Current Final

Category: Lifestyle

  • Islamabad Traffic Police issues 2,827 challans to unregistered cars, motorcycles

    Islamabad Traffic Police issues 2,827 challans to unregistered cars, motorcycles

    During the current year, the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) issued fine tickets to 2,827 unregistered cars and motorcycles.

    The action was taken as part of a crackdown initiated by Inspector-General (IG) Islamabad Police Muhammad Ahsan Younas and led by Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Traffic Rai Mazhar Iqbal.

    The ITP deployed special enforcement squads to check unregistered automobiles on the roadways as part of the crackdown. Special enforcement teams were stationed throughout the city to keep an eye on the movement of unregistered vehicles. Meanwhile, the SSP (Traffic) asked citizens on Friday to have their vehicles registered as soon as possible and to use only ETO-issued number plates.

    He stated that police officials would not be lenient in this regard. In order to maintain a smooth flow of traffic in the Federal Capital, ITP is taking strict action against vehicles that are parked incorrectly.

    Read more: PM Shehbaz rejects OGRA’s proposal, petrol price to remain unchanged till April 30

    All Zonal DSPs were directed by the SSP Traffic to ensure that traffic laws were followed by citizens by being polite. Citizens should be treated with respect, he emphasized, and he educated them on traffic laws.

  • Chinese astronauts return to Earth after six months in space

    Three Chinese astronauts landed in northern China on Saturday after 183 days in space, state broadcaster CCTV said, ending the country’s longest crewed space mission to date.

    The two men and one woman – Zhai Zhigang, Ye Guangfu and Wang Yaping – landed safely in a small capsule shortly before 10am Beijing time (02:00 GMT) after spending six months on the Tianhe core module of China’s Tiangong space station.

    “Shenzhou 13’s re-entry capsule successfully landed,” state broadcaster CCTV said.

    Barred by the United States from participating in the International Space Station (ISS), China has spent the past 10 years developing technologies to build the Tiangong, the only space station other than the ISS.

    The country aims to become a major space power by 2030 and rival the US and Russia. It has already landed a rover on Mars and sent probes to the Moon, and the country’s National Space Administration said it aims to launch a crewed lunar mission by 2029.

    Live footage from CCTV showed the capsule landing in a cloud of dust, with ground crew who had kept clear of the landing site rushing in helicopters to reach it.

    There was applause as the astronauts each took turns to report that they were “feeling good”.

    The Shenzhou-13 was the second of four crewed missions to assemble the Tiangong, which means “heavenly palace”.

    Wang became the first Chinese woman to walk in space last November, as she and her colleague Zhai installed space station equipment during a six-hour stint.

    Mission commander Zhai, 55, is a former fighter pilot who performed China’s first spacewalk in 2008, while Ye is a People’s Liberation Army pilot.

    The trio have completed two spacewalks, carried out numerous scientific experiments, set up equipment and tested technologies for future construction during their time in orbit.

    The incoming Shenzhou-14 is expected to be launched in the coming months.

    Astronauts will spend six months on the Chinese space station in future missions, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

  • ‘The kindest face of humanity’: Tributes pour in for Bilquis Edhi

    ‘The kindest face of humanity’: Tributes pour in for Bilquis Edhi

    Bilquis Bano Edhi passed away on Friday (April 15) at the age of 74. She was the wife of renowned humanitarian and philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi. Politicians, journalists, cricketers and celebrities paid rich tributes to Bilquis Edhi.

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted that the passing of Bilquis Edhi “is a huge loss for the nation”.

    First Lady Tehmina Durrani tweeted, “Today I lost the woman who became my mother when I most needed one. The entire world lost one of its most valuable assets.”

    Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto shared a picture of his late mother Benazir Bhutto with Bilquis Edhi and Abdul Sattar Edhi.

    Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan tweeted: “Her quiet, selfless work for the poor, the homeless, especially the orphans & abandoned children, made her a role model and a symbol of hope.”

