Sri Lanka’s Agriculture Minister, Mahinda Amaraweera, has instructed officials to examine China’s proposal to import 100,000 toque macaque monkeys, which are native to Sri Lanka and classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The monkeys will be displayed in over 1,000 Chinese zoos with the minister suggesting that Sri Lanka might be able to meet the request due to the large macaque population in the country.
As per a Sri Lankan news portal, a meeting was held on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of sending monkeys to China under the first phase of the programme. Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera led the meeting, which was attended by officials from the Agriculture Ministry, Department of National Zoological Gardens, and Department of Wildlife Conservation.
During the meeting, it was revealed that the current monkey population in Sri Lanka has grown to almost 3 million and that the monkeys were causing significant damage to local crops.
Despite Sri Lanka’s ban on almost all live animal exports, the country is currently considering fulfilling China’s request for macaque monkeys, as the country grapples with its worst economic crisis. Sri Lanka is also looking to fulfill China’s request due to the fact that Beijing is one of Sri Lanka’s major bilateral lenders.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has announced on Friday that official holidays on the occasion of Eid ul Fitr will be six days long.
According to the notification issued by KP government, Eid holidays will start from April 21 and will conclude on April 26.
The Federal and Punjab governments have announced a five-day holiday for Eid.
The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee is set to meet on April 20 for sighting of the Eid ul Fitr crescent moon, a statement from the religious affairs ministry said on Tuesday.
This year, the holy month of Ramazan started on March 23.
Two suspected robbers were reportedly shot to death on Saturday in the Azizabad Block 8 area of Karachi after a citizen allegedly fired at them while they were attempting to rob him near Moore Park, as per eyewitnesses, Samaa has reported.
The police arrived at the scene and took possession of the bodies, which were then transferred to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. The suspected robbers were pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
Authorities have stated that they are working to establish the identity of the alleged thieves. It remains unclear whether the citizen who fired the shots acted in self-defense or if there are other factors at play.
South Korea plans to provide approximately $500 every month as a cash giveaway to encourage young individuals, who are mostly underprivileged and reclusive, to come out of their isolation.
In an effort to assist young people affected by hikikomori, a term used to describe severe social withdrawal, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in South Korea has initiated the funding program. The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs estimates that approximately 3% or 350,000 individuals aged between 19 and 39 in South Korea experience loneliness or isolation.
As per the reports from the Ministry, citing the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, roughly 3.1 per cent of South Koreans aged between 19 and 39 are classified as “reclusive lonely young people.” This term is defined as individuals living in a restricted space, disconnected from the outside world for an extended period, and struggling to lead a regular life.
The Ministry’s report stated that around 338,000 individuals in the country fit the category of “reclusive lonely young people,” with 40% of them starting to withdraw during their adolescence. The reasons behind their isolation are diverse and may include financial difficulties, mental health issues, family conflicts or health problems
Karachi Zoo’s ailing elephant Noor Jehan suffered another setback on Thursday after she fell into a concrete pond inside her pen. According to Karachi Times, the elephant had to be pulled out with the help of cranes and was not moving much after that.
Speaking to Geo News, Safari Park Director Kanwar Ayub said that the unfortunate accident happened on Thursday night, leading to worsening of Noor Jehan’s pain. He further added that her treatment was still being supervised by foreign doctors.
17 year old elephant #NoorJehan , who recently went through a surgery by foreign doctors , reportedly fell into to a concrete pond which further worsened her condition. #Karachi#TOKAlertpic.twitter.com/jC80Z6V4ZU
Activists and celebrities slammed the Zoo’s management authorities for mishandling animals and the overall poor state of the facility.
Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari shared a video of Noor Jehan in distress on Twitter, demanding that the zoo should be shut down because of it’s inability to provide proper facilities to animals.
“#KarachiZoo should be shut down because it is clearly beyond the capacity of KMC.”
Actress Ayesha Omar too posted a video clip of Noor Jehan on her Instagram page, asking her followers about how could they help in ensuring the elephant receives proper treatment.
Actor Yashma Gill shared a video clip on her Instagram stories of Noor Jehan, and wrote that for the sake of Ramzan, the zoo needs to shut down.
“Please for the sake of this holy month join hands in this cause and help in BOYCOTTING this zoo culture!”
Nadia Jamil prayed that the elephant’s critical condition is ressolved as she shared a clip of Noor Jehan after her surgery
Veteran actress Simi Rahael shared a tweet that slammed Karachi Zoo’s administration for the poor condition of Noor Jehan, and in the caption she shared the hashtag #banzoo and #stopanimalcruelty
International animal relief organization Four Paws also posted updates from their Twitter account, stating that they had coordinated all night with the local team to try and save the elephant’s life.
The FOUR PAWS team worked until late at night together with the local team via video calls to find possible solutions to save her. And today our efforts continue, we won't give up on her!
