Current Final

Category: Lifestyle

  • Cambridge University suspends all in-person classes until summer 2021

    Cambridge University suspends all in-person classes until summer 2021

    The University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom has become the first university to announce that it will move all “face-to-face lectures” online for the upcoming 2020-21 academic year. The institution added that it was “likely” social distancing would continue to be required.

    According to a report in The Guardian, the university said that while lectures would continue virtually until summer 2021, it may be possible for smaller teaching groups to take place in person if it “conforms to social-distancing requirements”.

    A statement from the university read: “The university is constantly adapting to changing advice as it emerges during this pandemic. Given that it is likely that social distancing will continue to be required, the university has decided there will be no face-to-face lectures during the next academic year.

    “Lectures will continue to be made available online and it may be possible to host smaller teaching groups in person, as long as this conforms to social-distancing requirements. This decision has been taken now to facilitate planning, but as ever, will be reviewed should there be changes to official advice on coronavirus.”

    All teaching at the university was already moved online in March and exams were being carried out virtually.

  • VIDEO: Unusual snowfall in Ayubia in May after a century

    VIDEO: Unusual snowfall in Ayubia in May after a century

    In an unusual occurrence, the lush green mountains of Abbottabad district’s Ayubia village, after over a century, have received snowfall in the month of May that is known for bringing warmer weather.

    According to The Express Tribune, nearby areas, including the Galiyat region, also received light snowfall on Tuesday, which was very unusual even for the local population.

    A report by the local English daily quoted a 90-year-old resident of Ayubia as saying that he hadn’t seen such weather since the British colonial rule. The resident said that his elder brother told him how in the 1920s the beautiful hilly region received snowfall for the last time in the month of May, while back when his forefathers resided in the region, the cold weather used to be very harsh even in June.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Galliyat Development Authority (GDA) Director General (DG) Muhammad Raza Habib said he had received reports from his team in Ayubia about the weather, adding that there was no causality or disturbance for civilian life in the region due to the unexpected snowfall.

    Rina Saeed, an Islamabad-based writer and author, said the changes in weather were due to coronavirus pandemic as most of the world was under lockdown.

    READ: Improved air quality leads to breathtaking view of Kashmir from Sialkot

    “The environment is much cleaner now as compared to pre-coronavirus period. Since there is no pollution in the atmosphere, the flora and fauna of this region would benefit from it,” she said.

  • Indian TikToker banned for ‘glorifying’ acid attacks

    Indian TikToker banned for ‘glorifying’ acid attacks

    Indian TikToker Faizal Siddiqui’s account was banned after he ‘glorified’ acid attacks in a clip posted recently. The famed TikToker’s account was revoked “due to multiple community guidelines violations”.

    Siddiqui, who has a following of 13 million people on the social media app, came under fire after he enacted a scene that shows Siddiqui is throwing a liquid on a girl’s face for betraying him.

    “Keeping people on TikTok safe is a top priority and we make it clear in our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines that clearly outlines what is not acceptable on our platform. As per the policy, we do not allow content that risks the safety of others, promotes physical harm, or glorifies violence against women,” the app spokesperson was quoted as saying.

    Many people called out the app and the star for the action. Acid attack survivor Laxmi Aggarwal on whom the film Chhapaak also raised her voice on social media, “We are working day and night to stop the acid attacks, violence against women. This cringe activity is not called influencing but promoting crime. Such persons are a curse to our society. So it is important to ban such videos and accounts from social media.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CAUtS1NHtMJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
  • Army’s tenant Monal sealed over illegal construction activities

    Army’s tenant Monal sealed over illegal construction activities

    The popular Monal restaurant located in Marghalla Hills, which now pays rent to the military for occupying its land, has been sealed by the Islamabad Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Islamabad Chief Commissioner’s Office over illegal tree cutting for expansive construction activities.