    Apart from politicians, several cricketers and celebrities also paid rich tributes to Bilquis Edhi.

    Shahid Afridi said Bilquis Edhi was a “mother to so many orphans, a sister to many grieving hearts; the kindest face of humanity”.

    https://twitter.com/SAfridiOfficial/status/1514979525230305280

    Pakistan cricket captain Babar Azam tweeted: “May her unmatched legacy lives on and the hope to thousands remain as in her lifetime. Salute and respect.”

    Pakistani bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi tweeted that Bilquis Edhi was one of a kind hope to many.

    Singer and actor Hadiqa Kiani tweeted, “She trusted me with being a mother and I, like so many others touched by Mrs. Edhi’s grace and kind soul, will forever be grateful. I pray for her peace and I pray her legacy carries on.”

    Actor, Osman Khalid Butt tweeted, “Rest in peace and power, Bilquis Ji. We will never forget your contributions to Pakistan.”

    Adnan Siddiqui wrote: “We have lost a great philanthropist and an ever greater human being. It takes rare selflessness to dedicate your entire life to serving humanity. Bilquis Edhi, your humanitarian work will inspire generations.”

  • SriLankan Airlines plan to lease 21 aircraft draws criticism

    SriLankan Airlines plan to lease 21 aircraft draws criticism

    A plan by Sri Lanka’s state-owned national airline to lease nearly two dozen aircraft has sparked public criticism and opposition condemnation as the country struggles with its worst financial crisis in decades.

    Sri Lanka is struggling with low reserves that have declined more than 70% over the past two years to $1.93 billion at the end of March.

    The dollar crunch has caused acute shortages of fuel, food and medicines, with rolling power cuts for hours a day for more than a month.

    On Tuesday, Sri Lanka suspended some external debt repayments and said it would instead use meagre dollar cache to focus on essential imports.

    Protesters demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resignation have been staging daily sit-ins outside his office.

    Tender notices for the lease of 42 aircraft were published on the airline’s website on Thursday.

    SriLankan Airlines has been struggling with a fall in tourism because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis.

    In 2019/20, SriLankan Airlines reported a loss of 44.14 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($140.90 million) against 41.70 billion Sri Lankan rupees in the previous year.

    “This must be a joke?!,” a member of parliament from the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) alliance, Harsha de Silva, said in a post on Twitter.

    “Sri Lanka is bankrupt; no fuel, gas or medicine. Where the hell is money for this nonsense?! Better immediately clarify.”

    Another opposition party, the United National Party (UNP), demanded that the carrier cancel the proposal while numerous Sri Lankans expressed their disapproval online.

    “What good is new aircraft when you won’t have fuel to fly,” said Twitter user Shiv Theyagamurti.

    The airline’s chairman, Asoka Pathirage, said the carrier was looking for 21 planes to lease in an initial round as part of its 2022-2025 business plan to replace aircraft that would be phased out of its existing fleet.

    “We are only looking at availability in the market. SriLankan Airlines will finance these leases and we will not depend on funds from the government,” he told Reuters.

    “The airline has been making profits. We do have debt but we have to make money to repay them.”

    The government will begin talks with the International Monetary Fund for a loan programme on Monday.

  • North Korea marks founder’s birth without military parade

    North Korea marks founder’s birth without military parade

    North Korea celebrated the 110th anniversary of the birth of late founder Kim Il Sung on Friday with fireworks, a procession, and an evening gala in Pyongyang’s main square, with thousands of people in colourful traditional dress singing and dancing.

    Nuclear-armed Pyongyang usually uses the holiday – known as the Day of the Sun – to show off its latest weaponry.

    But while this year’s event follows a flurry of weapons testing – three weeks ago the country carried out its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test since 2017 – there was no sign of the usual military parade.

    Leader Kim Jong Un visited his grandfather’s mausoleum and attended a “national meeting and a public procession” in Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square but gave no reported public remarks. A senior official spoke at the meeting, saying that North Korea would overcome all difficulties and always emerge victorious, state news agency KCNA reported.

