Deadly Heat wave kills 65 in Pakistan

From Left : A volunteer sprays water on people to keep them cool in Karachi. And  A mother holds her child, covered with a towel to avoid sunlight, during a heat wave in Karachi,

Karachi, Pakistan : Deadly heat wave has killed 65 people in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi over past three days . And it is feared that death toll could  climb .

Temperature hit 44 degree Celsius ( 111 Fahrenheit ) according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department , which is well above the average daily high of 35 degree Celsius for the month of May. 

The heat wave has coincided with power outages and the holey month of Ramadan, when Muslims do not eat or drink during daylight hours. According to the Edhi Foundation, which operates morgues and an ambulance service in Pakistan's biggest city, told the local media that the deaths occurred mostly in the poor areas of Karachi such as Korangi and Sohrab Goth.

In 2015 at least 1300 People died from heatstrokes in Karachi.

Burning Gaza :Israeli forces killed 58 Palestinian in Gaza protests .

In a jarring contrast , Israeli forces shot and killed 58 Palestinians including a baby and injured more than 2700 during mass protests in the Gaza border, while just a few miles away Israel and the U.S. held a festive inauguration ceremony for the new American Embassy in contested Jerusalem.
 It was by far the deadliest day of cross-border violence since a devastating 2014 war between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, and further dimmed the already bleak  bleak prospects for President Donald Trump's hoped-for peace plan.

Throughout the day, Gaza protesters set tires ablaze ,sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli troops across the border. The Israeli military, which has come under international criticism for using excessive force against unarmed protesters, said Hamas tried to carry out bombing and shooting attacks under the cover of the protests and released video of protesters ripping away parts of the barbed-wire border fence.

Monday's protests culminated more than a month of weekly demonstrations aimed at breaking a crippling Israeli-Egyptian border blockade. But the U.S. Embassy move, bitterly opposed by the Palestinians, added further fuel .

Malaysia : Prime minister Mahathir Mohamad says Anwar Ibrahim to be given royal pardon.

In the final spin to 48 hours of election drama , Malaysia's 92 years old new prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said that he had set in motion plans for a royal pardon for Anwar Ibrahim – the former ally who was sacked and jailed when Mahathir was previously in power and who could now become his successor .

The king  has indicated he is willing to pardon Anwar immediately. Mahathir told a news conference in Petaling Jaya. “We will begin the .. proper process of obtaining a pardon. This means a full pardon. He should be released immediately when he is pardoned."

The unlikely alliance of Mahathir  and Anwar has been one of the many unusual aspects of this election. When Mahathir was prime minister the first time round, between 1981 to 2003, Anwar was his protege and deputy, tipped for the top job until Mahathir thought he was getting too powerful. After a prosecution for corruption  and sodomy that was widely believed to be politically motivated,  he was jailed in 1999.

Donald Trump to meet Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June

The historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un will take place in Singapore on June 12.

Trump and his north korean counterpart plan to discuss nuclear weapons, trade sanctions and other issues during the sitdown .

The president has said repeatedly that the meeting could either result in tremendous progress or simply collapses, depending on the concessions the North is willing to make to his demands.

Woman arrested after allegedly killing 'bad luck cat' in washing machine in Spain

Police have tracked down the woman who posted shocking footage on social media of her killing a cat by putting it in a spin cycle in a washing machine.

The 19-year-old woman from Villarrubia de los Ojos in Ciudad Real now faces charges of animal cruelty.
During the horrifying video , the woman can be heard saying after the first cycle , "looks like people were right about cats have seven lives" before adding detergent to washing machine and putting it on another wash cycle. More than 300,000 people signed a petition on change.org to lobby the Ministry of justice to take the case to court.

After posting the video on social media, the woman then uploaded a picture of the cat from before the incident which said “the cat is now dead… Yes the bad luck cat " .

Chinese President wants screening more Indian movies in China

Chinese President Xi Jinping has seen a number of Indian films including regional films ,and believes it would be a good idea that Bollywood  movies come to China and vice-versa.