    Climate Change Ministry Media Focal Person Muhammad Saleem told reporters that the action was taken after the restaurant’s illegal activities, which were initiated by its management a few days ago, were brought to PM’s Adviser Malik Amin Aslam’s notice.

    “Taking serious notice of the illegal activities, Malik Amin directed EPA to take legal action against the culprits,” he told the media, adding that besides sealing off the property, an FIR had also been lodged against the offenders at the Islamabad Secretariat Police Station.

    Regretting the significant loss of tree cover and land degradation in the restaurant’s vicinity, the Climate Change Ministry’s focal person said that he was thankful to citizens for sharing pictures of the land levelled area achieved after the massive cutting of trees on social media until it went viral.

    “Resultantly, the district administration conducted a raid on Tuesday evening and it was observed that images of destruction activities which had appeared in social media were authentic. During the raid, two persons namely Muhammad Sagheer and Muhammad Naeem were arrested on the spot whereas an FIR, NO 224/20, has been lodged in Police Station Kohsar, F/7,” he added.

    Further, Malik Amin, along with the Climate Change Ministry’s higher authorities will visit the damaged site on Wednesday and take stock of the damage Monal restaurant has caused to the land and trees.

    The ministry’s media focal person also said that tree plantation activities will be carried out by him in support with the local forest officials to rehabilitate the damaged land.

    It may be mentioned here that a case regarding stone crushing and other activities in Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) was also brought before the Supreme Court (SC) wherein it was decided that all construction activities, private and commercial, would be ordered to immediately halt operations. However, a copy of the order is yet to be issued.

    ARMY STARTS GETTING RENT FROM MONAL:

    Amid the silence of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) over Pakistan Army’s land ownership claim at Margalla Hills, Monal in January started paying a monthly rent to Remount Veterinary & Farms Directorate (RV&F) General Headquarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi.

    According to a local news outlet, the leaseholder of Monal Restaurant has paid Rs484,008 as arrears of rental payment for September, Rs1,300,000 as rental of November, and Rs910,000 as rental of December 2019 to the RV&F GHQ.

    The building in which the restaurant is operating was constructed by the CDA and leased to Luqman Ali Afzal in 2006. It is now an iconic eatery of the federal capital.

    The city managers, while establishing this amenity by expending huge amount from public exchequer, never thought that the subject land does not belong to CDA as it was enjoying its sole ownership and absolute possession since 1961.

    However, tables turned around in 2016, when the army came forward with the claim that the said land was once allotted to Military Farms Rawalpindi in 1910 by then government of Punjab for the production of hay for army animals.

    To settle the over a century-old claim of the ownership of 8,603 acres of military land in the area, a meeting was held on November 8, 2016, under the chair of then defence minister.

    According to GHQ’s letters, it was decided in the said meeting to revert back the subject land to the owner, RV&F, after a joint survey by the ministry and CDA.

    Later, a survey was conducted on the request of the RV&F directorate to demarcate the military grassland at Margalla Hills, following which the demarcation was started in February 2017 and completed in May 2017. In it, a total of 8655.62 acres of land was demarcated as military grassland.

    In the light of said demarcation, the RV&F directorate conveyed the leaseholder of Monal that his building came inside 8655.62 acres land and he was asked to provide lease documents in addition to the payment of arrears and monthly rents to RV&F directorate instead of CDA.

    MONAL BUILT ON ARMY’S LAND:

    In November, a CDA official had told a parliamentary committee that the capital’s famous Monal Restaurant was built on military land and the army wanted it back.

    According to another local news outlet, Dr Shahid Mahmood had told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Climate Change that 15 years ago, the CDA “did not know it was building the restaurant on military grasslands until the army started claiming it”.

    The committee was told that the 22,000 acres of land — that are now a part of the Margalla Hills National Park — were actually owned by the Punjab government.

    Around 5,500 acres of the said land was allocated to the army, he said, although the exact year the allocation was made, was not stated. The CDA now owns 16,500 acres.

