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.

  • Indian organisation goes viral for giving employees a day off after India loses World Cup

    Indian organisation goes viral for giving employees a day off after India loses World Cup

    After India’s historic loss against Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup final, fans were devastated. Some chose to lash out at Australian players, posting misogynistic and degrading slurs on the Instagram profiles of Australian cricket players Travis Head and Glenn Maxwell as well as their wives.

    READ MORE: ‘You can be Indian and also support the country of your birth’; Glenn Maxwell’s wife responds to haters

    Indian media reported that one cricket fan suffered a heart attack and died at the hospital.

    READ MORE: Suicide and heart attacks reported in India after losing World Cup final

    An Indian firm named Marketing Moves is going viral after they offered a day off to their employees to recover from India’s loss.

    “Hi team,” the message read. “In light of India’s loss in the recent WC, we recognise the impact on our team members. To offer some support during this time, the company has decided to grant a one-day leave relaxation. We believe this will provide an opportunity for everyone to regroup and recover. Let’s come back stronger.”

  • Hungarian Scholarship 2024-25 announced for Pakistani Students

    Hungarian Scholarship 2024-25 announced for Pakistani Students

    Higher Education Commission Pakistan (HEC) has announced the ‘Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship Program’ for academic year 2024-25 that aims at supporting outstanding students in collaboration with Hungary.

    The program involves Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD programs. Students who want to apply will have to sit for an exam that will be conducted in January and Feburary of the next year.

    The commission has confirmed that the program is supported by the Tempus Public Foundation Hungary to facilitate eligible individuals.

    How to Apply

    1. Applicants are MANDATORILY required to submit online applications at the Hungarian website and HEC website. Failure to submit online application forms on BOTH websites mentioned at Step (1) and Step (2) will not be considered for further processing.

    2. Hard copies of applications and other documents are not required at the initial stage. However, applicants are required to keep a record of all the submitted documents along with printed copies of BOTH application forms (submitted online at the HEC website & Hungarian website).

    3. At a later stage of the selection process, applicants will be required to submit hard copies (including online application forms submitted at the HEC website & Hungarian website) along with attested photocopies of all the original documents. Original medical certificate and police clearance certificate also need to be submitted at later stages of the application process.

    Step (1) Tempus Public Foundation (Hungarian side) Online Application:

    1. All applications shall be submitted through the online application system of Tempus Public Foundation Hungary. The application guideline can be found at https://stipendiumhungaricum.hu/
      After registration, applicants are able to access the application surface and upload the required documents. Please note that no applications will be accepted without the online submission and after the deadline. After applying online, get its printed copies for record.
    2. Apply online please visit: https://stipendiumhungaricum.hu/apply/
    3. Application Guide for the applicants can be found on our website: https://stipendiumhungaricum.hu/uploads/2020/03/Application_Guide_for_the_Stipendium_Hungaricum_Programme_2024_25.pdf
      Step (2) HEC Online Application:
    4. Apply online at: https://scholarship.hec.gov.pk/. After registering and filling out your profile, please select “Hungarian Scholarship Program”. After submission of the application, get its printed copy to be signed by the applicant. The HEC online application portal shall close on January 15, 2024 (1600 Hours Pakistan Time).
    5. Before applying, kindly update your HEC profile with the latest email/cell number & updated information. You are advised to complete and submit your application as soon as possible, as the online application system will be very busy in the days leading up to the application deadline. After successful submission of the application at the HEC portal, retain a printed copy application form signed by yourself.
    6. Submission of online applications at https://stipendiumhungaricum.hu/apply/ & https://Scholarship.hec.gov.pk portal is mandatory. In case of non-submission of forms on any of the above two portals, candidature will not be considered.
    7. All applicants are required to provide HAT or USAT test scores. Test categories are attached for information on applicants. Applicant must have obtained a minimum score of 50 out of 100 in HAT or USAT test. Those applicants who have taken the HAT or USAT test on or after January 15, 2022, may upload the test result on the HEC portal for consideration.
    8. Interested applicants who are yet to take the HAT or USAT test, may register for the same by visiting https://etc.hec.gov.pk/. Without providing a minimum HAT or USAT test score (50 out of 100), applications will not be considered for further processing.
  • World Children’s Day celebrated as ‘graveyard of children’, Gaza, remains under siege

    World Children’s Day celebrated as ‘graveyard of children’, Gaza, remains under siege

    World Children’s Day is annually celebrated on November 20. The theme for this year is ‘For every child, every right’. The blatant irony is that the day is being celebrated as the children of Gaza do not even have the fundamental right to life. They are being orphaned, injured, losing limbs, burned by white phosphorus, or worse, killed. With the war entering the seventh week, almost 5000 children are dead. 1800 children are missing under the rubble, presumably dead, while 9000 are severely injured with life-changing consequences.

