KARACHI: Dwellers of Karachi, a seaside Pakistan metropolis, have kept away from the busiest roads and crowded marketplaces because of high humidity in the air as mercury began to go down after a week of heatwaves.
The temperature in Upper Sindh continued to stick as high as 48C.
“Most parts of the country will remain in the grip of the intense heat, with temperatures above 40C in sub-mountainous areas of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and AJK, and around 50C in interior Sindh, southern and central Punjab and eastern Balochistan,” read a handout issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (MET) on Thursday evening. It said that the sea breeze would come back gradually along the coastal belt, bringing the Karachi temperature to the normal range of 35-37C during next week.
Shaukat Ali, an official at the airport office of MET Department, told Arab News on Sunday that the temperature in Larkana and Shaheed Benazirabad cities of Sindh remained 46C during the day. “Mohenjo-Daro remained the hottest city for the day with 48C,” Ali said.
Last month, Karachi, capital of the Sindh province, experienced the highest temperature in May for 37 years on Wednesday when the mercury touched 46C, with 10 percent humidity. Friday, however, witnessed 35C in Karachi but humidity further enhanced, which brought little positive changes to the weather.
“Although the temperature will go down in the coming days, the high level of humidity will give people the feel of a high temperature,” Director Karachi Met Office Abdur Rashid told Arab News. The official sees no respite during the coming days of Ramadan for Karachiites but rules out deaths due to bad weather.
“In the coming days the weather will be warmer due to high humidity and the remaining fasting won’t be easy,” Rashid said, urging people to continue with precautionary measures against heatwaves.
In May, Jacobabad experienced the hottest day of the country, when mercury went up to 51C. “However, the country’s highest temperature of 54C was recorded in May 2017 in the Turbat town of Balochistan,” said Rashid.
Rashid said climate change in Karachi was caused by climate change in the Arabian Sea, which had witnessed radical but strange change recently. Dr. Qamar-Uz-Zaman Chaudhry, special adviser at the World Meteorological Organization, concurred but said there had been warnings about climate change which should have been taken seriously.
“In June 2015, over a thousand people died when heatwaves hit the coastal city but this year there is zero mortality due to awareness among the dwellers of the city,” Executive Director of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center Dr. Seemi Jamali told Arab News. “Not a single death has been caused by heatwaves,” she said, refuting a claim by the noted philanthropist Faisal Edhi. “Yes, there were few deaths due to heat depression but no death has been caused by heatwaves, credit for which goes to the media for raising awareness and the Met office for issuing timely early warnings,” she said.
Chaudhry said climate changes were global but locally more plantation in urban units could counter unwanted weathers. “The more plantation, the more greenery and better precautionary measures can help people to escape undesirable consequence of heatwaves,” Chaudhry said.
The deaths of June 2015 and mass awareness have scared people, traders believe. Abdul Samad Memon, owner of a garment shop at Karachi’s Zainab market, said the warning of heatwaves and hot weather had brought a drastic decrease in daytime customers.
“During Ramadan the daytime clientele went down but due to heatwaves it has become almost zero,” Memon told Arab News, saying if the weather didn’t normalize it may affect sales.
Rizwan, who stopped at a fountain at Arts Council Roundabout to take a shower, said he has seen no changes. Unaware of the weather science, Rizwan told Arab News he had been upset by the weather.
“Not everyone can afford to sit at home. I have come out to bring items to my shop,” he said. Rizwan and other passers-by like him have found a comfort in this fountain.
Fall in mercury brings little respite for Karachiites owing to high humidity
Fall in mercury brings little respite for Karachiites owing to high humidity
- Thousands died in June 2015 when heatwaves hit the seaside Pakistani metropolis for the first time
- In Mohenjo-Daro, the temperature on Friday had soared as high as 50C
Governor Koike discusses areas of cooperation with Egyptian Prime Minister Madbouly
- Dr. Mostafa Madbouly congratulated Koike on her re-election as Governor of Tokyo
- The Prime Minister also lauded Japan’s contribution to implementing the Japanese Tokkatsu educational system
TOKYO: Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko, who is visiting Cairo, met Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly on Friday at the government headquarters in the New Administrative Capital and discussed several cooperation initiatives, Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) officials told Arab News Japan.
