A high-level international polio team concluded on Thursday after visiting Pakistan that there is unprecedented support and commitment to ending polio by 2023 and that if the current pace is maintained, the nation will be able to stop transmission in the upcoming year.

Dr. Chris Elias, Chair of the Polio Oversight Board (POB), Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, Regional Director of WHO, and George Laryea-Adjei, Regional Director of UNICEF, headed the delegation.

The hardest part of eradicating polio is yet to come, but eradication is possible because of the diligent work being done in Pakistan, according to Dr. Elias.

“During my three-day visit, I was once more moved by the government’s and the community’s commitment to eradicating polio forever,” he continued. The next polio campaigns must successfully reach every child, and the regular immunization program must be strengthened.

The highest governing body of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is the Polio Oversight Board. This is the delegation’s second trip to Pakistan as a group this year. A polio case was discovered in Pakistan after almost 15 months, prompting the previous visit in May. The most recent visit occurred after devastating floods that resulted in the widespread relocation of people and the loss of multiple medical institutions, which raised the danger of polio transmission.

Pakistan is at the “final stretch” of the road to eradication, according to WHO Regional Director Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari.

“The nation is in a strong position to completely eradicate poliovirus transmission by 2023 thanks to the accomplishments made this year. Although 2023 will be a year of elections and political transition, maintaining political and administrative commitment will be necessary to ensure that we achieve our goal, he added. In accordance with our regional vision of health for all by all, “everyone has a part to play in ending polio via our collective solidarity and action.”

Director of UNICEF’s South Asia Region George Laryea-Adjei stated that Pakistan’s accomplishment in halting the spread of polio through collaborative efforts by the government, funders, frontline health workers, and partners is genuinely impressive.

We must step up efforts to involve parents and other caregivers in protecting these kids, he added, noting that the recent flooding has increased health concerns for millions of kids, particularly those who reside in areas that have historically had the highest risk of contracting polio. “The eradication of polio is imminent, and we must now make the final push to guarantee that every kid is protected against this crippling condition.”

The delegation met with the Prime Minister, the Federal Health Minister, the Engineer-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, and the leaders of the provincial governments of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh during the visit, and they reaffirmed their support for helping Pakistan stop the spread of the poliovirus by 2023.

Seven nations, including Egypt, Romania, Sri Lanka, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Pakistan, and Hungary, are currently in high danger of experiencing currency crises, according to Nomura.

The Japanese bank reported that 22 of the 32 nations covered by its internal “Damocles” warning system had witnessed an increase in risk since its last update in May, with the Czech Republic and Brazil experiencing the biggest rises.

It indicated that since May, the model’s overall score sum, which was originally 1,744, had climbed significantly to 2,234 from 1,744.

The Nomura economists referred to it as “an ominous warning sign of the mounting broad-based risk in EM currencies” and noted that it was “the highest total score since July 1999 and not far off the top of 2,692 during the height of the Asian crisis.”

The model computes an overall score based on eight important indices of a country’s foreign exchange reserves, exchange rate, financial soundness, and interest rates.

Nomura calculates that a score above 100 suggests a 64% likelihood of a currency crisis in the next 12 months based on evidence from 61 prior EM currency crises since 1996.

Egypt currently has the lowest score at 165 after devaluing its currency significantly twice already this year and applying for an IMF program.

Romania, which has been using interventions to support its currency, is listed next on page 145. Both Turkey and Sri Lanka, which frequently have currency crises due to default, have ratings of 138, while the Czech Republic, Pakistan, and Hungary receive scores of 126, 120, and 100, respectively.

Rashid Rana, the creator of the exterior of Pakistan Pavilion, once again brings a unique large scale installation to the people of Karachi. Rana’s recent installation ‘It Lies Beyond’, as part of Karachi Biennale 2022, is an interactive art piece allowing observers to fully immerse in the experience through an AI app that converts the display into moving pictures. A stimulating art work of such a huge scale has been possible because of the generous support of JS Bank.

Rana depicted an ominous, serene seascape that, on closer inspection, reveals the heaps of garbage that it is composed of. The artwork refers to the post-renaissance materialist inquiry, the explorations of and expansions to the other worlds, sea-trade, colonization, industrial revolution, consumerism and highlights tainted waters owing to human waste and pollution followed by global climate change resulting in various natural calamities like recent floods – all unfolding as various chapters of a saga that begins and ends with waters.

The work is on display in Karachi Biennale 2022 at NED University City Campus till the 13^th of November. JS Bank aims to continue in its strive to promote the arts and artists of Pakistan in an effort to raise awareness.

On the opening day of installation, Rana commented “The drive behind making a work of this scale and magnitude was to give people an opportunity to actively become a part of an environment, because we rarely get to experience such immersive installations in Pakistan.”

