Category: Lifestyle

  • A man is a man and a woman is a woman, says Rishi Sunak

    A man is a man and a woman is a woman, says Rishi Sunak

    Rishi Sunak stated that it was “common sense” that “a man is a man and a woman is a woman.”

    On Wednesday, the British Prime Minister shared his stance on gender identity at a conference speech.

    “We shouldn’t be bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be, they can’t. A man is a man, a woman is a woman, that’s just common sense.”

    He announced a ban on trans women from female-only hospital wards.

    He also added that it “shouldn’t be controversial” for parents to be informed what their children were being taught about sex and relationships at school.

    “It shouldn’t be controversial for parents to know what their children are being taught in school about relationships. Patients should know when hospitals are talking about men or women.”

    He laid emphasis on family, saying that Conservatives should “never be afraid” to advocate its importance for a stable society.

    His comments come about as the debate about trans rights gains steam in Britain, and the rest of the western world. Conservatives and liberals have squared off about trans issues, most notably allowing children to begin hormone therapy, the inclusion of biological men in women’s sports and the matter of allowing trans women to be kept in women’s hospital wards, jails and bathrooms.

    The crowd responded to him with a loud applause on his views over gender, whereas people on X (formerly Twitter) got divided on his stance.

  • ‘Bury them properly’; man digs up children’s graves

    ‘Bury them properly’; man digs up children’s graves

    Sanda police have arrested a man who reportedly dug up the graves of three children, took the bodies out, and called their parents to rebury them “properly”.

    After the police investigated the matter, the man, identified as Usman alias Mani, was found to have dug up a number of graves. He claims that he was directed by “voices” to commit the act.

    As the parents found out about what the man had done, they hurried to the graveyard where the bodies were lying outside of the graves.

    As soon as the police were informed, the administration of the graveyard was alerted, and Usman was later arrested.

    Police have called in a senior psychologist who declared Usman mentally unstable after questioning and examining him.

    A case has, nonetheless, been lodged against Usman under section 297 of the Pakistan Penal Code (trespassing of burial places ) and the inquiry is to continue.

  • Palestinian and Israeli women come together for peace

    Palestinian and Israeli women come together for peace

    Hundreds of Palestinian and Israeli women rallied in the occupied West Bank to demand an end the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

    According to foreign media, the protesters were chanting “We want peace.”

    Many women wore white dresses and carried placards that read “Stop killing our children.”

    On this occasion, a Palestinian woman said, “We want our children to live instead of dying.”

    Palestinian activist and director of the Alliance for Middle East Peace NGO Huda Abu Arqoub said that this is the first association between Israeli and Palestinian women on an equal footing.

    According to Arab media, at least 243 Palestinians and 32 Israelis have been killed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so far this year.

  • Eight hours of gas supply this season too: Caretaker Federal Minister of Energy

    Eight hours of gas supply this season too: Caretaker Federal Minister of Energy

    The Caretaker Federal Minister of Energy, Muhammad Ali, has said that gas load-shedding will continue this year, similar to last year when gas was supplied for eight hours a day.

    This year, natural gas has reduced by 30 per cent whereas the demand is high and supply is low.

    In a statement, he highlighted that two LNG cargoes have been purchased to meet the shortage of gas in winter.

    Additionally, he pointed out that Rs16 billion have been recovered from power thieves so far.

  • Wedding hall staff installs camera in bridal changing room

    Wedding hall staff installs camera in bridal changing room

    Farid Town police in Sahiwal have arrested the manager and assistant manager of a wedding marquee at 96/6-R village, for reportedly installing hidden cameras in the bridal dressing room.

    Complainant Muhammad Arshad from 94/6-R village had booked his daughter’s wedding at Grand Imperial Marriage Hall on September 1, 2023.

    DAWN has reported that the man said that when his daughter went into the dressing room to change, she and her mother heard voices through the walls.

    Arshad’s wife informed him about it after which, along with his son Ali Akbar and cousin Tariq Hussain, he went to the adjacent room only to find a video recording setup connected with the camera capturing the activities of the bridal room.

    A man pointed a gun at them, while the manager and his assistant escaped the premises.
    He called the police on 15 helpline after which the manager and his assistant, Umer Iqbal and Javed Munir, were arrested.

