Video games may improve memory

LAHORE – Health experts say that if you want to live up to 100 years, you should adopt some important habits that most people tend to overlook. A study published last week claimed that the maximum possible human lifespan could reach 194 years. Scientists at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow say that if researchers can discover a way to limit cell death associated with aging, the human body may be able to function healthily for a longer period. Lifestyle factors cannot stop the natural biological aging process but they can help protect the body’s cells from premature death. The result may be not only a longer life but also a healthier and more active one. According to Dr. Claire Neyland, a general practitioner associated with the Preventive Healthcare Clinic (HOOQE), the real goal of longevity is not simply to add more years to life but to maintain a healthy and fulfilling life during old age. Dr. Neyland says planning for a long and healthy life should not begin at the age of 50 or 60. It is never too early to prepare for the future. By adopting healthy habits today, people can lay the foundation for a healthier, happier and more fulfilling life as they grow older. She said that eating a balanced diet, getting adequate sleep and exercising regularly are not the only things that matter. There are also some lesser-known but highly important daily habits that adults of all ages should incorporate into their routines. She explained that people generally spend most of their time sitting on chairs rather than on the floor. Sitting on the floor may help strengthen the lower body while also improving flexibility and balance. Moving from a sitting position on the floor to standing is a simple movement but it can quietly indicate whether the body is aging in a healthy way. On average, a person spends around 10 hours sitting each day which can have negative effects on the thigh bones, hip joints and pelvic-floor muscles. Sitting on the floor and getting back up requires leg strength, hip flexibility, balance and physical coordination. If these abilities are not regularly used, they can gradually weaken with age. People who maintain these abilities generally remain more independent and have a lower risk of falling. Falls are among the major causes of hospitalization and even death among older adults. According to Dr. Neyland, this habit can easily be incorporated into everyday life. For example, people can sit on the floor while watching television, play with children on the floor or do stretching exercises while sitting on the floor. If it is safe, they can also practise standing up without using their hands for support. Even performing this exercise a few times a day may help maintain mobility, flexibility and agility as the body ages.

By Tahseen Ullah  Imagine a young Pakistani sitting in a village in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or Sindh, scrolling through his phone. He sees an attractive job offer for Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, the UAE—or even an IT position in Southeast Asia. The salary is impressive, accommodation is promised and the visa will supposedly be arranged within weeks. A WhatsApp number is provided, and someone in his community has already shared the opportunity. He has ambition, perhaps a degree or technical skills. What he may not have is reliable information. This information gap can turn an aspiration for overseas employment into financial loss, irregular migration, exploitation, human smuggling or even trafficking. For Pakistan, this is an increasingly important challenge. Overseas employment is a lifeline for millions of Pakistani families, supporting children’s education, access to healthcare, improved living standards and household economic security, while remittances make a vital contribution to the national economy. At the same time, rapidly changing global labour markets are creating new opportunities beyond traditional destinations. Yet, as these opportunities grow, so do the risks of fraudulent recruitment, misinformation, disinformation, human smuggling and trafficking. Ensuring that Pakistanis can access authentic and accurate information, guidance, verify employment opportunities and make informed decisions is therefore essential to turning migration aspirations into safe and dignified and productive employment opportunities. A fake job advertisement, misleading social media post or fraudulent agent can create a false impression of employment and migration opportunities. Misinformation may be shared unknowingly, while disinformation is deliberately designed to deceive. For prospective migrants, however, the consequences can be equally serious. The risks are particularly concerning for young, educated, and IT skilled Pakistanis. In parts of Southeast Asia, deceptive job advertisements and promises of visit visas that are later claimed to be convertible into work visas have reportedly been used to lure individuals into situations involving human trafficking for forced criminality, where victims may be coerced into participating in online scams and other criminal activities. What initially appears to be a lucrative employment opportunity can therefore become a pathway to exploitation, coercion and serious harm. In the migration journey, information is not just knowledge, it is protection. Before accepting any overseas opportunity, prospective migrants should ask: Is the employer genuine? Is the recruiter authorised? Is the visa appropriate for the job? Is there a written employment contract? Are the salary and working conditions clear? What are the actual costs? Most importantly, where can this information be verified? The principle should be simple: check before you trust, verify before you pay and consult before you travel. To make an informed decision, prospective and intending migrants should first verify job offers and recruitment arrangements from the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment and its field offices, the Protectorates of Emigrants, while seeking information, guidance and referral from Government departments, Migrant Resource Centres (MRCs) Pakistan and other recognised migration information and counselling services before paying, signing or travelling. These sources can help migrants understand legal/ regular migration pathways, recruitment procedures, employment contracts, workers’ rights and available complaint mechanisms. Before making a migration decision, understand the process and seek guidance. Consult relevant sources before paying an agent, signing documents or travelling—a few minutes of verification can prevent years of financial and personal consequences. However, information alone is not enough. Safe migration also requires quality skills, reskilling and upskilling. International labour markets increasingly demand technical competencies, language skills, digital literacy and recognised qualifications. TVET institutions and universities should therefore align training with genuine labour-market demand and equip young people with both occupational and migration-related knowledge. A skilled worker who cannot identify a fraudulent opportunity remains vulnerable. Conversely, reliable information without relevant skills can leave genuine opportunities beyond reach. Skills and information must therefore go together. A comprehensive approach to migration must move beyond simply facilitating departure. Safe migration requires informed preparation before departure, protection during employment and support upon return, supported by strong coordination among government institutions, international organization, civil society organizations, Pakistani missions abroad, bilateral agreements with destination countries, training providers, employers, recruiters, universities, and migration information and counselling services. The message to young Pakistanis should be clear: Do not migrate on the basis of a social media post, WhatsApp message or an agent’s promise. Seek information, consult the relevant authorities, verify the opportunity, acquire the required skills and follow the legal and regular migration pathway. Migration should be a pathway to opportunity—not a pathway to exploitation. In today’s information environment, knowing where to seek information, whom to consult and what to verify before migration may be as important as the skills required for the job itself. Safe migration begins long before the airport. It begins with an informed decision. Tahseen Ullah is a development and migration sector practitioner specialising in migration management, education and child protection. He can be reached at tahseenanthro@gmail.com.   LinkedIn: Tahseen Ullah  The views expressed are his own and do not reflect the views of his employer or any affiliated organisation.

