Swaths of the country are now underwater, after what United Nation officials have described as a "monsoon on steroids" brought the heaviest rainfall in living memory and flooding that has killed 1,162 people, injured 3,554 and affected 33 million since mid-June.
The new images, taken on August 28 from NASA's MODIS satellite sensor, show how a combination of heavy rain and an overflowing Indus River have inundated much of Sindh province in the South.
In the center of the picture, a large area of dark blue shows the Indus overflowing and flooding an area around 100 kilometers (62 miles) wide, turning what were once agricultural fields into a giant inland lake.
It's a shocking transformation from the photo taken by the same satellite on the same date last year, which shows the river and its tributaries contained in what appear by comparison to be small, narrow bands, highlighting the extent of the damage in one of the country's hardest-hit areas.
This year's monsoon is already the country's wettest since records began in 1961, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, and the season still has one month to go.
In both Sindh and Balochistan provinces, rainfall has been 500% above average, engulfing entire villages and farmland, razing buildings and wiping out crops.
While mostly dry weather is expected in the region in coming days, experts say the water will take days to recede.
Pakistan's climate change minister Sherry Rehman said Sunday that parts of the country "resemble a small ocean," and that "by the time this is over, we could well have one-quarter or one-third of Pakistan under water."
'Flood of apocalyptic proportions'
In a interview with CNN Tuesday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said he had visited Sindh and seen first-hand how the flooding had displaced entire villages and towns.
"There is barely any dry land that we can find. The scale of this tragedy ... 33 million people, that's more than the population of Sri Lanka or Australia," he said.
"And while we understand that the new reality of climate change means more extreme weather, or monsoons, more extreme heat waves like we saw earlier this year, the scale of the current flood is of apocalyptic proportions. We certainly hope it's not a new climate reality."
Satellite images from Maxar Technologies from other areas of the country show how entire villages and hundreds of plots of verdant land have been razed by the rapidly moving floods.
Images from Gudpur, a locality in Punjab, show how the floods have damaged homes, and replaced land with snaking trails of of bare Earth.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday to inspect its flood damage.
The province has logged most of the latest deaths after water levels rose exponentially, said the country's National Disaster Management Authority.
Sharif said Tuesday the flooding was the "worst in Pakistan's history" and international assistance was needed to deal with the scale of the devastation.
Hardik Pandya led India to a five-wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup.
India's Hardik Pandya shakes hands with Pakistan players after the Asian Cup India v Pakistan match at Dubai International Stadium in the United Arab Emirates on August 28, 2022.
(Satish Kumar / Reuters)
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has picked up three wickets and smashed an unbeaten 33 to seal a five-wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in a low-scoring thriller in the Asia Cup Twenty20 tournament in Dubai.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up four wickets, including the prized scalp of Babar Azam, while Pandya expertly used short-pitched deliveries in India's inspired fast-bowling display to help them skittle out Pakistan for 147 on Sunday.
All Pakistan wickets fell to India's fast bowlers with Arshdeep Singh taking two and Avesh Khan picking up the remaining one.
In reply, the Pakistan bowlers fought hard and took the match to the final over when Pandya hit a massive six to seal the victory with two balls to spare.
With bilateral cricket remaining suspended between the bitter neighbours, India and Pakistan play each other only in multi-team tournaments with their rivalry now a rare but enticing occasion for fans worldwide.
Pakistan came into the contest having mauled India by 10 wickets in a Twenty20 World Cup match at the same venue in October in their last meeting.
Pakistan's attack missed required firepower
It was India who landed the first blow when Bhuvneshwar dismissed Pakistan batting mainstay Babar for 10 in the third over with a sharp-rising delivery after captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field.
Pandya dismissed the big-hitting Iftikhar Ahmed for 28 and also sent back well-set opener Mohammad Rizwan, who made 43, and Khushdil Shah in the same over – all through short-pitched deliveries.
After Pandya scythed through the middle order, Bhuvneshwar returned for his second spell to clean up the Pakistan tail by dismissing Asif Ali, Shadab Khan and Naseem Shah.
With fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, who made a big impact in their last win over India, missing due to injury, Pakistan's attack missed the firepower necessary to defend a low total and struggled in hot and humid conditions.
Kohli lean patch continues
Fast bowler Naseem, 19, gave Pakistan an ideal start by dismissing KL Rahul without scoring before Virat Kohli and Rohit steadied things for India with a stand of 49.
Kohli, who is in the middle of a prolonged lean patch, was dropped at slip off Naseem before he had opened his scoring. He struggled for timing during his laboured 35 off 34 balls.
Kohli’s landmark 100th T20I, after a rest of more than six weeks, bracketed him with only Ross Taylor of New Zealand to have played 100 games in all three formats.
However, Kohli was tied down by both spinners Shadab Khan and Nawaz before falling midway through the India innings with 35 off 34 balls.
India found themselves in a spot of bother when Kohli and Rohit both fell to left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz in successive overs.
Ravindra Jadeja, who made 35, and Pandya rescued India with a 52-run stand for the fifth wicket to turn the contest in favour of the defending champions before Nawaz dismissed the former on the first delivery of the final over.
Pandya's 17-ball knock was studded with four fours, including three in the penultimate over against seamer Haris Rauf, and the six over long-on against Nawaz.
READ MORE:How Kashmiri pace sensation Umran Malik took Indian cricket by storm
Source: Reuters
Singh allegedly threatening to cause damage at the venue at Madhapur near here has gone viral since the last few days, the police said.
BJP MLA in Telangana T Raja Singh was on Friday taken into preventive custody by the police here when he tried to reach the venue of a show by stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui. Singh allegedly threatening to cause damage at the venue at Madhapur near here has gone viral since the last few days, the police said.
Faruqui’s show is scheduled for Saturday. Singh, the MLA from Goshamahal in Hyderabad, was taken into preventive custody from his residence at Mangalhat in the old city and would be released, the police said.
Singh, known for his strong Hindutva views, alleged that Faruqui had insulted Hindu Gods in his show in the past and that had attracted police cases. The MLA took exception to ruling TRS working president and State Minister K T Rama Rao reportedly extending an invite to Faruqui.
This is a reference to Rama Rao’s comments last year that Hyderabad is a true cosmopolitan city which welcomes all cultures and criticism and that the shows of the likes of Munawar Faruqui are not cancelled. Raja Singh claimed that talented artistes from Telangana should be encouraged, instead of inviting someone who insults God. Urging Rama Rao and the DGP to cancel permission to Faruqui’s show, he said the developments would be “different” otherwise.
The samples are from a Japanese space probe called Hayabusa-2, which gathered 5.4 grams of rocks and dust from the near-earth asteroid Ryugu.
Hayabusa-2 was launched in 2014 on its mission to Ryugu, around 300 million kilometres away, and returned to Earth's orbit two years ago to drop off a capsule containing the sample.
(AP)
Water may have been brought to Earth by asteroids from the outer edges of the solar system, scientists said after analysing rare samples collected on a six-year Japanese space mission.
In a new paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy on Monday, scientists said the samples from the asteroid Ryugu, brought back to earth in 2020, could give clues to the mystery of how oceans appeared on Earth billions of years ago.
"Volatile and organic-rich C-type asteroids may have been one of the main sources of Earth's water," said the study by scientists from Japan and other countries.
"The delivery of volatiles (that is, organics and water) to the Earth is still a subject of notable debate," it said.
But the organic materials found "in Ryugu particles, identified in this study, probably represent one important source of volatiles".
The scientists hypothesised that such material probably has an "outer Solar System origin", but said it was "unlikely to be the only source of volatiles delivered to the early Earth".
Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft arrives at the carbon-rich Ryugu asteroid between the orbits of Earth and Mars to bring back some samples which can provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on Earth https://t.co/YRMkdKE22s
The Ryugu samples, 5.4 grams (0.2 ounces) of rocks and dust, were gathered by a Japanese space probe called Hayabusa-2 that landed on the celestial body and fired an "impactor" into its surface.
