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Category: Lifestyle

  • Man and woman honour-killed in Kohistan

    Man and woman honour-killed in Kohistan

    A woman and a man were shot dead, allegedly by the woman’s father and brother in the Kolai Pallas area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohistan district in an act of ‘honour’ killing, reports Dawn.


    The police reached Bar Paro in Kolai Pallas and found two bodies lying in a pool of blood. The deceased were identified as Ubaidullah of Ghato, Sherakot, and Baloo Bibi of Bar Paro, who were allegedly shot dead by her father Angeel and brother Muhammad Islam.


    As per the FIR, the two suspects fled the scene after committing the crime, following which the police launched an investigation.


    In November, a girl was killed allegedly by her father on the orders of a jirga in the Barsharyal area after social media pictures showed her and her friend in the company of two unrelated boys in their village, an act considered taboo in the area. The other girl was rescued by the police.


    A similar incident had been reported a decade ago where five women cheering for a dancing boy in the video were allegedly killed, along with the boy’s four brothers, on the orders of a local jirga. The alleged killings captured international attention, and then-Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry took suo motu notice of the incident.

  • American parenting vlogger sentenced to prison for child abuse

    American parenting vlogger sentenced to prison for child abuse

    A Utah mother-of-six who doled out parenting advice on a popular YouTube channel has been sentenced to prison for abusing her children, holding two of them in conditions prosecutors likened to concentration camps.

    Ruby Franke, 42, pleaded guilty in December to four counts of aggravated child abuse and was sentenced on Tuesday to one-to-15 years in prison on each charge.

    Franke’s business partner Jodi Hildebrandt, 54, whom she described as her “mentor,” received the same sentence.

    Beginning in 2015, Franke ran a since-deleted YouTube channel called “8 Passengers” which provided parenting advice. She would later feature on a YouTube channel run by Hildebrandt after separating from her husband.

    Utah prosecutor Eric Clarke said Franke and Hildebrandt held two of the children, then aged nine and 11, in a “concentration camp-like setting.”

    “The children were regularly denied food, water, beds to sleep in, and virtually all forms of entertainment,” Clarke said. “They were isolated from others, and were hidden when people came to visit the house.

    “They were also forced to do manual labor outdoors in the extreme summer heat, at times without shoes or socks,” the prosecutor said. “Both children had extensive physical injuries from the abuse that required hospitalization.”

    Clarke also said the children were emotionally abused, “to the extent that each believed, to some degree, that they deserved what was being done to them.

    Eventually, the older one “had the courage” to run away and ask a neighbor to call the police, Clarke said, adding “Heaven knows how much longer they could have survived in that situation.”

    Franke apologized for her actions at her sentencing hearing before Judge John Walton.

    “I was led to believe that this world was an evil place filled with cops who control, hospitals that injure, government agencies that brainwash, church leaders who lie and lust, husbands who refuse to protect and children who need abuse,” she said.

    She said her paranoia “culminated into criminal activity for which I stand before you today ready to take accountability.”

    Franke and Hildebrandt will serve a minimum of four years in prison but their exact prison terms will be decided by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.

  • Indian Sikh woman marries Sialkot man after embracing Islam

    Indian Sikh woman marries Sialkot man after embracing Islam


    Jaspreet Kaur, a Sikh woman of Indian origin currently residing in Germany, has married a man from Sialkot, Pakistan, after embracing Islam on the hands of senior parliamentarian Hafiz Sahibzada Hamid Raza at Jamia Hanfia in Sialkot.

    Kaur was given the Muslim name Zainab after she married Ali Arsalan.

    The administrators of Jamia Hanfia said the bride’s parents were Indian nationals but they lived in Germany. Zainab also resides in Munich.
    Her father’s name is Singara Singh, a resident of Ludhiana.

    The woman came to Pakistan on January 16 for a pilgrimage. She has been issued a single-entry visa valid till April 15, reported the Express Tribune.
    She holds an Indian passport obtained in Germany. She married Ali, a resident of Sialkot, after falling in love abroad.

