A 29-year-old woman allegedly set herself on fire here in Delhi, India after her husband refused to buy a smartphone for the online classes being conducted by the school of their children.
According to reports, the woman set herself on fire on May 27 around 8 am. Soon after receiving the information, the police reached the spot and rushed the woman to the nearest hospital. The doctors informed that Jyoti sustained 90 per cent burn injuries and was declared dead.
In a statement to the police, the deceased’s husband said that the couple got married 7-year ago and have two children together. He said his wife was insisting on buying a smartphone but he told her that he will buy one after the lockdown.
British-Pakistani Raffia Arshad has become the first-ever, hijab-wearing deputy district judge in the United Kingdom.
After completing her law degree from Oxford Brookes University, Arshad worked as a barrister at a firm specializing in family law. She has also written a book titled Islamic Family Law.
As per reports, she is the first in her family to go to university.
Speaking to a private media outlet the newly-appointed judge said: “My appointment is a celebration for all Muslim women. I am delighted that I have broken the glass ceiling for many more capable Muslim women.
“At a time when everyone is facing uncertainty and unprecedented challenges, I urge everyone to rekindle their dreams and pursue them.”
Arshad credited her parents and mentioned how their prayers have helped her in her success. She said she felt proud of being counted as an outstanding Pakistani in the west.
Arshad’s husband is a doctor and a religious scholar, who completed a diploma in Islamic jurisprudence and coaching while working as a barrister.
The further said: “I am a court-appointed expert on matters of Islamic family law and have authored many publications, including a textbook that is used by other judges worldwide. I have been invited to Germany and America to speak on Islamic family law.”
Breaking stereotypes, she highlighted how women could follow their religion and also succeed in their careers at the same time.
A UK citizen Stephen David Sheen, who visited Pakistan as a temporary destination on his way to India, where his cousins live, ended up staying here because of the country’s hospitality. He has been living in Pakistan for the past decade.
Popularly known as Steve among his students, Sheen is currently serving as a school Principal in Khairpur, Sindh.
In an interview with Independent Urdu, Sheen said that he made a plan for a train trip to Europe and then to India in 2010. He first visited Turkey from where he took a train to Iran and finally to Pakistan. He stayed in Quetta for the initial time before going to Karachi, and from there to Khairpur.
Steve has learned to speak fluent Sindhi and teaches Mathematics, Physics, and English to the students of Sojhro Faiz High School. The school is now famously known as the ‘Angrez ka School’ among the locals in Khairpur.
He had volunteered to teach at the school for one summer camp but decided to stay and teach its students permanently.
Steve mentioned that everywhere around the globe, people make money off tourism, but in Pakistan, the hospitality of the people doesn’t allow them to earn because here, people present him with free food, accommodation, and travel.
On learning Sindhi, Steve mentioned that when he first arrived in Khairpur, he was invited to an Eid dinner. Everyone at the dinner party was talking to each other in Sindhi, and he felt isolated. That is when he decided to learn the language and now he speaks it fluently.
Other than teaching and running a school, Sheen also enjoys woodwork. He makes wooden tables and chairs, and some of his students also join him in this activity from time to time.
A father-daughter duo from Spain is going viral on social media with their adorable daily walk while they take out the trash. The two dress up daily as famous characters for this everyday task. The two used to dress up as famous characters for Halloween, but during the lockdown it has become a daily activity.
Each time they wore different costumes. On Day 1, the daddy and daughter duo dressed up as Elsa and Olaf from Frozen.
Over the next few days, the outfits continued with Spider-Man costumes, a Batman and Robin combo and they even transformed themselves into Beauty and The Beast.
At least 237.2k cases of coronavirus has been reported in Spain so far. The authorities have also imposed a lockdown to control the spread of the virus.
While many of us have turned to cooking, baking and organising our homes, amid the lockdown, Hassan Ali used this time to make Tiktok videos with his wife.
The cricketer has gathered almost 321.9k followers on TikTok. TikTok is a Chinese video-sharing social networking service used to make short dance, lip-sync, comedy and talent videos.
Pakistani cricketer Hassan Ali tied the knot with Indian aeronautical engineer Samiya Khan in 2019 in a private wedding ceremony in Dubai.
The cricketer is suffering from multiple injuries because of which he is unable to perform on the field. He is reportedly scheduled to undergo a surgery.
“The smartphone has transformed online shopping in Pakistan and the COVID-19 lockdown has accelerated it,” says Jarrar Shah of 24seven, an online grocery store based in Lahore.
Shah’s words ring true because the past couple of weeks have witnessed a great shift in the way the world functions. As cases of coronavirus rose in Pakistan, the country went into lockdown, until recently, with all offices, shops, malls, restaurants closed. Only pharmacies, grocery stores and essential businesses were allowed to operate and that too for a limited number of hours. Unfortunately, us Pakistanis are not very used to that lifestyle – our day begins well into the afternoon and ends just before midnight – but changing circumstances forced us all to alter our routines and many of us turned to online shopping in a bid to make life easier for ourselves. According to Google Trends, searches for ‘online grocery’ grew exponentially in the last few weeks with the sharpest rise registered in the week following the lockdown.