Hayabusa-2 was launched in 2014 on its mission to Ryugu, around 300 million kilometres away, and returned to Earth's orbit two years ago to drop off a capsule containing the sample.
In the Nature Astronomy study, the researchers again hailed the findings made possible by the mission.
"Ryugu particles are undoubtedly among the most uncontaminated Solar System materials available for laboratory study and ongoing investigations of these precious samples will certainly expand our understanding of early Solar System processes," the study said.
Studies on the material are beginning to be published, and in June, one group of researchers said they had found organic material which showed that some of the building blocks of life on Earth, amino acids, may have been formed in space.
In the spring of 2020, National Park Service personnel were preparing for an event President Donald Trump was holding with Fox News to address the nascent covid-19 pandemic from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, site of historic protests and inaugural concerts.
But, first, they had to brief Trump on the plans.
“As of now we’re looking at an event at base of Lincoln from 6-8 or so Sunday night. No event in chamber. I will see if that holds once POTUS is briefed later today,” Jeff Reinbold, the Park Service’s superintendent for the National Mall and Memorial Parks, wrote in an April 28, 2020, email to other agency officials.
By the next morning, the virtual “town hall” was no longer to be held at the base, the documents show. Trump’s two-hour sit-down with Fox News anchors would take place inside the memorial’s main chamber, on the landing in the shadow of the marble statue of a seated Lincoln. With the exception of an annual birthday tribute to Lincoln, federal regulations bar events from being held in that area.
The email is among hundreds of pages of newly released government documents that help fill in the picture of how officials from multiple government agencies worked to engineer the event at the Lincoln, one of the many norm-defying moments of the Trump presidency. They show that the Park Service provided security personnel at a cost of nearly $150,000 and that a Secret Service official apologized to colleagues for the planning process, calling it a “$#!t show.”
After the event, officials noted that the memorial itself — then 98 years old — had sustained scratches and gouges in its pink marble floor, according to a final memorandum.
In the end, the Trump-appointed interior secretary, David Bernhardt, relaxed the rules by finding that the venue was appropriate, given the president’s need to communicate with the American people during a “grave time of national crisis.” That finding has been previously reported.
Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, the executive director of the Partnership for Civil Justice, a progressive group that acquired the documents through a public-records request, said she believes Bernhardt exceeded his authority and allowed Trump to use “the Lincoln Memorial as his stage set.”
“They’re trying to find a way, it looks like, to give him the chamber when there is no legal way to give him the chamber,” she said.
Verheyden-Hilliard’s group often litigates on behalf of those seeking access to public spaces, pressing the government to properly allow free-speech activities and protests along Pennsylvania Avenue and elsewhere.
Mike Litterst, a spokesman for the Park Service, did not address specific questions from The Washington Post. He said in a statement that the agency monitored the activity associated with the town hall, as it does any event not sponsored by the Park Service.
A spokesman for the Secret Service declined to comment. A Trump spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.
Bernhardt said in an interview that he stood by the decision and that government lawyers had approved it. At the time, federal officials and the nation were in the early stages of learning how deadly and transmissible the novel coronavirus was. Mass business closures enacted weeks before had forced layoffs. The unemployment rate had quadrupled.
“I felt that it was an important moment for the country,” Bernhardt told The Post.
On May 3, 2020, at the opening of the town hall, Trump greeted Fox anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum by saying, “We never had a more beautiful set than this did we?” according to a transcript.
The hosts asked about criticism that had already surfaced about the use of the memorial as the site for the event.
“What can you criticize? It’s — I don’t think it’s ever been done, what we’re doing tonight here,” Trump said. “And I think it’s great for the American people to see.”
All presidents use national parks as backdrops for photo opportunities and promotional events, said Kristen Brengel of the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit organization that works to protect the national park system. For his 2009 inaugural, President Barack Obama hosted a concert on the steps of the memorial and was photographed in the chamber. Four years later, he gave a speech on the steps as part of a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech.