    Express Tribune has reported that Ali had invited her to Pakistan.

    The administrators said more than 200 non-Muslims have embraced Islam at the hands of Sahibzada Hamid Raza and his father.

  • More than half of world’s population could face measles outbreak by end of 2024: WHO

    More than half of world’s population could face measles outbreak by end of 2024: WHO

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that if urgent measures are not taken, more than half of the world’s countries may face a measles outbreak by the end of the year.


    During a press conference in Geneva, WHO said that many countries have not been vaccinating against measles this year.“What we are worried about is this year, 2024, we’ve got these big gaps in our immunisation programmes and if we don’t fill them really quickly with the vaccine, measles will just jump into that gap,” stated Natasha Crowcroft, a senior technical adviser on Measles and Rubella.


    She called for urgent action to protect children, saying there was a “lack of commitment” by governments given competing issues like economic crises and conflict.


    According to data from the World Health Organization, last year measles cases worldwide increased by 79 percent.


    Death rates are higher in poorer countries due to weaker health systems, Crowcroft said, adding that outbreaks and deaths were also a risk for middle and high-income countries.

  • Food watchdog lodges complaint over Nestle mineral water ‘fraud’

    Food watchdog lodges complaint over Nestle mineral water ‘fraud’

    Paris, France – Consumer watchdog Foodwatch said it was filing a legal complaint Wednesday against food giant Nestle and another group over them allegedly fraudulently treating water for their top mineral water brands.

    A government probe reported by media last month said about 30 percent of mineral water sold in France had undergone purification treatment only meant to be used on tap water.

    Foodwatch said it was lodging its complaint with a Paris court against Nestle Waters, behind brands such as Perrier and Vittel, and the Sources Alma group, which also owns several water labels.

    “This is a massive fraud for which Nestle Waters, the Sources Alma group and the French government must answer,” the European watchdog said.

    “Nobody, not even a multinational like Nestle, is above the law,” Foodwatch spokeswoman Ingrid Kragl said.

    The NGO claimed Nestle Waters and Sources Alma had “illegally processed their bottled waters and then sold them without informing consumers”.

    French law, based on a European Union directive, forbids such purification of mineral water, which is supposed to be of naturally high quality before bottling.

    French prosecutors last month said they had opened an investigation into suspected fraud by Nestle Waters after a complaint by France’s ARS health regulator.

    They spoke after Le Monde and Radio France reported that a government investigation had concluded in 2022 that “almost 30 percent of commercial brands undergo non-compliant treatments”.

    Nestle Waters said it put some top brands, such as Perrier and Vittel, through ultraviolet light and active carbon filters “to guarantee food safety”, and had informed French authorities about this in 2021.

    A government source told AFP that authorities had found “no health risk” linked to the bottled water.

    Foodwatch said it had also written to the European Commission, denouncing “the complacency of France, which… should have alerted European authorities and the other member states importing these waters”.

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    © Agence France-Presse

  • More than 200 Karachi buildings made with poor material

    More than 200 Karachi buildings made with poor material

    More than 200 multi-storied buildings in Karachi have reportedly been constructed using bad quality materials and poor planning.

    KMC has submitted a report to the Sindh High Court on the incidents of fire in multi-storied buildings of Karachi.

    The report highlights the lack of a fire fighting system, emergency exit and other necessary arrangements. It has also been stated that KMC’s suggestion was not taken into consideration while issuing NOC to buildings.

    According to the KMC report, building inspections were conducted on I.I. Chundrigar Road, Khalid Bin Waleed Road, Shahrah e Faisal.

    SBCA has issued completion certificates to these buildings, action is necessary against illegal constructions and NOC issuers, while anti-corruption has initiated action against involved SBCA officers and builders.

  • Pneumonia endemic: 405 kids died in Punjab this year

    Pneumonia endemic: 405 kids died in Punjab this year

    Pneumonia endemic is still spreading in Punjab despite the weather warming up, with 13 children dying of the respiratory illness in the previous 24 hours, reports Geo News.