The officials said Dr. Amr Talaat, Egypt’s Minister of Communications, and Information Technology; Ambassador Ahmed Shahin, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Asian Affairs; Mr. Katsunobu Takada, Chargé d’Affaires at the Japanese Embassy in Cairo, and Governor Koike’s accompanying delegation attended the meeting.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Prime Minister warmly welcomed Governor Koike and her delegation. He underscored the strategic and historical relations between Egypt and Japan, a testament to the enduring bond that continues to flourish in various fields.
Dr. Mostafa Madbouly congratulated Koike on her re-election as Governor of Tokyo in July for the third consecutive term and expressed his hopes for continued close coordination on various areas of bilateral cooperation.
The Prime Minister also expressed his fervent hope that Japan’s Prime Minister, alongside Governor Koike, will grace the official opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum once the project is finalized. He also extended his gratitude for Japan’s substantial contributions to major development projects in Egypt, including the museum.
Dr. Madbouly highlighted the Grand Egyptian Museum project as one of the foremost examples of cooperation between Cairo and Tokyo, along with the Egyptian Japanese educational partnership, exemplified by the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology and Japanese Egyptian schools.
The Prime Minister also lauded Japan’s contribution to implementing the Japanese Tokkatsu educational system, affirming that Egypt is planning to expand this system. He attributed this decision to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s directive, acknowledging the system’s remarkable success and high quality.
Dr. Madbouly also highlighted the ongoing cooperation between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and TMG through the “SUSHI Tech Tokyo” initiative, a platform for promoting technological innovation, and the “Tokyo Innovation Base” platform, a hub for fostering entrepreneurial activities and technological advancements.
In turn, Governor Koike praised the bilateral cooperation between Egypt and Japan, expressing her happiness to visit Egypt, where she has unforgettable memories, having studied at Cairo University.
Koike also commended the well-organized 12th World Urban Forum, a global platform for discussing urban issues and solutions, which attracted a wide global audience.
In the meeting, Tokyo Governor Koike invited the Prime Minister, the Minister of Communications, and other Egyptian entities to participate in the upcoming “SUSHI Tech Tokyo” forum, scheduled for the first half of 2025. She noted that Japan has worked over the years to establish itself as a hub for startups and a welcoming environment for entrepreneurs.
Dr. Amr Talaat discussed several collaborative programs with Koike in information and communication technology, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and entrepreneurship. They explored the potential for experience exchange in business incubators for small projects across various sectors, including financial services, health care, and education.
Talaat highlighted that one of the main areas of cooperation with Tokyo’s government is in the startup and entrepreneurship sectors.
Governor Koike is in Egypt on the first leg of a tour of the region that includes Abu Dhabi of the UAE.
Germany brushes off Musk calling Scholz a ‘fool’
- Government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann took a playful dig at the US tycoon, saying that “on X, you have Narrenfreiheit,” which translates to the freedom to act like a fool
- A tight-lipped Scholz simply called it “not very friendly“
BERLIN: German officials on Friday brushed off tech billionaire Elon Musk labelling Olaf Scholz a “fool” on his social media platform X after the dramatic collapse of the chancellor’s coalition government.
In a comment Thursday above a post about the implosion of Scholz’s long-troubled coalition, the world’s richest man tweeted in German: “Olaf ist ein Narr” — “Olaf is a fool.”
Asked about Musk’s comment, government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann took a playful dig at the US tycoon, saying that “on X, you have Narrenfreiheit,” which translates to the freedom to act like a fool.
The word refers to revellers during Germany’s traditional carnival season, which starts next week, having the freedom to act without inhibitions.