    One out of every 200 children in Gaza has been killed by Israeli strikes since October 7. This is like one child is killed every 10 minutes in the besieged Gaza strip.

    A report published by Save the Children published when the toll was around 4630, said that the number of deaths “surpasses the annual number of children killed across all the world’s conflict zones since 2019.” The report clearly mentioned that “no child in Gaza is safe at the moment”.

    The children who have survived will bear trauma for the rest of their lives but their imminent problems are hunger, fear, lack of shelter, hygiene.

    The New York Times, called out multiple times by critics of the war, today published its headline, ‘Graveyard of Children’. In the course of the last six weeks, the world saw a girl pushing her way out of the rubble, another bawling her eyes out searching for her mother insisting she had recognized her among the dead from her hair, a boy who lost his parents in the first bombing and his legs to the second in the hospital, children’s corpses burned and decimated, and as many as 30 crying infants who are out of incubators, walking the thin line of life and death.
    Dr Abu-Sittah told The NY Times “More and more, it seems like a war against children.”

  • In the face of indescribable cruelty, Palestinians continue displaying love for animals

    In the face of indescribable cruelty, Palestinians continue displaying love for animals

    Despite hardship and violence, Palestinians keep proving their hearts are as big as the sea. As videos go viral of displaced civilians forced to leave behind their homes and belongings during the Israeli airstrikes, one thing remains consistent: the Palestinians will never leave behind their pets.

    Several videos show Palestinians living in refugee camps and surviving with meagre rations, but still doing everything to provide for the cats and dogs being left behind. An animal rescuer by the name of Salula Animal Rescue has been going viral on Twitter, with the platform applauding him for providing shelter and food to the cats whose owners did not survive or who got lost.

    In several videos, he can be seen housing injured animals found under the rubble of bombed homes.

    In many other videos, Gazan children can be seen cuddling their cats as they take them along to escape the bombing by Israeli airstrikes.

    A man from Gaza went viral when he was seen taking his cat along with him to escape Northern Gaza.

    At a time when many experts have compared what is happening in Gaza to hell, Palestinians keep on proving they have bravery and resilience in spades.

  • Viral video about Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib is actually from four kilometres away

    Viral video about Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib is actually from four kilometres away

     A video going viral on the other side of the border shows a group dancing at what seems to be an event. The video was spread in India with claims that liquor and meat were served at the event in the Gurdwara Sahib. It is to be noted that meat and alcohol are strictly prohibited in Sikhism and their use is considered against the Sikh protocol. Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib is the second most holiest place for Sikhs around the world for it is believed that Guru Nanak breathed his last here.

    General Secretary, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Jagdip Singh Kahlon called it “unacceptable”. A number of publications also posted the video quoting statements from BJP leaders like Manjinder Singh Sirsa condemning the incident.

    Reputable Journalist Shiraz Hassan debunked the news as “totally false news”. He goes on to elaborate, “The event venue was at least 4KM away from Srri Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara – the whole area is known as Kartapur and the event was organized in Doda village!”

  • PHA becomes first government department to give electric bikes to employees

    PHA becomes first government department to give electric bikes to employees

    The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) of Lahore has become the first government department to distribute eco-friendly electric bikes to its workforce. The first batch will be distributed on Monday.

    PHA has taken the step in order to combat air pollution in Lahore which is at an all-time high since a few weeks. 25 e-bikes are to be given to the employees.

    The Electric Vehicles Policy of Pakistan 2020-2025 also emphasised on providing incentives to promote local production of e-vehicles, with the ultimate goal of capturing a substantial share of the market.

    The PHA has also undertaken a city-wide plantation drive, sowing millions of plants in far-flung as well as central Lahore neighborhoods to increase the green cover of the city.
    Just last month, it entered into a partnership with a foreign business group to plant a million trees.

    The Lahore High Court has already told the government to give bicycles to all government servants so that pollution and deadly smog could be curbed.

  • Chakwal: Police seals Madrassa where 15 students were assaulted by two teachers

    Chakwal: Police seals Madrassa where 15 students were assaulted by two teachers

    Update: Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited one of the victims’ families on Sunday, and said the Punjab government would leave no stone unturned in providing justice to the victims and suspects would face the maximum punishment for the heinous crime. The district administration sealed the madrassa on Sunday.

    “We are ashamed over this incident, but at the same time, it would be unfair to blame all seminaries. Reforms should be made to address this issue,” the chief minister said and maintained that his government would do what it could in this regard.

    Chakwal police have obtained four days’ remand for the two teachers who have been arrested. “Fifteen students were brought to the hospital for medical examination. All of them carried knife and bite marks on their bodies,” Dr. Mohammad Haleem, the media coordinator of District Headquarters Hospital, told Dawn. He said the parents of nine victims had refused to proceed with the medical examination despite the fact that their children had complained of assault and knife and bite marks were also found on their bodies.