While we’re all aware of how online shopping works at our end, on the other side it’s a whole different ball game.
Speaking to The Current about the procedure that follows, Jarrar explained that after the customer places an order on any of their portals – website, application, Whatsapp – the order is processed and their team begins to collect the items. He shared that though they have their own warehouse, they have partnered with other stores, bakeries and meat shops and sometimes depending on the order placed, they have to collect items from different locations to complete an order. Both Jarrar and Bilal Bakhtawari of D Watson, Islamabad said that the app is the most convenient of them all because it mentions the price and availability of products saving the time of both the customers and the stores. Once the order is complete, the riders deliver it.
In this whole process, the rider perhaps has the toughest job.
“We provide the riders with all the necessary precautions, including sanitisers, masks and regular temperature checks, but to what extent can we keep them safe? These guys often have to deliver stuff, come rain, come sun and often have to travel long distances to deliver orders,” says Bilal, adding that if any of the riders feel ill, they are told to immediately get themselves checked and are sent home.
Both Jarrar and Bilal also asserted that their premises are regularly disinfected and cleaned.
While most customers are accommodating and patient and are willing to overlook delays and incomplete orders, given the situation, there is a small percentage of them who tend to be unreasonable.
“Customers have been by and large accommodating. Only ten percent of them have issues,” says Shah.
Both business owners explained that they initially faced problems because they were not prepared to manage such a situation as they went from a few orders to a hundred or more orders every day. However, with time they managed to streamline their services by increasing staff and opting for better rider services.
24Seven’s warehouse
Sharing a particularly harrowing experience, Shah shared that someone placed an order from abroad for their loved ones in Lahore using a credit card.
“When the rider went to deliver they said the stuff is not up to the mark and kept the rider hostage, demanding that we refund them the amount in cash. It turned out that the whole situation was a scam. The person from abroad wanted to send money to Pakistan and because all money wiring services were closed, they attempted to use our store to do so.”
“We’ve referred the matter to the police,” he added.
Similarly, Bilal recounting his nightmarish experience shared that a lady placed an order for fruits and vegetables on their app after store timings. He said that the prices of fresh goods are revised daily and when her order was processed the next day, she was informed of the change in prices before confirming her order. However, when the rider went to deliver her order, she claimed that she had cancelled her order. After a whole fuss, it was revealed that her husband was not satisfied with the prices and was not willing to pay for the order because of which she put the entire blame on the management to try to get out of the situation.
Orders being put together at 24Seven’s warehouse
While people in Pakistan still prefer to go and buy their groceries in person, online shopping is slowly but steadily getting popular, especially among those who lead fast-paced lifestyles and have limited time.
On whether this is feasible in Pakistan or not, Jarrar is positive that it is. However, Bilal feels that until online payments like Paypal don’t come to Pakistan, online businesses won’t flourish.
“As we have observed in the past couple of weeks, the market for online shopping is definitely promising. However, in my opinion, it won’t flourish until a proper payment system is put into place,” says Bilal. “We often receive bogus orders with Cash on Delivery because of which our business suffers. People place orders but when our rider goes to the address, there is no one to receive the order.”
“Until online payments come to Pakistan, online businesses will not flourish.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many things around the globe including the education system. Students from around the globe and Pakistan have been taking online classes ever since the pandemic started.
Recently, a video of the Lahore School of Economics’ (LSE) Dean, Dr Sohail Zafar has gone viral on social media for allegedly berating a student who is from Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, for not buying a laptop and facing technical issues during the lockdown.
The student, who had returned home after the university cancelled ‘face to face’ classes, demanded the cancellation of online classes because the software for online exams would not work properly on his laptop.
In response to his complaint, the Dean can be heard saying: “You are a non-serious student, who does not pay attention to his studies.”
He asked the student to buy a new laptop for Rs 40,000 and if he cannot afford it, he should simply rent a laptop.
Since the video went viral, #BoycottLSE started trending on social media.
This is the dean of lahore school of economics. That's how he has chosen to respond to the problems a student residing is swabi has. Its inhumane and disgusting on another level. And nothing short of mental torture. Please retweet (esp non lse fam)#BoycottLSEpic.twitter.com/KRBqky5cj7
Meanwhile, the student involved in the incident, later made another video to clarify the incident and defend his professor. He said that whoever made the video had cropped it and the conversation between him and the professor was a friendly one that they had after the class was finished.
A response to all those who jumped on the bandwagon and started spreading hatred towards LSE. This is the student to whom the professor was addressing to. #SupportDrSohailZafarpic.twitter.com/HEJIoqDeel
The Islamabad High Court has ordered the Islamabad Zoo to move all animals, including their famed elephant Kaavan, to an animal sanctuary within 30 days because it lacks the basic facilities for their proper care and upkeep.
In a judgement, they ordered wildlife officials to consult with Sri Lanka to find Kaavan a “suitable sanctuary” within 30 days.
The condition and treatment of Kaavan, an Asian elephant from Sri Lanka, who had spent nearly three decades without a female partner in a small cage in the zoo had gathered international outrage several years ago.