Historically, the term echoes the notion of the “jester’s privilege” — the right of a court jester to mock those in power without being punished by the king.
Asked later about the comment, a tight-lipped Scholz simply called it “not very friendly,” adding that Internet companies are “not organs of state so I did not even pay it any attention.”
Musk strongly supported US election winner Donald Trump, and is now positioned to take up a role in his administration as a deputy tasked with restructuring government operations.
It is not the first time the Tesla boss has had run-ins with German officials online.
Last year he said Berlin-funded migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean could be seen as an “invasion” of Italy, sparking a terse response from the German foreign ministry.
He has also expressed sympathy for some of the positions of Germany’s far-right AfD party, which has notched up a string of recent electoral successes and is riding high in the opinion polls.
First flight with Israelis evacuated from Amsterdam lands in Tel Aviv
- The plane that arrived in Tel Aviv had passengers evacuated from Amsterdam
TEL AVIV: The first flight carrying Israelis evacuated from Amsterdam after violent clashes following a football match there landed on Friday at Ben Gurion International Airport, the Israel Airports Authority said.
“The plane that arrived in Tel Aviv now has passengers evacuated from Amsterdam,” Liza Dvir, spokeswoman for the airport authority told AFP.
India’s Modi rejects calls to restore Kashmir’s partial autonomy
- Modi revoked partial autonomy in 2019 and split the state into the two federally administered territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh
- Jammu and Kashmir held its first local election in a decade this year, newly-elected lawmakers passed resolution this week seeking restoration
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed his government’s contentious 2019 decision to revoke the partial autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, days after the territory’s newly elected lawmakers sought its restoration.
“Only the constitution of Babasaheb Ambedkar will operate in Kashmir... No power in the world can restore Article 370 (partial autonomy) in Kashmir,” Modi said, referring to one of the founding fathers of the Indian constitution.
Modi was speaking at a state election rally in the western state of Maharashtra, where Ambedkar was from.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government revoked partial autonomy in 2019 and split the state into the two federally administered territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh — a move that was opposed by many political groups in the Himalayan region.
Jammu and Kashmir held its first local election in a decade in September and October and the newly-elected lawmakers passed a resolution this week seeking the restoration.
Jammu and Kashmir’s ruling National Conference party had promised in its election manifesto that it would restore the partial autonomy, although the power to do so lies with Modi’s federal government.
Jammu and Kashmir’s new lawmakers can legislate on local issues like other Indian states, except matters regarding public order and policing. They will also need the approval of the federally-appointed administrator on all policy decisions that have financial implications.
Under the system of partial autonomy, Kashmir had its own constitution and the freedom to make laws on all issues except foreign affairs, defense and communications.
The troubled region, where separatist militants have fought security forces since 1989, is India’s only Muslim-majority territory.
It has been at the center of a territorial dispute with Pakistan since the neighbors gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
Kashmir is claimed in full but ruled in part by both India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars over the region.
Kyiv says Russia has returned bodies of 563 soldiers
- The exchange of prisoners and bodies of killed military personnel remains one of the few areas of cooperation
- The announcement represents one of the largest repatriations of killed Ukrainian servicemen
KYIV: Ukraine said on Friday it had received the bodies of 563 soldiers from Russian authorities, mainly troops that had died in combat in the eastern Donetsk region.
The exchange of prisoners and bodies of killed military personnel remains one of the few areas of cooperation between Moscow and Kyiv since Russia invaded in 2022.
“The bodies of 563 fallen Ukrainian defenders were returned to Ukraine,” the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement on social media.
The announcement represents one of the largest repatriations of killed Ukrainian servicemen since the beginning of the war.
The statement said that 320 of the remains were returned from the Donetsk region and that 89 of the soldiers had been killed near Bakhmut, a town captured by Russia in May last year after a costly battle.
Another 154 of the bodies were returned from morgues inside Russia, the statement added.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine publicly disclose how many military personnel have been killed fighting.