But, by siting the town hall inside the memorial, with Fox News, Brengel said, the Trump administration held an event in defiance of federal regulations in a space that is hallowed ground to manyAmericans.
“This wasn’t a national emergency to do an event inside the Lincoln Memorial,” she said. “This was the commercial use of a park site in the middle of a pandemic.”
On April 28, the day before the event was announced, officials began sharing early information about it with one another, according to the documents. Reinbold told colleagues that it was being planned for the front steps of the memorial and directed a Fox News staffer to apply for the necessary permit.
Reinbold mentioned that the plans could change after they were presented to Trump that day.
Security personnel at the U.S. Park Police and the Secret Service began to make staffing considerations on short notice. A Park Police official justified the need to call in extra officers on the weekend by citing an emergency order issued weeks earlier allowing for “mission critical adjustments” to help the nation respond to the pandemic.
A Secret Service official helping to staff the event apologized for the process. “Sorry this is such a $#!t show. Will have answers shortly,” wrote the official, whose name is redacted in the documents.
The next day, with the event moved into the memorial’s chamber,Fox News would not need a permit after all, Reinbold wrote. He told colleagues it was out of his hands. “They are using the site as a venue and this is not a co-sponsored or NPS event in any way,” he wrote on April 29.
Trump and Fox announced that the event would take place four days later, on a Sunday evening.
Fox News began making arrangements. A Fox staffer sent Park Service officials a photo taken from the 1963 March on Washington, shot from behind Lincoln’s statue looking out at the entrance, that she hoped to replicate.
“We are also looking to achieve the camera shot in the attached picture,” she wrote on April 30.
An inscription marks the spot where King spoke, 18 steps from the top landing of the memorial.
On May 3, Bernhardt issued a “record of determination,” citing the growing pandemic and the need for the president to communicate with Americans as reasoning to allow the event. “In this grave time of national crisis, the Memorial is a uniquely appropriate place from which our President can communicate an official message to the American people,” Bernhardt wrote.
Verheyden-Hilliard rejected the idea that the interior secretary had such authority. “All they are really doing is putting window dressing on something that is clearly illegal,” she said.
In response to questions from The Post, Fox News Media said in a statement that the station had been approached by the Trump administration and “agreed to moderate the May 2020 event in an effort to provide critical information to the American public.”
“The location of the Lincoln Memorial was proposed by the administration and Fox News worked directly with the National Park Service to ensure the production followed every protocol to protect the space,” the company said.
A Park Service memo after the event said the production crew had “generally followed previously agreed to requirements.” But it also said: “Inside the Lincoln Chamber there are several scratches and gouges on the flooring. Photo documentation taken and referred to the park’s senior management.”
No photos of damage were among the documents released. Fox News said it was unaware of any damage. “At no point was the network made aware of any damages as a result of the event,” the company said.
Litterst said in the statement that the damage was “addressed in-house by the park’s conservators.”
In correspondencein the days after the event, about how to respond to reporters’ questions, Litterst made clear to colleagues that he did not want to give the impression that the agency would allow such an event to take place again: “I think it’s a good opportunity to slam the door on anyone who thinks they can make a similar ask to do an interview in the chamber.”
Supporters of the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) march during a protest rally against inflation, political destabilisation and continued hikes in fuel prices, in Rawalpindi on July 2, 2022. — AFP/File
ISLAMABAD: PTI on Monday announced that it will hold its public gathering in Lahore on August 13 after the former premier Imran Khan called on its supporters to rally against the government.
PTI was earlier set to gather the public at Islamabad's Parade Ground and was also granted permission by the Interior Ministry.
Earlier today, the TLP also shared its intention to organise the Nazariya Pakistan March and Conference at Faizabad on August 13. The party said that its request to hold a rally at the Parade Ground was denied by interior minister Rana Sanaullah.
Taking to Twitter, PTI made the announcement regarding its anticipated jalsa.
"On the night between August 13-14, a huge Independence Day celebration will be observed at the Hockey Stadium," the tweet read.
The party also mentioned that Khan would attend the event and address participants.