By Dr. Naveeda Katper Human beings live in a world of countless needs and wants, but the resources available to meet those needs are limited. Food, shelter, education, health and a sense of belonging are among the basic requirements of life. Because resources are scarce, individuals, organizations and governments have to set priorities, make choices and use available resources wisely. Resources can broadly be divided into natural and human-made resources. Natural resources such as land, water, forests, minerals and energy come from nature. Human-made resources, including machines, buildings, technology and infrastructure, are developed by people using natural resources. Natural resources can be depleted, while human-made resources can depreciate through use and time. Human beings, however, are different from other resources. A person is not simply a consumer of resources. With education, training, health and appropriate opportunities, a person can develop knowledge and skills and become an important form of human capital. This is why human capital is often considered more valuable than other resources. Human beings discover, develop and manage resources. They create technology, improve production, solve problems and generate new ideas. Among the traditional factors of production—land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship—human effort remains central because it activates and combines the others. Education and skills are therefore essential for economic and social development. A person without education or employable skills may have limited opportunities to earn a stable income. A skilled person, on the other hand, can use available resources productively and create value for both themselves and society. Skills can take different forms. Hard skills include technical and professional abilities. Soft skills include communication, teamwork, discipline and problem-solving. Transferable skills can be applied across different occupations and workplaces. All of these can improve a person’s ability to participate productively in the economy. Developed economies provide useful examples of how investment in people can contribute to national development. Countries such as Finland, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea have invested substantially in education, vocational training, technology and workforce development. Their experience shows that economic progress is not based only on natural resources or physical infrastructure. The knowledge, skills and productivity of people are equally important. Skills development should begin early in life. Children should not be taught only to memorise information. They should also be encouraged to ask questions, solve problems, make things, experiment and learn from mistakes. An education system that allows children to try, fail and try again can help develop confidence, creativity and practical thinking. Schools, vocational institutions and workplaces all have a role in this process. Young people need opportunities to connect education with practical skills. They should be able to understand how knowledge can be applied to real problems and employment opportunities. The challenge is particularly serious in developing and least-developed countries, where many people have limited access to quality education, technical training and decent employment. Weak educational systems, inadequate infrastructure and limited opportunities for formal employment can prevent large sections of the population from developing their full potential. The problem is not simply unemployment. It is also the gap between what people know and what the economy needs. Many young people complete some level of education but do not acquire the practical or technical skills required by employers. At the same time, businesses often struggle to find workers with the right skills. Pakistan faces a similar challenge. The country has a large and relatively young population, which can become an important economic advantage if the right investments are made. But population size alone does not create economic growth. A large population becomes an asset when people are healthy, educated, skilled and productively employed. The World Bank’s Human Capital Index has repeatedly highlighted the importance of investments in education, health and skills for Pakistan’s long-term economic prospects. Pakistan’s human-capital performance remains below that of many countries that have made stronger and more sustained investments in these areas. Improving the quality of education, expanding vocational training and increasing opportunities for productive employment should therefore be treated as national priorities. Formal education, however, should not be considered the only route to developing human capital. Many adults who did not receive adequate schooling can still acquire useful skills through vocational and technical training. Short courses in areas such as construction, agriculture, livestock, tailoring, information technology, electrical work, plumbing, mechanics, hospitality and other trades can provide people with opportunities to earn a livelihood. Such training should not remain concentrated in major cities. Local training centres and mobile skill programmes can take practical education to towns and villages. Community-level training can help women, young people and adults who cannot easily access conventional educational institutions. Pakistan can also benefit from stronger links between education and the labour market. Training programmes should be designed after identifying the skills actually demanded by local and national economies. Employers, educational institutions and government departments should work together to ensure that training leads to real opportunities rather than certificates alone. The private sector also has an important role. Businesses can provide apprenticeships, internships and on-the-job training. Young people can gain valuable experience when they are given opportunities to learn directly in workplaces. Human capital development should also include lifelong learning. Technology and the nature of work are changing rapidly. Skills that are