Earlier, Four Paws had flown its veterinarians to Karachi to operate on Noor Jehan after her condition had gotten worse. In a press release, they had written that in 2021, the organisation had strongly recommended that both elephants should be shifted from Karachi Zoo as the facilities there do not comply with international standards. However, no such measures were taken by the authorities.
On April 5, Dr Amir Khalil, the head of Four Paws, revealed that the surgery on Noor Jehan had been successful, hoping that authorities would comply with the organization by relocating both elephants, Noor Jehan and Madhubala, to a proper facility equipped to handle the animals.
On April 7, Times of Karachi announced that the Director of Karachi Zoo, Khalid Hashmi, had been suspended due to negligence and mismanagement which had led to Noor Jehan’s illness.
Director #KarachiZoo Khalid Hashmi has been suspended from Safari Park and recreation posts, over exhibiting negligence in the medical treatment of sick elephant ‘Noor Jehan’. The municipal commission of the KMC handed over the responsibilities of Hashmi to the local got’s… pic.twitter.com/61ay7Fa4Kg
Time magazine on Thursday revealed its list of the 100 most influential people of 2023 with Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman included in it.
Time’s list of the most influential people is curated by its editors while individuals on the list are nominated by previous honorees, as well as the magazine’s writing staff.
“As Pakistan’s Minister for Climate Change, she gave a voice to those who had lost everything to the floods. Through impassioned speeches and tireless engagement in negotiations, she convinced many of the delegates that the blatant injustice must come to an end. COP27 ended with a historic decision—the world community agreed for the first time to establish new loss and damage funding arrangements to support the most vulnerable countries. This is a big step towards climate justice, but we still have a long way to go. We will need more people like Sherry Rehman along the way,” writes Times about Sherry.
“Omg thank you @peterfrankopan! Just saw this. Honoured to be on this list”, said Sherry on Twitter while reacting to receiving the honour.
We will sadly have to spend our Eid this year without getting any crispy brand-new rupee note as Eidi.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday decided against issuing fresh currency notes on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr.
SBP spokesperson has confirmed that the bank will not issue new notes as the supply-demand gap was on the rise fueled by people’s possession of the notes.
Eid-ul-Fitr is expected to fall on April 22 this year. The federal government has announced that Eid holidays which will run from April 21 to April 25, thus making Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday gazetted holidays.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a woman in China has died after contracting a rare type of bird flu, making the death the first known human fatality from the strain.
However, the H3N8 subtype of avian influenza does not seem to spread from person to person.
The woman, aged 56, was from the southern province of Guangdong and is the third person to have contracted this subtype, with the previous two cases also reported in China last year. Although the Guangdong Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the third infection in the woman last month, no further information has been provided regarding her death.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that the person who died from the rare H3N8 subtype of avian influenza had various pre-existing health conditions and had been in contact with live birds.
In China, sporadic cases of bird flu among humans are frequent as avian flu viruses are prevalent among the large populations of domesticated and wild birds. The WHO mentioned that samples taken from a wet market that the woman visited before falling ill tested positive for influenza A(H3), indicating that this might have been where she contracted the infection.
Although the H3N8 subtype of avian influenza is uncommon in humans, it is prevalent among birds and typically does not cause any noticeable symptoms in them. It has been known to also infect various other animals. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that no other individuals who were in close proximity to the woman were found to have been infected.
A video of policemen in Rajanpur eating a snake after grilling it is going viral on social media. As per details, the cops seen in the video belong to the Rapid Response Force.
The video shows several police officers in Ghotki using their survival skills to catch a regular cobra. The snake was subsequently stripped of its skin and cooked on coals, using the metal rod from an AK-47 assault rifle as a skewer.
“It tastes like fish,” said one of the cops.
“We have been trained to eat snakes to fulfil our protein needs as snakes are a very good source of protein,” said another cop.
The police officers are involved in a mission to drive out criminal gangs who are taking refuge in the lush vegetation that thrives along the rivers in Sindh. These areas are used as hiding places criminals including those involved in abduction for ransom, murder and armed robbery.
The police in Iran have announced a new measure to enforce the country’s mandatory dress code for women. Cameras will be installed in public areas and streets to identify and punish women who do not wear veils. Those who violate the dress code will be sent warning messages about the consequences of their actions. This move is an attempt to control the growing number of women who are choosing to not follow the compulsory dress code. The violators will receive “warning text messages as to the consequences”, said the police statement. The move is aimed at “preventing resistance against the hijab law”, it said.
Iran has seen widespread demonstrations since the September 16, 2022, death of 22-year old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested in Tehran. She was taken into custody for not wearing the hijab, thus, breaching Iran’s strict dress code for women.
Iran has an official law that requires females, including girls as young as seven years old, to wear a hijab. The law was introduced after the year 1979 and has resulted in approximately 40 million women and girls being under continuous observation.
