Author: newsdesk

  • How does the artificial rain happen?

    How does the artificial rain happen?

    As smog spreads across Punjab, causing a potential health hazard, the caretaker government of the province is considering artificial rain to combat the toxic pollution.

    Cloud formation

    To make artificial rain, there need to be clouds. Experts are saying that they can find these clouds and then use a process called cloud seeding to make it rain.

    Cloud seeding is like giving clouds a little push to make them release rain. Scientists found out about the process in 1946, when they discovered that by using a special mix of silver iodide and dry ice, they could make clouds produce more ice and eventually rain.

    Nowadays, we still use silver iodide and dry ice for cloud seeding, but we’ve gotten better at it. The meteorological department in Pakistan has already tried it out successfully. Other countries, like Gulf nations, also use artificial rain.

    In the United Arab Emirates, scientists are trying a new method, using water-absorbing salt flares. These flares release tiny salt particles into the air, which activate the clouds and speed up the rain-making process. It’s like a high-tech way of helping nature create rain when it’s needed.

    Why is artificial rain important?

    Artificial rain is important because it can help clear out the smog in cities. When it rains, it washes away the pollutants in the air, making it easier for people to breathe and improving overall air quality. It’s a smart solution to a serious problem.

  • Did NASA design Cristiano Ronaldo’s diet plan?

    A clip of former Pakistan captain Rameez Raja recently went viral on social media in which he claimed that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has designed the diet plan of Portuguese star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. Ramiz Raja said, “Let’s take the example of Ronaldo’s diet plan developed by NASA scientists”.

    The video gained a lot of attention on social media with social media users criticizing the former captain.

    However, NASA actually helps 38-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo maintain his physical strength. The legendary Portuguese soccer star maintains his extraordinary physical strength thanks to a NASA-designed physical rehabilitation machine.

    Vascusport Regeneration System, installed in his home, helps them maintain their physical mobility. This technology helps improve lymphatic flow, activates drainage and increases endorphin levels in the brain while also bringing more oxygen to the tissues. It also helps improve circulation and speed up the healing process which allows Ronaldo to recover from injuries faster.

    While NASA’s machine plays a role in his recovery, Ronaldo’s strict diet plays an equally important role in achieving his peak fitness. Beef, avocado, coconut oil, chicken, eggs and black rice are essential components of his carefully planned diet. He also undergoes thalassotherapy sessions using substances derived from the sea to relax muscles.

    Ronaldo uses Cryotherapy to remove abnormal skin cells for injury recovery. Now we know how NASA helps Ronaldo and Ramiz Raja may have been given incomplete information about the star footballer.

  • Bilawal leaves suddenly for Dubai, day after Zardari says BBZ has a lot to learn

    Bilawal leaves suddenly for Dubai, day after Zardari says BBZ has a lot to learn

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari left the country for Dubai on Friday following what appears to be a dispute with his father.

    Bilawal’s departure comes a day after his father, former President Asif Ali Zardari, said in an interview on Geo News that he was still training his son.

    Bilawal left the country on a private flight. The party is yet to disclose the reason for his visit.

    In a seeming act of defiance to his father, Bilawal changed his profile picture on X on Friday afternoon, to a photo with his mother Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister and head of the PPP till her assassination in 2017.

    The former president of Pakistan and Bilawal’s father, Asif Ali Zardari, during an exclusive interview with Hamid Mir on Geo News’ program “Capital Talk”, said that Bilawal is “inexperienced” and that it would take some time for him to gain more exposure, on Thursday.

    “Bilawal is much more talented than I am, but he isn’t experienced,” he said.

    The former president said the new generation has its own mindset and the right to express itself.

    He further stated that if he tried to intervene in their affairs, it would just lead to more mess.

    “If Bilawal says, ‘You do politics, I won’t’, then what can I do? People learn over time in politics. I have made several mistakes myself.”