    State media aired live footage of an evening gala in the square after sunset on Friday, following concerts, art exhibitions, and ideological seminars.

    There was also a light festival in the centre of Pyongyang, with dancing fountains and decorated boats on the Taedong River, KCNA said.

    The festival “artistically depicted” Kim Il Sung’s native home and “the sacred mountain of revolution, Mt Paektu,” KCNA said. Residents could take photos in front of arches lit with phrases such as ‘Pyongyang Is Best’ and ‘We Are the Happiest in the World’.

    “I came to see the lighting festival with my daughter. Looking at it today, it’s really cool. The most impressive thing in particular is this one that says ‘self-reliance’,” Ri Bom Chol, a 40-year-old doctor, told an AFP news agency reporter in Pyongyang.

    ‘Love is forever’

    Analysts, along with South Korean and US officials, had widely expected North Korea to mark the occasion with new weaponry, or even a test of the country’s banned nuclear weapons.

    Seoul-based specialist site NK News said analysis of satellite imagery suggested that training was taking place at the Mirim military parade training base, with a few thousand troops marching in formation. Images from Planet Labs had also shown an increasing number of tyre marks around a secure garage area for heavy weapons at the site, suggesting practice drives were taking place, it added.

    Experts say April 25 – the anniversary of the founding of the North Korean army – is the next most likely date for the parade.

  • Four men arrested for allegedly raping a monitor lizard

    Four men arrested for allegedly raping a monitor lizard

    Four men have been arrested in India for allegedly raping a  Bengal monitor lizard. According to media reports, the incident took place in Sahydari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra.

    Sandeep Tukram, Pawar Mangesh, Janardhan Kamtekar, and Akshay Sunil are four hunters suspected of breaking into the reserve and committing the crime. The accused were being probed after they were booked on March 31 for illegally entering the forest when the crime came to light, the official said. A video found on one of the accused’s phones shows the men gang-raping the lizard.

    In addition to the video of the men sexually abusing the monitor lizard, officials also found photos of various animals such as porcupines and deer on their phones.

    Only one of the accused was arrested at first, while the others fled. The last three were eventually discovered in Hativ village in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district. The men travelled from Konkan to hunt in Kolhapur’s Chandoli hamlet, according to officials.

  • World treats crises affecting blacks, whites unequally, regrets WHO chief

    The WHO chief said on Wednesday that the world was treating humanitarian crises affecting black and white lives unequally, with only a “fraction” of the attention on Ukraine given elsewhere.

    According to the AFP, World Health Organisation’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the emergencies happening in other parts of the world were not being taken as seriously and hoped the international community “comes back to its senses”.

    “I don’t know if the world really gives equal attention to black and white lives,” Tedros told a news conference. “The whole attention to Ukraine is very important of course, because it impacts the whole world.

    “But even a fraction of it is not being given to Tigray, Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria and the rest. A fraction.

    “I need to be blunt and honest that the world is not treating the human race the same way. Some are more equal than others. And when I say this, it pains me. Because I see it. Very difficult to accept but it’s happening.”

    Tedros, who is himself from Tigray, said the United Nations had determined that 100 trucks per day of life-saving humanitarian supplies needed to be going into the besieged northern region of Ethiopia.

    The country’s former health and foreign minister said that since a truce was declared, at least 2,000 trucks should have gone in, but only 20 have done so thus far.

    Tedros said he was worried that the 20 trucks going in could be just a “diplomatic manoeuvre” on the part of the government in Addis Ababa.

    “In effect, the siege by the Ethiopian and Eritrean forces continues,” he said.

    “To avert the humanitarian calamity and hundreds of thousands more people from dying, we need unfettered humanitarian access from those reinforcing the siege.” But Tedros said global attention was simply not being placed on such humanitarian crises.

    “I hope the world comes back to its senses and treats all human life equally,” he said.