    The latest survey conducted by the authority revealed that the land allotted to the army is right in the centre of the national park, and Monal has been built on it.

  • Johnson & Johnson to stop selling baby powder in the US

    Johnson & Johnson to stop selling baby powder in the US

    Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson will stop selling its talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in the US and Canada. The firm faces many thousands of lawsuits from consumers who claim that its talc products caused their cancer.

    The move comes after years of trial where Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay out billions of dollars in compensation. The company has constantly defended the safety of its talc products.

    Johnson & Johnson said it would wind down sales of the product, which makes up about 0.5% of its US consumer health business, in the coming months, but that retailers would continue to sell existing inventory.

    The firm faces more than 16,000 consumer charges alleging that its talc products were contaminated with asbestos, a known carcinogen (a substance capable of causing cancer).

    The firm said that demand for Johnson’s Baby Powder had been declining in North America “due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fuelled by misinformation around the safety of the product”. It said it had faced “a constant barrage” of lawyers advertising for clients to sue the firm.

    “We remain steadfastly confident in the safety of talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder. Decades of independent scientific studies by medical experts around the world support the safety of our product,” it said.

    The firm added that the move was part of a reconsideration of its consumer products prompted by the coronavirus pandemic. It said in October that its testing had found no asbestos in its Baby Powder after tests conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration discovered trace amounts.

    The firm is appealing against a 2018 order to pay $4.7bn in damages to 22 women who alleged that its talc products caused them to develop ovarian cancer.

  • Sindh’s Marsh Crocodiles witness an increase in population

    Sindh’s Marsh Crocodiles witness an increase in population

    With humans under lockdown, wildlife all over the world is getting a chance to flourish. And according to latest reports, the population of marsh crocodiles living in the wilderness of Sindh is believed to have increased in at least four locations across the province. The locations include Haleji Lake, Nara Wetland Complex, Chotiari Wetland Complex and Wagni village near the Ghotki and Hub Dam.

    While an exact number is not known, a representative of the Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) said that over 200 crocodiles have been sighted in Haleji Lake and its surroundings and as many in the Nara Wetland Complex.

    He added that these were just rough estimates and that there is no exact tally of the crocodile population in the province.

    Sharing his excitement, SWD Conservator Javed Mahar said: “Crocodiles coming out of the water to bask at Haleji Lake is a sight to see. Crocodiles opening their mouths and sunbathing is called basking, which is a natural process. It re-energises them.”

    Mahar further shared that these carnivores were once found in abundance in the region but their population shrunk after a canal irrigation system was constructed in the region.

    “The fragmentation of their habitat, illegal hunting and illegal trade also contributed to their declining numbers,” said Mahar, adding that records show that they also used to reside in creeks near Karachi.

    Read more – Leopard spotted near Islamabad’s hiking trails

    He said that though illegal hunting of these animals has now been banned, hunters continue to target these animals to polish their shooting skills. Meanwhile, others kill these animals in fear that they would attack and hurt them.

    “But they [marsh crocodiles] are not aggressive and do not attack people. I have not heard of any incident of them attacking people,” he said.

  • Man files petition to ban PUBG

    Man files petition to ban PUBG

    A petition was filed on Monday in the Lahore High Court to ban video game PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) following which the court ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to decide on the matter within six weeks.

    The petitioner’s lawyer Bilal Riaz Sheikh moved the court after finding some features of PUBG “problematic”.

    “The game has a negative impact on children. They are becoming more ruthless and violent,” he said.

    He asked the court to order the removal of PUBG from the Google Play Store. The court said it has forwarded petition over the game to the PTA several times, but the authority never responds.

    As per reports, the court, earlier, disposed of a similar petition that asked for a ban on the game. 

    PUBG is an online multiplayer In the game, up to one hundred players parachute onto an island and scavenge for weapons and equipment to kill others while avoiding getting killed themselves.