    The heartbreaking death toll includes two children from Lahore, three from Faisalabad, and two from Bahawalpur, highlighting the widespread impact of the illness across various regions. Additionally, two children in Sheikhupura, and one each in Gujranwala, Multan, and Rawalpindi succumbed to the disease.

    In the last 24 hours, 304 more cases of pneumonia have been reported in Punjab. According to the data of the health department, 29, 603 children have been infected with pneumonia so far this year, out of which 405 lost their lives.


    The Punjab Health Department has issued a plea to parents, urging them to ensure that children complete the immunization course offered free of cost. Immunization remains one of the most effective preventive measures against pneumonia and other infectious diseases, offering vital protection to vulnerable children.

  • How many Afghans have left Pakistan so far?

    How many Afghans have left Pakistan so far?

    The repatriation of Afghans living across Pakistan continues.

    According to official data, from February 15 to February 19, another 3,396 Afghans left Pakistan, including 1,245 men, 1,025 women, and 1,914 children. 210 families have reportedly been repatriated in 124 vehicles to Afghanistan.

    A large number of illegal Afghans have been returning to Afghanistan from Pakistan fearing arrest, even before the announcement by the government of Pakistan.

    According to official data released on February 19, a total of more than 493,000 Afghans have returned to their country as of yet.

  • UC Chairman shot dead in Karachi over children dispute

    UC Chairman shot dead in Karachi over children dispute

    A UC Chairman was killed as a result of firing between two groups over the issue of children in Bhitaiabad, Karachi.


    The incident followed a fight among children in Bhataiabad Street No. 19, during which people from two groups fired at each other, as a result of which one person was killed and six people were injured, reports Geo News.


    According to the police, the deceased person was identified as Sabir Magsi, chairman of UC-9 from Pakistan Peoples Party.


    As soon as the incident was reported, a heavy contingent of police and rescue personnel reached the spot and shifted the injured to the hospital.

    Counselor Shaukat Nazir told the media that the victim was a businessman and had left behind a widow and two children. “The victim was with me sometime before the incident and was killed by a bullet in the neck,” he said.


    Shaukat Nazir further elaborated that the incident took place during a children’s fight. He asserted that the administration will take legal action after the burial.

  • Palestinian mother allowed to bring daughter to Canada two weeks after death

    Palestinian mother allowed to bring daughter to Canada two weeks after death

    Samar Elkhadour, a Palestinian woman who had been trying to get her daughter Jana out of Gaza, for the past several years. She finally got the call from Global Affairs Department of Canada allowing her daughter with special needs to immigrate to Canada, two weeks after her death. The news was featured in CBC Montreal News.


    Jana was born with severe cerebral palsy and was living with Samar’s in-laws in Gaza. Samar was living in Canada and was trying to get her daughter to join her as she dealt with Jana’s immigration process. Jana died on January 8 – four days after her 13th birthday – in Gaza, due to malnutrition and lack of medicine and two weeks later, Samar got the green light from the Canadian government to bring her but it was too late.


    Samar talked to host Debra Arbec in a show and spoke her heart out. She shared how she had hoped to give her daughter the comfort she deserved had she been allowed to move in with her family. She along with her husband and other children left Gaza back in 2017 as a refugee but the immigration bureaucracy in Canada did not help them at all. Back then, her daughter was relatively safe because the escalation was not spiking. However, after October 7, she decided to move her to a church because she thought she’d be safe there under international law. “What happened after that, the Church was surrounded by tanks and snipers and there were restrictions on the entry of food,” Samar related with teary eyes, “Jana could only have soft food and since it is a war, this is a privilege”. Her health deteriorated and because she was not given proper medication she passed away.


    When the interviewer asked about the time she got to know about the green light to bring her daughter to Canada, Samar replied, “I laughed, because it’s ridiculous. It was a child’s life at stake.”


    The two then went on to discuss the immigration process in Canada and Samar highlighted the double standards of the process especially with Palestinians. She stressed the immediate need of a ceasefire.