    “What is happening in Ethiopia is a tragic situation. People are being burned alive… because of their ethnicity…. Without any crime. “So we need to balance. We need to take every life seriously because every life is precious.”

    The UN says hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of starvation in Tigray, where people have for months also faced fuel shortages and a lack of basic services such as electricity, telecommunications, internet and banking.

    Across northern Ethiopia, the 17-month conflict has driven more than two million people from their homes, according to the UN, and left more than nine million people in need of food aid.

  • Pro-PTI teachers allegedly harassing students over indifferent opinions

    Pro-PTI teachers allegedly harassing students over indifferent opinions

    Some Incidents have been reported regarding students harassment for having indifferent political opinions in educational institutions since the ouster of former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan. Pro-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) teachers are harassing students for not supporting Imran Khan and using insulting words towards their parents as well.

    Some parents have shared such “harassment incidents” on Twitter their children experienced in their classrooms.

    One parent said, “My son’s English teacher screamed at a couple of students in the class who responded when class was asked who doesn’t support Imran Khan. Said you and your family should be ashamed of yourselves.” The parent also questioned the school’s administration regarding the training of teachers to help them remain apolitical in classrooms.

    The Publisher of Hello Magazine, Zahraa Saifullah has also shared about her daughter’s teacher who urged students to participate in the procession of former PM Imran Khan.

    She tweeted, “[He] encouraging them to pray he comes back as PM & has banned the words Bhuttos & Sharifs in class. Why are we allowing political bias into classrooms?”

    Many of the parents also shared similar incidents that happened with their children.

    Another user, Usman Qazi said, “My son was subtly pressured by a teacher for the same reason yesterday. The way we tutored him, he stood his ground and responded respectfully with logical arguments. She had to give up but some fellow kids tried to berate him but he remained cool and ignored them.”

    Another user penned down on Twitter to relate an experience that happened with his daughter in private school.

    A famous journalist Nadeem Farooq Paracha also condemn this action and compared it to German dictator Hitler. He also raised the question that If Madrassa’s teachers can be booked for teaching bigotry then other school teachers can be booked for similar conduct.

    Some users have raised the alarming consequences of such exploitation of students that can leave emotional scars on them. They emphasised that teachers should remain apolitical in classes to create a safe place for education.

  • ‘The light that will always shine’: Mashal Khan being remembered on 5th death anniversary

    ‘The light that will always shine’: Mashal Khan being remembered on 5th death anniversary

    Social media is remembering Mashal Khan on his fifth death anniversary. He was lynched to death on charges of blasphemy.

    Mashal Khan, a 23-year-old student of the Department of Mass Communication at Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, was lynched by a mob and shot over allegations of blasphemy on April 13, 2017.

    In June 2017, a 13-member joint investigation team concluded that the allegations of blasphemy against Mashal Khan were unfounded and were used as a pretext to incite a mob against him.

    Have a look at the tributes:

  • Why do some pen caps have holes in them? Here is the ingenious reason

    Why do some pen caps have holes in them? Here is the ingenious reason

    Most of us have used a ball-point at some point in our lives, but have you ever wondered why the cap of the pen has a hole in it? The reason might surprise you.

    The hole on top of the cap of a ballpoint pen serves a very specific and interesting purpose. The hole is meant to prevent suffocation if they are swallowed by a user, said a report published by Ary News on Wednesday.

    BIC Cristal, one of the oldest pen companies, has said that they added the hole on top of the cap to allow airflow. The hole would make sure that the person, in case he accidentally swallows the cap, is able to breathe and does not suffocate.

    The company wrote on their website, “In addition to helping prevent the pen from leaking, all our BIC caps comply with international safety standards that attempt to minimise the risk of children accidentally inhaling pen caps.”

    They added that some of these vented caps, like that used for the BIC Cristal, have a little hole in the top to comply with the existing safety standards.

    According to a report by The Independent in 2016, around 100 people in the US die by choking on pen lids.