  • Two girls killed for ‘honour’ over leaked mobile video

    Two girls killed for ‘honour’ over leaked mobile video

    Two teenage girls were killed in the name of ‘honour’ allegedly by a family member in a village located on the border of Pakistan’s North and South Waziristan tribal districts after a short mobile video of them with a young man circulated on social media.

    The North Waziristan police on Sunday arrested two men for their alleged involvement in the murder.

    An FIR was filed at the Razmak police station in North Waziristan, where the murders were reported. According to the FIR, the incident took place on May 14 at the border village of Shaam Plain Garyom.

    “A confirmed report was received that two girls aged 16 and 18 were killed in the name of honour by their paternal cousin, whose name and address is not known, in Shaam Plain Garyom,” the FIR said.

    It said the reason behind the killings was believed to be a video that shows a young man recording himself with three young girls in a secluded area outdoors.

    A senior police officer in Waziristan told a news outlet that two of the three girls seen in the 52-second mobile clip have been killed. He said police were collecting information about the third girl and the man seen in the video.

    Meanwhile, another police official said that it appears the video in question was shot nearly a year ago and probably went viral on social media only a few weeks ago.

    “At the moment, our topmost priority is to secure the life of the third girl and the man before taking any action,” stated the official.

  • President Alvi, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern set an example by following social distancing guidelines

    President Alvi, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern set an example by following social distancing guidelines

    The story of New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her fiancé, Clarke Gayford being turned away from a popular café in Wellington, which was full due to coronavirus social distancing rules, has gone viral on social media. People cannot stop appreciating Ardern for being modest and down-to-earth.

    According to reports, Ardern and Gayford had gone to get brunch on Saturday at Olive, a popular restaurant in the capital, two days after the country eased many of its lockdown rules, but were turned down due to limited seating. Restaurants in the country are required to seat guests at least 1 meter (3 feet) apart from each other because of which many have limited their seating to comply with the rules.

    Though the PM and her partner walked away, they were chased down by the restaurant’s management when a spot freed up.

    Gayford even addressed the matter on social media and shared his side of the story.

    Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Ardern’s office, in an email, reportedly stated, that waiting at a cafe is something that anyone can experience during New Zealand’s virus restrictions.

    “The PM says she just waits like everyone else,” read the email.

    After Ardern’s story went viral on social media, President of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi’s son Awab Alvi came forward and recounted a similar story. Awab shared that a few days back, President Alvi had gone to buy Ras Malai from a local sweet shop, clad in a cap and mask. He said that President Alvi waited for half an hour in the line and followed all the necessary protocols.

    Awab further said that if anyone has any doubts, they can check the CCTV footage.

  • Pakistani-American girl honoured by President Trump as a coronavirus hero

    Pakistani-American girl honoured by President Trump as a coronavirus hero

    President Trump and first lady Melania Trump on Friday paid tribute to several American heroes who are helping on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis, including Girl Scouts from Maryland who donated cookies to nurses and firefighters. Among those girl scouts was a ten-year-old Pakistani-American girl Laila Khan.

    According to a report in APP, Laila who hails from Maryland was recognised as American coronavirus hero as she had donated cookies to nurses and firefighters. Laila, along with Lauren Matney and Sravya Annappareddy – all 10 years old – had donated 100 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to local doctors, nurses and firefighters. They also wrote 200 personalized cards for health care workers.

    Speaking about the recognition, Khan said: “While we are honoured that our troop was invited to be here today, we know that we are just part of the millions of other children out there that are doing amazing things to support their communities, their friends and their families. It is a privilege to be here representing all of them.”

    Meanwhile, President Trump in a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden had said: “The men and women we honour today remind us that the bonds that unite us in times of hardship can also raise us to new heights as we reopen and recover and rebuild.”

    Ambassador of Pakistan to the US Asad Khan also appreciated Laila and thanked President Trump for honouring her.