Visiting the exhibition, Basir Shamsie, President and CEO of JS Bank remarked “Art is one of the finest ways to put a difficult message across masses. This exquisite art piece by Rashid Rana is sure to get the audiences thinking about the harm we are doing to our waters as a nation” about the multilayered issue.

About Rashid Rana

Rashid Rana, one of the most prominent artists in South Asia today is notable for his ideas, imagery, pictorial strategies, and working in dramatically different modes; Rana has exhibited extensively at various galleries and museums globally. He mediates between artist, curator, educator, and visionary.

Rana is a recipient of multiple awards including the Game Changer Asia Art Award, International Artist of the Year and Sitara-i-Imtiaz. His works are in various public and private collections including the British Museum, London, Metropolitan Museum, New York, Fukuoka Museum of Art, Japan and Saatchi Collection, London. Rana’s recent design of Pakistan Pavilion exterior at the world expo 2020 Dubai received international acclaim.

About JS Bank

JS Bank one of the fastest growing banks in Pakistan, is actively involved in promoting the arts and culture of the country. From the northern highlands to the southern shore, Pakistan is enriched with a strong thread of art and culture that weaves the country’s tradition and belief systems.

About The Karachi Biennale

The Karachi Biennale is KBT’s core project that connects art, the city and its people, and acts like a temporary museum showcasing leading artists in Karachi. During the two–week long Biennale, exhibitions are held in multiple locations across the city, including heritage sites and public parks. The main focus of the current edition of Karachi Biennale, curated by Faisal Anwar, is ‘art and technology’.

The Biennale attracts visitors from all over Pakistan and abroad, who are keen to experience museum quality art through exhibitions, artist talks, seminars and guided tours that are free for all.

Site Details:

Dates: 31 October 2021 – 13 November 2022

Location: NED City Campus

Timings: Weekdays – 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Weekends till 6:00 pm

There’s no denying that living in the contemporary world may be difficult. Making time for oneself can be challenging when you have duties to your family, friends, and job. But making the time is crucial.

As you recover from the daily demands of life, relaxing can help you maintain your physical and mental health. Fortunately, no matter how busy you are, it’s easy to learn how to carve out time for relaxing and how to rest effectively.

The simpler the relaxation techniques, the better! You can easily include a quick relaxation technique into your day if you can set out five minutes for yourself. Here are some quick techniques for unwinding.

Breathe it out:

One of the simplest methods of relaxation is breathing exercises, which are useful for reducing tension anywhere, at any time. One of your hands should be placed on your tummy as you sit or lie down in a peaceful and secure location, such as your bed or the floor of your home. Breathe in slowly for three counts, followed by a leisurely exhalation for three counts. As you breathe in and out, you should feel your belly fall and rise. Repeat five times or for however long you need to feel at ease.

Write down your thoughts:

By putting out your thoughts, you may find it easier to unwind. Take a few minutes to jot down some brief notes about how you’re feeling or how your day is going while you’re feeling pressured. You may write this down in a notepad or a smartphone note-taking app.

Release physical tension:

We frequently experience physical stress along with mental stress when we are under stress. Your body and mind will both feel less stressed if you can release any physical tightness. Consider your bed, a carpet, or a yoga mat as a soft surface to lay on. One body part at a time, tense up, and then progressively relax your muscles. Take note of how your body feels while you do this.

Connect to nature:

When you’re feeling stressed, spending even a short while in nature may help you unwind. Step outside and take a quick walk or just relax in nature when you’re feeling anxious. However, you don’t have to be in nature to benefit from its stress-relieving properties. Researchers have discovered that five minutes of computer screen time spent viewing pictures of greenery and nature will help you decompress. So even those who live and work in large cities far from nature can benefit from its calming benefits owing to technology. 

Make a list:

Some people find that writing down your blessings might make them feel more at ease. According to experts, when we’re under stress, we tend to concentrate more on the negative aspects of life than the positive ones. You could find that writing down and reflecting on the good aspects of your life will help you relax. Even if they are minor things like arriving at work on time or enjoying a nice lunch, try to recall three pleasant things that occurred to you today and write them down.

Visualize your calm:

Have you heard the saying “find your happy place” before? Consider a location in the globe where you feel the most at peace while you sit in a quiet, secure location, such as your bedroom. Close your eyes and try to picture every aspect of that location, including the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations. The more immersed you become in your visualisation, the easier it is to unwind.

A new study suggests that the inability to stand on one leg for 10 seconds may raise the risk of dying over the following ten years.

Our flexibility and balance decline as we become older. Beginning in our 50s, balance becomes increasingly challenging and can quickly deteriorate.

Balance issues raise the danger of falling, which is concerning because, according to the World Health Organization Trusted Source, falls are the second biggest cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide. Each year, more than 37 million falls cause injuries severe enough to necessitate medical attention.