Addressing a press conference earlier today, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said Khan announced that he would hold a protest in Islamabad on August 13 in which he would give the government a one-month ultimatum to hold the general election.
Taking a jibe at Khan, the minister said that he should first remove Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja from office upon whom he had expressed "no trust".
When a new election commissioner is appointed, then the PTI chairman should demand fresh elections, Sanaullah added.
The minister asserted that holding peaceful protests was the right of every political party and they were allowed to hold public gatherings, but warned that those who tried taking the law into their hands will be dealt with an iron hand.
It should be noted that Khan was ousted from the prime minister's office through a no-confidence motion in April, and since then, he has been holding large rallies across the country.
The PTI chairman claims the United States and the then-opposition conspired to oust his party from power. However, both deny the allegation.
PTI supporters attend a rally in Charsadda. — AFP/File
ISLAMABAD: PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday announced that the party will organise a public gathering in the federal capital on the eve of Pakistan’s 75th independence day.
The decision was taken during a party meeting presided by PTI chief Imran Khan.
Taking to Twitter, Fawad Chaudhry shared that the party will hold a gathering at the Parade Ground Islamabad where Khan will announce the party’s future strategy.
“Imported government is running from elections, but the nation will not let them get away. On August 13, Pakistan will gather in parade Ground alongside Imran Khan,” he tweeted, urging party workers to prepare for the last leg.
“Election or revolution,” tweeted the former minister.
Sources mentioned that former premier presided a meeting of PTI’s political committee in which the country’s current situation was also under discussion, in addition to reviewing legal issues regarding Khan contesting the by-elections in nine constituencies across Pakistan.
Briefing on the party’s legal strategy regrading resignations of PTI members in the assembly was also conducted. PTI’s legal team informed party members about the progress of applications in the courts.
PTI trying to hide wrongdoings: Interior Minister
Speaking in Geo News show Naya Pakistan, Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah commented on PTI’s plans to gather workers and supporters in Islamabad.
“They are allowed to gather at Parade Ground and were granted permission earlier as well,” the minister said, adding that the party is using the jalsa to hide its wrongdoings.
Talking about the party’s plan to attract crowds in the federal capital, the interior minister maintained that the government will not be threatened by the party.
He added that the foreign funding verdict has exposed Khan in front of the nation and that PTI is not sincere about the elections.
“Their lies have now been caught,” he said, criticizing Khan and his party for misleading the youth.
TEHRAN: Iran said Wednesday the US needs to show “in practise” that it wants a revival of the 2015 nuclear agreement, after an EU coordinator urged parties to accept a draft text of the deal.
“America always maintains that it wants an agreement, so this approach should be seen in the text of the agreement and in practise,” Iran’s top diplomat Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a phone conversation, according to Iran’s foreign ministry.
“If America takes a realistic step toward finding a solution and reaching an agreement, a good agreement will be available to all parties,” he added.
Borrell on Tuesday said he had submitted a draft text of the deal, warning parties to accept it or “risk a dangerous nuclear crisis, set against the prospect of increased isolation for Iran and its people.”
“This text represents the best possible deal that I, as facilitator of the negotiations, see as feasible,” the EU’s top diplomat wrote in the Financial Times.
Amir-Abdollahian reacted to the proposal by saying that “Iran welcomes the continuation of the path of diplomacy and negotiation”, his ministry noted.
The 2015 agreement gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its atomic programme to guarantee that it could not develop a nuclear weapon — something it has always denied seeking.
But the US’ unilateral withdrawal from the accord in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump and Washington’s reimposition of biting economic sanctions prompted Iran to begin rolling back on its own commitments.
Negotiations in Vienna began in April 2021 to restore the deal, but have stalled since March amid differences between Tehran and Washington on several issues.
The two sides negotiated indirectly through the European Union coordinator in a bid to bring the US back inside the deal and to lift sanctions on Iran, on the basis that Tehran would return to its nuclear commitments.
Borrell said the draft text includes “hard-won compromises by all sides” and “addresses, in precise detail, the sanctions lifting as well as the nuclear steps needed to restore” the 2015 pact.
