Pakistanis are queuing for hours to grab coffee and pastries from Canadian chain Tim Hortons, which opened its first outlet in the South Asian country this week just as its economic crisis took a turn for the worse. Inflation in January spiked to 27% year-on-year, the highest in more than a decade, and the government only has enough foreign reserves to pay for just over three weeks of imports.
Australian captain, Pat Cummins, recently narrated his experience of listening to Azaan echo in the cricket ground of Rawalpindi. While sharing his thoughts, Cummins called it a ‘cool moment’ as the call to prayer echoed across the ground with the mountains off in the distance. He says he also found out that day that Friday is a Holy day.
River Ravi, flowing through Punjab’s capital, Lahore has been found to be the world’s most polluted. The river contains active pharmaceutical ingredients posing a ‘threat to environment and human health’. A study on pharmaceutical pollution of the world’s rivers conducted at the University of York detected pharmaceutical particles including paracetamol, nicotine, caffeine and epilepsy and diabetes drugs in the river.
60-year-old, Ustad Waheed from Lahore has proved age is just a number by making a record of becoming the oldest to win the prestigious Mr. Pakistan bodybuilding competition. Previously, the fitness enthusiast also won the title of Mr. Lahore and just a few months before his latest prestigious achievement he won the title of Mr. Punjab.
In a major achievement against the crippling virus, Lahore has become the first polio-free city in the country. The fifth environmental sample taken from the city for the poliovirus has tested negative. Earlier four environmental samples for the virus had tested negative. Lahore Deputy Commissioner paid rich tribute to the doctors, polio workers, and the parents for making the city polio-free.
Lahore, the city of gardens, once an intellectual center of the Indian subcontinent and now considered the cultural heart of Pakistan, has been included in a list of ‘52 places to love in 2021’ by the international newspaper, The New York Times. The Times asked readers to “tell us about spots that have delighted, inspired and comforted them in a dark year.”
A viral video on social media has shocked all of Lahore, after a family shared footage of a shawarma sandwich which was served with a dead rat’s meat inside it. Saleh Saleem posted on Facebook that his 10-year-old niece was about to consume the Middle Eastern dish at a local eatery but looked on in horror after finding the meat of the rodent inside.
Pakistan has launched its first underground water reservoir system to store water from seasonal rains and reduce flooding in Lahore. The project, titled “Monsoon Underground Water Reservoir”, took three months to be completed at Lahore’s Lawrence Garden. Built at the cost of Rs. 149 million, the water tank can hold up to 1.5 million gallons of water after a heavy downpour.
The Chief Minister of Punjab, Usman Buzdar has approved the construction of a “Dubai-like” modern city near Lahore. The new city in the north of Lahore, spread over more than 100,000 acres will be called Ravi Riverfront Project. It is anticipated that the private sector would invest about Rs5 trillion in the venture. However, final approval will come from Punjab Cabinet.
New Zealand’s third case of COVID-19 to emerge this week traveled to Auckland from Lahore. The Director-General of Health, Dr. Ashley Bloomfield, confirmed that the man, in his 60s, is in quarantine after coming to New Zealand on Flight NZ124 after transiting through Doha and Melbourne. He stayed at an isolation hotel before being moved to quarantine.