Even for older persons, balance tests are not frequently included in yearly physicals. According to the authors of the current study, this may be due to a lack of standardized assessments and inconsistent interpretation of the findings.

However, they claim that the inability to balance for 10 seconds on one leg can signify a higher probability of dying for any reason in the ensuing 10 years.

Details of the research:

The average age of the 1,702 participants in the new study ranged from 51 to 75. Men made up almost two-thirds of the participants.

The test subjects were instructed to balance themselves on one leg. The back of the lower leg on the other side was supported by the front of the free leg. They were facing forward with their arms at their sides.

Participants were permitted to use either leg for up to three tries.

The task was unsuccessful by about 20% of participants, and this percentage rose with age:

• 5 % of individuals aged 51 and 55 failed the test.
• 8 % of those who were between 56 and 60 failed.
• Between 61 and 65, 18% of people failed.
• About 37 percent of those 66 to 70 failed
• Between 71 and 75, 54% of individuals failed.

After accounting for age, sex, and underlying health conditions, the inability to stand one-legged for 10 seconds was associated with an 84 percent heightened risk of all-cause death over a median follow-up period of 7 years.

It’s crucial to keep in mind that the study only revealed a correlation, not a cause-and-effect connection, Lubetzky emphasized.

“A person in their fifties should be able to stand unaided for about 40 seconds. A person in their 60s is looking at 20 seconds, while a person in their 70s is looking at about 10 seconds, continued Lubetzky. “Static balance is a complex problem with many underlying causes, including neurological disorders, orthopedic conditions, eyesight, and spatial problems, sedentary lifestyles, reaction times, cognitive impairments, and other medical conditions. You should consider your general health and fitness if it is tough for you to balance on one leg.

A larger percentage of persons with obesity, cardiac disease, high blood pressure, or unfavorable blood fat profiles were found in those who failed. In this group, type 2 diabetes was three times as prevalent.

Reference:

Bailey, E. (2022) Standing on one leg for 10 seconds and your health, Healthline. Healthline Media. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/can-you-stand-on-one-leg-for-10-seconds-what-that-tells-you-about-your-overall-health#Details-of-the-study (Accessed: November 2, 2022).

To solve shortages and meet rising demand, Australia will need to hire 16,000 additional early childhood educators. This is because the federal government has promised to provide billions in childcare subsidies. As part of its strategy to increase women’s involvement in the workforce and lessen household financial stress, Labour has proposed a $4.7 billion policy to subsidise childcare beginning from July 2023.

The programme was termed “cost of living assistance with an economic benefit” by Treasurer Jim Chalmers. For businesses to be able to locate the people they require, he said, “moms and dads need to be able to work more and earn more.”

Early childhood education centres are having trouble filling positions, and the anticipated increase in demand will make matters worse. To fulfil the nation’s soaring enrollments, John Cherry of Goodstart Early Learning estimated that the sector would need to hire 9000 more childcare professionals in addition to filling the 7,000 existing openings.

The centre director is desperately attempting to hire staff so that she can take in those families while parents are waiting on a waiting list for a slot to come up, Mr. Cherry told a Senate committee. The number of openings at Goodstart has doubled since 2020, while attrition rates have gone from 14% to 24%.

Up to 40% of early childhood educators in the region, according to Mr. Cherry, are leaving their jobs. The main factors causing the huge migration are low salaries, exhaustion, and lack of professional respect.

“Many people claim they could make more money stacking shelves at Bunnings or Coles. And they most certainly can ” he said. Mr. Cherry has urged the government to provide a quick 10% salary increase for early childhood educators. In the long run, he claimed, this increase wouldn’t be sufficient, but it would lower attrition rates just enough to stabilise the industry.

According to Mr. Cherry, most childcare facilities could not boost pay without increasing fees, therefore the salary expansion would need to be funded by the government.

“We’d want to give teachers a wage boost to match school rates but doing so would require raising fees by 20% to 30%, which would simply be too expensive for our families to afford childcare,” he said.

Mr. Cherry said before the committee that he had never seen the childcare sector in such terrible shape, and the consequences would be far-reaching. Up to 15 additional families might be impacted by each vacant spot, he claimed.

Three out of four early childhood educators aim to quit the field in the next three years, according to Erin Keogh, a spokesperson of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. The effects of understaffing in the care industry, according to Ms. Keogh, “are a snowball effect of compounding unfairness for already disadvantaged communities: the women who work in these sectors, the women who depend on these sectors, and the customers of these sectors.”

According to the worldwide Air Quality Index (AQI), Lahore, the city of Gardens, is now Pakistan’s most polluted city. 

According to information, the provincial capital is the most polluted city, with an air quality score of 241. The metropolis, which is home to 11 million people, is covered in smog, which affects its inhabitants’ ability to breathe, their vision, and their eyes.