The elephant’s behaviour, including bobbing his head repeatedly, demonstrated “a kind of mental illness” and wildlife experts were of the opinion that he was depressed.
Apart from not having a partner, activists said he had insufficient shelter from Islamabad’s searing summer temperatures, which can rise to above 40 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit).
Asian elephants can roam thousands of kilometres through deep tropical and subtropical forests, according to the World Wildlife Fund. In contrast, Kaavan’s 90 by 140 metre (100 by 150 yard) pen had almost no foliage, and only limited shade was provided.
It was also reported that food which was meant for Kaavan was being stolen by his caretakers. Last year, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry had also alleged that chickens meant to feed lions at the zoo were being cooked in the home of the zoo director.
Arriving as a one-year-old in 1985 from Sri Lanka, Kaavan was temporarily held in chains in 2002 because zookeepers were concerned about increasingly violent tendencies, but he was freed later that year after an outcry.
His mate Saheli, who arrived also from Sri Lanka in 1990, died in 2012, and in 2015 it emerged that Kaavan was regularly being chained once more — for several hours a day.
Kavaan’s misery caught the attention of American music icon and actor, Cher, who had long propagated for his release. After the news of Kavaan’s release emerged, she took to social media to express her joy and thank the Government of Pakistan.
Cher also referred to this as “one of the greatest moments of her life”.
THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST MOMENTS OF MY LIFE. CANT STOP😭,🥰,BEING SICK 2 MY STOMACH.(Ate🎂in The night & Was SOOOO Sick,Still am.Can you O.D from too much🎂)⁉️ BUT🐘KAAVAN IS FREE🙏🏻 😭DOWN MY CHEEKS,BUT HES FREE,& @markcowne 🕊DID IT🙌🏻.GINA,👑JEN👑👏🏻
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, during the hearings, had blasted the Marghazar Zoo for lack of necessities and has asked that all the animals be moved to an animal sanctuary. The Islamabad Zoo will be allowed to keep animals only after they are capable of providing physical, psychological and emotional needs to the animals.
Eid ul-Fitr means new beginnings, celebrations and eating a lot of food and starting this exciting day with something sweet. Keeping in view the social distancing rules, everyone must avoid going out unnecessarily but that doesn’t mean we give up on our sweet tooth.
Here are a few places where you can order Eid cakes online and have them delivered to your doorstep.
Their Lotus Cheesecake is a bestseller and one everyone needs to try at least once. They are also offering a variety of Eid packages you can send to your loved ones.
While most salons across the country have opened their doors for business with the necessary SOPs in place, two of Karachi’s leading salons, Natasha’s Salon and Bina Khan, have decided to remain closed despite permission from the Government and the Supreme Court to resume business.
Natasha Khalid of Natasha’s Salon and Bina Khan announced on social media that they will not be opening their salons due the continuous increase in corona cases.
“We have since yesterday received a barrage of calls asking if we’re open for services for Eid, mostly because the Supreme Court of Pakistan has ordered ‘resumption of normalcy’,” wrote Khalid.
“First things first. Nothing is normal or back to normal! We have just been allowed to open shop & remove all corona-related limitations in the midst of a peak.”
“This is being done due to enormous economical/social pressures, which have nothing to do with the fact that numbers of COVID-19 affectees are increasing on an hourly basis; that people both young and old, sick and healthy, are dying from it,” she remarked, adding, “We already have put extraordinary pressures on our health systems and are ever-increasingly encumbering hospitals and health workers with exponential risks.”
Urging everyone to stay home, Natasha wrote, “Blow-dry your hair at home this time and if you can’t, tie that loose braid. Have hair on your arms and legs. Or just shave. Get a facial with the help of a plethora of ‘at home facials’ available online and watch one of the dozens of tutorials to get ready this Eid.”
Announcing her decision, she wrote: “I will not risk my staff, myself, or anyone walking through my doors getting unwell. I am trying to generate cash from online classes to pay my staff and keep my business alive, but I will not risk opening my doors because I know I can’t guarantee 100% that someone will not get ill.”
Similarly, Bina Khan said that her salon will remain closed “because we care”.
In a note, Khan wrote that she spoke to a couple of doctor before making her decision and they all explained to her that “providing normal salon services undeniably comes with some risk”.
“I do not think that anything that goes on in a salon is an essential service so we have decided to keep our doors closed,” she stated, adding that her salon will open as soon as it’s medically advisable.
Like Natasha, Bina said that online classes are allowing her to generate income so she is able to pay her staff.
However, Bina said that she will make exceptions for her brides, but with strict precautionary measures in place.
“I will open for my brides when they come because I understand that their weddings have been scaled back so hugely that looking like a bride and feeling special is a service that has started to feel more essential than it normally is. I am willing to risk my health for these poor corona brides, whose dream days have been so severely tarnished. But I will go alone and will only ask one staff member to help, taking every precaution known to man while we do so,” wrote the makeup artist.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAaEvNxlp0l/
Meanwhile, other salons across the country have opened with the necessary precautions, including PPEs, sanitizers and masks, in place.