    “We have also recovered a knife that suspects used to inflict cut marks on the bodies of students.” According to the FIR, the suspects wrote ‘Z’ on the victims’ bodies.

    The DPO said that the management of the seminary was informed a month ago about the abuse.

    “Instead of reporting the matter to police, the management settled it on its own by expelling the two suspects on November 11,” he said, adding that strict action would be taken against all those found involved in the offence.

    When asked about the parents who had refused to pursue the case, the DPO said all the victims would be made part of the investigation.

    The victim’s father who took the matter to the police informed Dawn that his son wanted to be a Naat Khawan and that’s why he got him admitted to the madrassa. He went to meet the son and there the kid clung to him and started crying. “Had my son not told me, this heinous crime would never have come to light,” the father said.

    The management of the seminary, while talking to the media on Saturday, said it would cooperate with the police.

    Previously, Chakwal Police have registered an FIR against two teachers at a Madrassa for assaulting a 12-year-old boy, reports Geo.

    The FIR states that the boy’s father observed that his son was extremely perturbed. Upon asking, the boy revealed that the two teachers have made marks with knives over the bodies of many children, including him.

    A local hospital has also confirmed the presence of scars on the children.

    The police has arrested one of the two teachers while search for the other is underway. Both the teachers are not locals of Chakwal.

  • X user wins hearts by sharing story of inter-faith marriage of Palestinian parents

    X user wins hearts by sharing story of inter-faith marriage of Palestinian parents

    An X (formerly Twitter) user, Beisan, is winning hearts on social media by sharing the love story of her Palestinian parents. Beisan revealed her parents, a Muslim man and his Christian wife, have been married for over 40 years.

    In her next post, Beisan shared that inter-faith marriages were not permitted in Israel, where under the law, interfaith unions are not legally recognised. Because of this, her parents had to move to Canada in order to legalise their union.

    Twitter users were moved by Beisan’s dedication to her parents, a reminder of the enormous love Palestinian men hold for their families.

    A user shared: “In high school I went on a trip to Nippissing & the weather was colder than I packed for. When I got home & told my father he was furious that I didn’t call him to bring sweaters, it was only a 3 hour drive. It’s hard to describe the intensity of a Palestinian father’s love.”

  • Filipino Catholic nun chooses to stay behind in Gaza, defying mandatory evacuation

    A 63-year-old Filipino nun is making international headlines by defying the Philippine government’s evacuation attempts and choosing to stay in Gaza. Since the genocide began on October 7, the Philippine government has successfully evacuated 111 civilians from the region. However, the unnamed nun who is from the Missionaries of Charity, has chosen to remain as the last Filipino in Gaza.

    Most of the evacuees were forced to leave family residents behind.

    The Philippines Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega spoke to Arab News about the nun and how her defiance of the Filipino government makes her a symbol of “Filipino spirituality”:

    “She’s with the Missionaries of Charity… they will not leave. After all, they believe…that (what they are doing) is spiritual,” he said.

    “She will be the last Filipino left in Gaza, (and) is a symbol of Filipino spirituality and how we pray for solidarity with those suffering, and for world peace.”

    Dr Vega reported the nun is safe right now. The Philipine DEmbassy of Jordan has remained in touch with her, to whom she had simply asked to ‘pray for her’.

    Several other Filipino’s in Gaza have expressed uncertainty in leaving because of their attachment to the place, while others have refused because their Palestinian spouses would not be able to join them.

    “We are still trying to convince them to leave,” De Vega responded. “We hope we can evacuate them all.”

  • Norway’s Parliament asks govt to be prepared for recognizing ‘independent’ Palestine

    Norway’s Parliament asks govt to be prepared for recognizing ‘independent’ Palestine

    Eight out of the ten parties represented in Norway’s parliament voted for the recognition of an independent Palestinian state in future.
    The proposition was propounded by the ruling coalition-to counter the resolution by smaller parties-calling for an immediate recognition of a Palestinian state.

    The resolution stated that the parliament “asks the government to be ready to recognize Palestine as an independent state when recognition could have a positive impact on the peace process, without making a final peace accord a condition.”

    The resolution has gained the ire of Israel as the process of evacuation of 60 Norwegian nationals from Gaza has been stopped as per reports.

    In Europe, Iceland, Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic, and Romania recognize the statehood of Palestine.

    Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has also ensured his parliament that the process of recognizing Palestinian’s right to statehood will be sped up.

    Belgium has also begun the process of recognizing the right.

    Irish opposition leader Mary Lou McDonald has reiterated the call for a ceasefire, asserting that “Palestinian people have a right to their homeland.”