Faisalabad is ranked second after Lahore with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 230. Karachi, on the other hand, maintained a somewhat superior air quality rating of 117. An AQI of 150–200 is regarded as unhealthy, 200–300 is more dangerous, and 300 or above is regarded as extremely dangerous.

Experts believe that the air is heavier in the winter than it is in the summer, which causes toxic particles in the atmosphere to migrate downhill and pollute the atmosphere.

Numerous people have contracted respiratory and other ailments from the filthy air. To prevent respiratory illnesses, doctors advise people to use face masks.

Rafeh Alam, an environmental expert who has worked to raise awareness of the risks posed by rising pollution, claimed that many people, particularly women and children, have been exposed to poisonous air, which is linked to several diseases. He demanded action from the government to lessen air pollution.

Precautionary measures against smog include:

• Avoid being outdoors near heavy traffic areas to minimize exposure.
• Avoid strenuous work outdoors.
• When indoors, close windows & other inlets of air.
• For people with asthma or COPD, always have your inhaler with you. Keep your doctor on speed dial if your condition has the potential to worsen.
• Children, elders & people with asthma need to be especially careful on smoggy days.
• Bike users must use face masks & glasses to protect their eyes.
•  Drink plenty of water & wash your eyes frequently.

You must memorize a lot of knowledge for many college courses. It might be challenging to memorize material for just one lesson, but when you have many classes, it can be even more irritating. Many pupils believe that they just lack good recall skills. Fortunately, though, memorizing is not just for an elite group of people born with the right skills—anyone can train and develop their memorizing abilities.

There are numerous additional methods you may utilize to aid your brain in remembering information. Here are some simple tips to try.

Understand the information:

It is simpler to memorise information that is arranged and makes sense to you. Spend some time learning the information if you discover that you don’t comprehend it before attempting to memorise it.

Link it:

Make a connection between the material you’re attempting to remember and something you already know. It is harder to retain information that isn’t connected to other ideas than information that is. Make up a ridiculous connection if you can’t think of a way to relate the material to something you already know.

Sleep:

According to studies, your brain stores and analyses information while you’re asleep. Even if it’s just for a little while, try to study material before bed to see if that helps the information stick in your memory.

Self-Test:

Every now and again, test your knowledge by actively remembering the material you are trying to learn. Don’t just read through your notes or a textbook again; actively test yourself. Students frequently assume they recall content simply because it is familiar to them when they revisit it. Ask yourself questions instead and try to recall the information without consulting the solution or the source.

Use mnemonics:

Mnemonic strategies use patterns to aid in helping you remember a phrase or concept. Mnemonic strategies can take the form of rhymes, melodies, poems, drawings, pictures, and acronyms. When you strive to remember anything, mnemonics add meaning to ordinary things to help you remember them.

Write it out:

Because there is a direct link between our hand and brain when we write, it seems to assist us more thoroughly encode the information we’re attempting to learn. During lectures, try taking notes by hand, and afterward, rewrite and rearrange notes or material by hand. Try saying the material aloud and visualizing the topic as you write it down to help you remember it.

According to billionaire Elon Musk, SpaceX will keep funding its Starlink service in Ukraine’s war-hit regions. Musk announced it on Twitter with the following statement: “the hell with it … even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free”.

Musk later appeared to suggest that his change of heart was sincere, but it was first unclear whether it was. No good deed goes unpunished, a Twitter user once said, to which Musk responded, “Even so, we should still do good deeds.”

Musk had previously stated on Twitter that SpaceX wouldn’t be able to sustainably fund Starlink in Ukraine. Additionally, the US military acknowledged that it was in touch with the billionaire’s business regarding funding for the vital network.

Ukraine’s communications in its struggle against the Russian invasion have been largely dependent on Starlink, a network of more than 3,000 tiny satellites in low Earth orbit.

After the Russian incursion crippled internet services in Ukraine, Musk turned Starlink on in late February. Since then, the Ukrainian military’s access to the internet has depended heavily on its internet terminals. 25,000 ground terminals have been donated by SpaceX to Ukraine, according to a revised number provided by Musk last week.

Service interruption might have serious implications for Ukraine. This week, after more than 100 Russian cruise missile attacks, Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said that Starlink services had assisted in restoring the electrical and communications infrastructure in crucial locations.

After the local cell phone network was destroyed after intense bombardment, military communications have been conducted using encrypted satellite transmissions.

Musk’s cooperation is essential for Ukrainian military efforts, according to Mykola Balaban, the deputy director of the Ukraine Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security, who spoke to Al Jazeera.

“Ukraine has demonstrated very effective strategic communication over the past six months,” he continued. We succeeded to convey to our partners throughout the world the significance of supporting Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in their struggle against the war from Russia, as you can see with this tweet [from Musk]. Of course, communication lags occasionally and there are instances of misunderstanding.