPO Ashfaq Anwar said the local police were taking measures to improve law and order and stop the snatching and theft of phones and using modern technology.

  • Indian woman who came to marry Pakistani man goes back to her country

    Indian woman who came to marry Pakistani man goes back to her country

    Indian national Anju — now Fatima — who made headlines around the world after travelling to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and marrying Facebook friend Nasrullah, her left Pakistan to reunite with her two children.

    34-year-old Anju met and married Nasrullah five months after their Facebook friendship began, arriving in Upper Dir on July 22 this year. Nasrullah said that Anju had been missing her two children since she came to Pakistan. “I said goodbye to Anju (Fatima) at the Wagah border and she entered her country at two o’clock on Wednesday,” he said.

    He added that Anju’s one-month visa had already expired, adding that they had applied to the Ministry of Interior to extend the period, but due to difficulties, it could not be completed as the formal process is expected to take four months to one year.

    Anju was granted a one-year extension to her visa by the Pakistani authorities earlier in August.

    Nasrullah said that despite repeated pleas by Anju, the visa was not extended so she decided to go back through a 15-day departure letter and cancelled the visa extension application.

    The couple were given a farewell party by several friends in Lahore. Nasrullah maintained that Anju would come to Pakistan again after three months. He said that if her visa had been extended for one year, it would have been better.

    “If I get a visa for India, then I will take Anju back myself,” he said, adding that she is fighting a divorce case from her first husband in India and she wished to meet her children. He said that Anju had got a lot of love and respect from everyone in Pakistan.

    Anju had previously undergone a court marriage with Nasrullah after converting to Islam in Upper Dir. The couple received attention from all across the world. Several companies and business organisations showed generosity by offering gifts to couple in various parts of the country.

    Upon arrival in India, she was asked questions by the media but she denied answers altogether.

    To read more: Indian bride Anju’s cross-border love story earns her a year-long stay in Pakistan

  • World AIDS Day: More than 9,000 new HIV cases reported in Pakistan this year

    World AIDS Day: More than 9,000 new HIV cases reported in Pakistan this year

    December 1 is marked as World AIDS Day with people and communities around the globe showing solidarity with those living with HIV, raising awareness, while also remembering the ones who lost their lives battling the illness.

    According to the Ministry of Health, 9,284 new HIV patients have been diagnosed in Pakistan in 2023.

    About 900 to 1,000 new cases of HIV are reported every month, whereas earlier in 2022, more than 10,000 cases of HIV were reported.

    Most of the cases are reportedly documented in Punjab and Sindh, while people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan are also diagnosed positive for HIV.

    Additionally, around 40 to 50 new cases are being reported every month from Islamabad and surrounding areas, including Kashmir.

    Most cases of HIV infections are found accidentally during routine tests, indicating that Pakistan needs to increase specific HIV testing.

  • 19 children arrested on blasphemy charges in Punjab in 2023

    19 children arrested on blasphemy charges in Punjab in 2023

    Nineteen children have been arrested on charges of blasphemy across Punjab between January 1, 2023 and October 16, 2023.

    In an appeal submitted to the Punjab Information Commission by the director of Legal Awareness Watch, Sarmad Ali, it was revealed by the Inspectorate General of Punjab Prisons that 19 minors were arrested out of whom six are in prison while the rest have been released, The News has reported.

    Sarmad Ali explained to The News that several children in the country are facing charges carrying severe punishment. Some of these children are not even allowed to maintain their juvenility as explained by the law. Under Section 8 of the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018, he explained, “Thus, owing to inadequate and effective implementation of [the] cited law which was promulgated in May 2018, many children have been [held] without fair trial or [have been] sentenced to severe punishment in sheer ignorance of the international standards and conventions which the state of Pakistan is signatory to.”

    The law also explains that children-even if dangerous-must be given their due rights. Sarmad added, “Children that are accused of having infringed any penal law must not be treated as adults as they cannot foresee the consequences of their actions.”

  • Mehdi Hasan’s show cancelled by MSNBC

    Mehdi Hasan’s show cancelled by MSNBC

    The prime-time show anchored by Mehdi Hasan, one of the strongest advocates of the Palestinian cause on American news networks, has been cancelled by MSNBC network.

    The decision was first reported by the news website Semafor on Thursday. The host of The Mehdi Hasan Show is a British-born journalist known for his hard-hitting interviews. He is a rare critic of Israeli policies on USA cable news and has a huge fanbase. The show was broadcast live on Sundays at 8 pm US Eastern time and covered national politics, current affairs, and global news.

    Mehdi Hasan will instead now become an on-camera analyst and guest host. His weekend show will be replaced by an additional hour of Ayman, the news program hosted by Ayman Mohyeldin.

    Hasan was recently very vocal about Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip. Earlier in November, he interviewed Mark Regev, senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s former ambassador to the UK, questioning him firmly on the high Palestinian civilian death toll, the Palestinian children that were killed by the Israeli military, and related matters.
    Hasan asked: “They’re people your government has killed. You’ve killed children. You accept that, right? Or do you deny that?”
    To which Regev replied: “No, I do not.”

    MSNBC President Rashida Jones said the reshuffle aims to “better position” the network as it heads into the 2024 US elections.

    Before what is reportedly the official cancellation of the Mehdi Hasan show, MSNBC faced criticism for temporarily taking Muslim anchors off air during the war in Gaza. The current decision has also attracted a lot of criticism.

    Noura Erakat slammed the network by saying “He should be amplified, not shut down.”

    Columnist and Journalist Owen Jones praised Mehdi’s interviewing skills and said, “Look what’s happening: the few mainstream voices who challenge Israel’s mass slaughter of Gaza are under attack.”

    US journalist David Sirota noted that Hasan has reported critically on both Republicans and Democrats.
    “Canceling him is another step in the deliberate homogenization of news content into pure red-vs-blue infotainment,” Sirota wrote on X.

    Host and author Charlie Skyes appreciated Mehdi and called him the most gifted interviewer in US Media.

    Kenneth Roth, former director of Human Right’s Watch proclaimed the decision as outrageous.

    Race theorist and author Tim Wise lambasted MSNBC that the network should be ashamed of its decision.