    A case (FIR No 1495/23) has been registered against both the suspects and their accomplice who had pointed a pistol at the complainant, under sections 292 and 506/B of the PPC on the complaint of Arshad.

    Arshad has demanded that the district police officer conduct an investigation, and recover all the videos made by the suspects because they might have or could use it to blackmail and exploit women.

  • Vaccine to prevent recurrence of breast cancer produces good results in trial

    Vaccine to prevent recurrence of breast cancer produces good results in trial

    A vaccine developed for an aggressive form of breast cancer is currently being tested in human clinical trials.

    If the trials are successful, the vaccine would be groundbreaking, preventing recurrence of triple-negative breast cancer, which makes up about 10% to 15% of all breast cancers and is particularly challenging to treat.

    According to an article published by John Hopkins, triple-negative breast cancer is one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer because it grows quickly and has a higher rate of recurrence — locally, in the breast area, or to other parts of the body, meaning metastasis. In fact, the risk of the cancer recurring within five years of being diagnosed is nearly three times higher in patients with triple-negative breast cancer than in those who don’t have that type of breast cancer.

    Yahoo! interviewed Jennifer Davis who is the first person to receive the vaccine as part of the clinical trial.

    Davis is a 46-year-old nurse and a mother of three living in Ohio, USA. She was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in 2018, undergoing a double mastectomy and several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation.

    During her follow-up appointment, she came to know about the breast cancer vaccine trial.

    The vaccine has been under development for 20 years based on research led by Vincent Tuohy, who died in January 2023, and its human trials started in October 2021.

    “My [health care] team informed me of the vaccine that Dr. Tuohy had been studying for a long time,” Davis said.

    “It’s just that kind of breast cancer — that particular type — there’s nothing I can take afterward, no tamoxifen [a hormone therapy], and recurrence is high. If it does come back, outcomes are not the greatest. So I wanted to take something — the vaccine was that for me.”

    And because Davis is a nurse she claims to understand the importance of clinical trials, adding, “That’s how we advance medicine and make changes and one day, get rid of breast cancer.”

    Chairman and chief executive officer of Anixa Biosciences, licensed to create the vaccine, Amit Kumar says that 42% of women with triple-negative breast cancer will get the cancer again within five years. “It’s typically much more aggressive, so the outcome for those women is not very good,” he tells Yahoo Life.

    The purpose of the breast cancer vaccine is to “eliminate the recurrence for those women and eventually, prevent the cancer from ever arising.”

  • Punjab mein kahan ho rahi hai sab say ziada bijli chori?

    Punjab mein kahan ho rahi hai sab say ziada bijli chori?

    Ever wondered which district in Punjab has the highest percentage of electricity theft? Well, surprise, surprise, it is Kasur.

    Kasur has left all districts behind when it comes to power theft, as almost half of the total 20 highest loss-making grid stations of Punjab exist there, causing Rs40 billion losses annually, which is 40 percent of the total theft costing nearly Rs 100bn to Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) in the province.

    LESCO has intensified operations against electricity theft in the district.

    “There are total 103 high-loss feeders in all service areas of Lesco falling in Lahore, Kasur, Okara, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib. Of these, 77 feeders are in Kasur alone, placing the district on top of the list in power theft,” a LESCO source told Dawn.

    Interestingly, the power thieves stopped pilferage during the daytime due to continuous raids by LESCO teams and resorted to theft during night hours.

    It is pertinent to note that when it was brought to the knowledge of the most senior officials, they directed the authorities in Lahore to suspend supply to such areas during night hours to stop the pilferage. Following this, the power supply was kept suspended for almost 12 hours on Monday night forcing the consumers to involve local politicians (former MNAs, MPAs, etc.) from Kasur and other parts of the division, who approached LESCO management.

    Meanwhile, a senior official of the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) confirmed the development, saying Kasur is like a tribal area causing billions of rupees loss to LESCO because of massive electricity theft.

    “In Punjab, the government has been facing a loss of Rs99bn in the form of power theft. Of this, about Rs40bn theft is being reported from Kasur district (Lahore Division) alone, annually,” the official says.

    There are around 20 highest loss-making grid stations in Punjab, out of which nine are in Kasur district alone, LESCO has, however, been asked not to shut the supply to the high-loss feeders after the local politicians assured of full cooperation with the field teams in eliminating power theft.