Briefing reporters at the end of the two-day informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi in the central Chinese city, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said they proposed collaboration in the areas of spirituality, trade, technology, tradition and entertainment including films.

Xi Jinping had told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he had seen bollywood star Amir khan's 'Dangal' movie and liked it .

'Dangal' was a superhit in China and broke several records in the Chinese movie industry and raked is over Rs 1,100 crore .

Pakistan interior minister Ahsan Iqbal shot during rally .

Pakistan's interior minister Ahsan Iqbal was shot and wounded in an apparent assassination attempt on Sunday 6th May 2018 as he left a rally in central province of Punjab .

The 59-year-old Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader was attacked during the party’s corner meeting  in Qasba Kanjrod area of his constituency of Narowal. A staunch ally of ousted premier Nawaz Sharif , Iqbal is one of the most senior figures  in the government as well as in PML-N.

Abid Hussain the attacker was arrested by Police . Local media reported that the attacker belonged to a religious party but his motivation was not immediately known . Police said that Iqbal was hit by a bullet on his right shoulder .

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan  Abbasi condemned the attack and called for and immediate report into the incident from top officials of Punjab province .

However the reason behind the attack was not immediately known .

What causes the sound of thunder ?

Thunder is caused by the rapid expansion of the air surrounding the path of a lightning bolt.
From the clouds to a nearby tree or roof , a lightning bolt takes a only a few thousandths of a second to split through the air . The loud thunder that follows the lightning bolt is commonly said to come from the bolt itself. However, the grumbles and growls we hear in thunderstorms actually come from the rapid expansion of the air surrounding the lightning bolt.

As lightning connects to the ground from the clouds, a second stroke of lightning will return from the ground to the clouds, following the same channel as the first strike . the lightning takes so little time to go from point A to point B, the heated air has no time to expand. The heated air is compressed, raising the air from 10 to 100 times the normal atmospheric pressure. The compressed air explodes outward from the channel, forming a shock wave of compressed  particles in every direction. Like an explosion, the rapidly expanding waves of compressed air create a loud, booming burst of noise.
 Because the electricity follows the shortest route, most lightning bolts are close to vertical .
The shock waves nearer to the ground reach your ear first, followed by the crashing of the shock waves from higher up . Vertical lightning is often heard in one long rumble. However, if a lightning bolt is forked, the sounds change. The shock waves from the different forks of lightning bounce off each other,the low hanging clouds , and nearby hills to create a series of lower , continuous grumbles of thunder .
Thunder fun facts :

*To judge how close lightning is , count the seconds between the flash and  the thunderclaps . Each second represents about 300 meter (984.25 feet )

* Thunder is not only heard during thunderstorms. It is uncommon , but not rare , to hear thunder when it is snowing . 
*Lightning does not always create thunder .

Opium Production has set record in Afghanistan

 Afghan men work on a poppy field in Jalalabad province.

 

 

 

Afghanistan's area under opium-poppy cultivation has increased 63% since 2016 , rising to 810505 acres, while its potential opium production increased 87% to an estimated 9,000 tons — both records for the country despite years of anti-narcotics efforts.

There is no single reason behind the increases , according to the UN office on drug and crime.

Among the main factors driving the increase are corruption, lack of government control and security, and challenges to the rule of law, like political instability . Local issues , like a lack of job opportunities , low- quality education, and limited access to markets and financial services, also compels farmers toward opium cultivation.

The Afghan government has shifted its focus to combating anti-government elements in densely populated areas at the expense of rural areas, which may have also allowed cultivation to increase, according to the UNODC .

The UNODC recorded strong increases  in all of Afghanistan's major poppy cultivating provinces. Helmand alone saw a 79% increase and accounted for just under of half the country's total increase. About 60% of Afghanistan's opium cultivation takes place in the southern region, and all the provinces there saw significant increases .

Opium produced in Afghanistan is typically exported in raw form, or as heroine or morphine. Helmand, home to an estimated 80% of Afghaistan opium poppies , is called " big drug factory".