valuable today may become less relevant tomorrow. Workers therefore need opportunities to update their knowledge and acquire new skills throughout their careers. The central lesson is simple: people should not be viewed merely as consumers of a country’s resources. With proper investment, they become producers, innovators, entrepreneurs, teachers, technicians, researchers and problem-solvers. They create value from resources that might otherwise remain underused. For Pakistan, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. The country’s young population can become a powerful economic resource if it receives quality education, healthcare, practical skills and meaningful employment opportunities. But if these needs are ignored, population growth can increase pressure on already limited resources. Human capital is therefore not a secondary concern. It is one of the foundations of sustainable development. Roads, buildings, machines, technology and natural

By Raheel Waqar I attended a workshop under the project titled “Digital Trust and Free Expression in the AI Era” at the Department of Media and Development Communication, University of the Punjab, supported by the U.S. Mission to Pakistan in partnership with the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network (PUAN) last week. During the discussions on digital trust, I remembered that a few months ago, I received a call from a friend who is a small business owner and runs a modest page selling handcrafted candles. She told me that her posts had suddenly stopped getting reaching people. No warning. No explanation. Her engagement dropped overnight, and when she contacted the platform, she received a flat, nonanswer. She wasn’t banned. She wasn’t warned. She was just… quieter. That is essentially the shadow-ban dilemma, and I believe it is one of the least discussed problems of trust in the age of AI. There is a reason for algorithmic moderation exists. The volume of content shared on a platform daily is far too large to be managed by humans alone. AI systems can now detect hate speech, misinformation, spam, and harassment faster than an entire team of human moderators. Theoretically, this creates a safer and more livable Internet. But where I differ from current structure is that moderation operates as black box, and the worst offender is shadow banning, silently restricting a user without informing them. If a platform explicitly rejects you, you can appeal, argue, or move on. Shadow-banning removes even the most basic dignity. You face punishment without knowing the charges; you are not shown the evidence and are rarely given any avenues for reclamation. I genuinely believe that trust is the digital currency. We bring our voices, our business, and our relationships to these platforms, expecting something close to a level playing field, even if imperfect. Shadow-banning violates that implied contract. It assumes the rules are clear while relying opaque algorithms, and doubt becomes corrosive. Users begin to question each drop in engagement. Was it the algorithm? Was it just a bad week? Did I say something wrong? This uncertainty leads to confusion and self-censorship, which is not healthy foundation for a digital public square. Moreover, the phenomenon of shadow-banning disproportionately effects those without influence, legal support, or the media visibility. A major creator, with millions of followers, may get a quick, individualized explanation when something goes wrong. My friend, the candle-seller, heard nothing. This imbalance is significant if free expression online is to be practiced, not not merely discussed — by everyone. I don’t believe that the solution is to eliminate moderation entirely. The combination of harassment, spam, and bad-faith users who overwhelm others makes a total freeforall unusable within minutes. As anyone who has used an unmoderated platform knows how quickly it becomes impossible to navigate when spam and abuse take over. When people are constantly shouted down, free expression is not free. However, there is a difference between moderation and invisible moderation. Platforms can reduce the reach of harmful content without disrespecting or degrading the users by withholding explanations. The technology to notify users already exists. What is missing is the will. In my own re-design of this system, three principles would guide it: A user should be notified, not in a lucky screenshot of a “test” a month later, but in a clear, timely notice to explain the general reason that their content or reach is being limited. It is not theatre; it is meaningful appeal. Many platforms claim to offer appeals, but these are often routed to another algorithm or a human who skims for a few seconds. Real appeal is a true second look with actual power to correct an error. Not all infractions are equal and deserve the same silence and indefinite containment. It is not the same as coordinated harassment campaigns; it is not borderline, or an honest mistake, or satire. There is nothing impossible for this. It is a matter of priorities. Transparency costs platforms something; it exposes them to scrutiny and disagreement. I am not opposed to algorithmic moderation. Used responsibly, it can make the internet more habitable space for all, particularly for those who are disproportionately targeted by harassment and abuse. However, moderation that is not transparent is not safety; it is control disguised as safety. In a world where artificial intelligence systems increasingly decide who is heard and who is quietly muted, we must hold these systems accountable for their explanations. Platforms that merely claim that they know how to handle moderation, do not build trust. Trust is constructed by showing their work. Shadow-banning is not just a technical issue; it is a question of what kind of digital public square we want to inhabit and whether we will insist on honest, accountable moderation. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Mission to Pakistan or USEFP/PUAN. Raheel Waqar is a student of Media and Development Communication at University of the Punjab, Lahore and can be reached at raheelwaqar540@gmail.com.