    The official says one of the reasons behind the massive power theft in Kasur is that the district includes border areas and belts along the riverbeds of Sutlej and Beas where law enforcement is a hard task.

    “These areas have almost become like tribal belts where criminals routinely flout the law. That is why they are stealing electricity without fear,” he explains.

    Meanwhile, on the 26th consecutive day of the anti-power theft drive, LESCO teams arrested 132 power thieves and detected pilferage on 501 connections in all five districts. According to a spokesman, the applications for registration of FIRs against 498 electricity thieves have been submitted to the respective police stations, out of which 391 FIRs have been registered, while 132 accused have been arrested.

    An official says the connections where power theft was detected include two industrial, nine agricultural, 13 commercial, and 477 domestic, adding that supply to all these has been disconnected. He says all the electricity pilferers have also been charged a total of 758,052 detection units worth Rs39.980 million.

    He says that separately constituted teams also recovered Rs21 million from 1,359 chronic defaulters on Tuesday.

  • Malala will make history as the youngest speaker at Mandela Annual Lecture

    Malala will make history as the youngest speaker at Mandela Annual Lecture

    Youngest Nobel laureate and education activist Malala Yousafzai will be delivering the 21st Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in Johannesburg, South Africa.

    The announcement was made by Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) on social media on Monday.

    The NMF acting Chief Executive Verne Harris posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Scheduled for 5 December 2023, this lecture holds special significance as it coincides with the tenth anniversary of Madiba’s passing.”

    The Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture Series consists of prominent people initiating debate on significant social issues and difficult subjects in order to address the challenges the world encounters.

    Nelson Mandela was the first Black president of South Africa (1994–99). He was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize with South African Pres. F.W. de Klerk for Peace in 1993 for their efforts towards the rights of Africans.

    “Malala embodies the type of leadership we believe the world needs across all levels of society. In the face of current global challenges, which can seem daunting, she stands as an inspiring symbol of hope for a just and equitable future,” said Harris.

    Some of the previous speakers include South Africa’s Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, former US president Barack Obama; Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai; former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan; Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates.

  • You won’t get your ‘normal passport’ in 10 days anymore

    You won’t get your ‘normal passport’ in 10 days anymore

    New guidelines have been notified by The Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGIP) regarding the issuance of travel documents, stating that a normal passport will now be issued in 21 days which was earlier processed in 10 days, as per Geo News.

    The DGIP noted that criminal elements are trying to undermine the Pakistani Passport and the department observed illegal use, which has made it difficult to issue a passport on time, the directorate mentioned without elaborating further on the matter.
    As a result, the passport-issuing authority has increased caution and scrutiny in the process.

    However, there’s no change in the timeline for urgent and most urgent passports which are issued in 5 and 2 working days respectively.

    The DGIP also advised people to visit relevant passport offices between 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., urging people to cooperate with the directorate, adding that in case of any difficulties related to obtaining a passport, they must file a complaint in the Citizen Portal.

    It’s worth noting that in April of this year, the delivery times for all three passport categories—normal, urgent, and fast-track—were reduced to 10 days, 4 days, and 2 days, respectively.

  • Earthquake predicted in Pakistan hits India, Nepal

    Earthquake predicted in Pakistan hits India, Nepal

    An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 on the Richter scale has jolted New Delhi and parts of Nepal late on Monday afternoon.

    However, according to the Solar System Geometry Survey, the magnitude of the earthquake was 5.7 while its depth was 7km.

    The earthquake is said to have lasted for more than 40 seconds, as reported by Hindustan Times.

    Simultaneously, as per the NDTV, two earthquakes shook Nepal with magnitudes of 4.6 and 6.2 in a time span of 25 minutes.

    The tremors were also felt in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, Hapur, and Amroha along with parts of Uttarakhand.

    On October 1, a Dutch research organisation predicted that a severe tremor that may hit Pakistan in the coming days.

    But the scientific community did not pay much heed to Solar System Geometry Survey (SSGS) of the Netherlands because scientifically, it is impossible to actually predict an earthquake.

    As per the predictions, nonetheless, the earthquake was to hit along the Chaman fault line, in Balochistan.