    Zardari also mentioned that Bilawal’s narrative would’ve been the same if we were doing business, “You [Zardari] don’t know anything. It’s the same in politics.”

    Zardari said he is the president of the PPPP, which is authorised to allocate election tickets, while his son Bilawal is chairman of the PPP. “I allocate tickets,” he said.

  • Refusal to play series against Australia may be expensive for Haris Rauf

    Refusal to play series against Australia may be expensive for Haris Rauf

    Fast bowler Haris Rauf, who has refused to accompany the team on the Australia tour, could be in trouble, with risks of being demoted to the central contract category as well as missing out on a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the Big Bash League.

    Officials in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are reportedly upset with Haris Rauf’s behavior and disappointed with Lahore Qalandars coach Aqib Javed’s defense of Haris, Geo has reported.

    PCB is yet to issue NOCs to Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan and Usama Mir for the Australian Big Bash, scheduled to start a few days later on December 7. According to Geo sources, PCB officials have said that no decision has been taken yet about NOC for the three players, and that the matter is under consideration.

    Haris Rauf was unavailable for the Test series against Australia with workload and fitness issues. Haris Rauf and Usama Mir are under contract with Melbourne Stars and Zaman Khan is under contract with Sydney Thunders. Haris wants to focus on limited-overs cricket only, so the Category B Central contract given to him needs to be reviewed, under which he is paid more than Rs 40 lacs per month, plus additional match fee, bonus, ICC revenue and a share from PCB.

  • Israel-Hamas issue is beyond war, it is ‘terrorism’: Pope Francis

    Israel-Hamas issue is beyond war, it is ‘terrorism’: Pope Francis

    Pope Francis has deemed the violence stemming from the Israel and Hamas issue as “terrorism”.

    “They suffer so much and I heard how they both suffer”, he said on Wednesday after meeting with Israeli families of captives held by Hamas and Palestinians who have family in Gaza

    “Wars do this, but here we have gone beyond wars. This is not war, this is terrorism,” he added.

    The head of the Catholic Church also called everyone to pray for peace so that both sides would “not go ahead with passions, which, in the end, kill everyone”.

    Jewish groups reacts

    Jewish groups, however, have criticised Pope Francis, demanding an explanation for accusing both Hamas and Israel of “terrorism.”

    The Council of the Assembly of Italian Rabbis (ARI) issued a statement on Thursday, pointing at “Church leaders” for not condemning the Hamas attack and of “putting the aggressor and the attacked on the same plane in the name of a supposed impartiality.”

    Similarly, American Jewish Committee (AJC) posted on X (formerly Twitter):

    “Later in the day, he described the Israel-Hamas war as ‘beyond war’ as ‘terrorism.’ Hamas’ butchering and kidnapping of civilians is terrorism. Israel’s self-defense is not. Vatican, please clarify.”

    The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a US-based Jewish human rights organisation, also called on the pope “not to forget that all the loss and suffering since October 7th stems from the intolerable actions of Hamas.”

    The statement added that the responsibility of all the suffering and loss of both the families of hostages and civilians in Gaza was “on the hands of the Hamas terrorists who, on October 7th, inflicted in the most brutal way, the worst mass murder of Jews since the defeat of Nazi Germany and World War II.”

    The Jerusalem Post also reports that Italian rabbis also questioned the worth of “decades of Jewish-Christian dialog” if when Jews are attacked the Vatican responds with “diplomatic acrobatics.”

  • Islamophobic Dutch leader Geert Wilders seeks to form government after election victory

    Islamophobic Dutch leader Geert Wilders seeks to form government after election victory

    Far-right populist leader Geert Wilders is all set to form a coalition government after a dramatic election victory.
    Geert is openly anti-Islam and anti-EU, with aims to take the country out of the Union and banning the Quran. He also wants restrictions on asylum and immigration.

    Against all predictions, Wilders’ party PVV won 37 out of 150 seats on Wednesday, well ahead of 25 for a joint Labour/Green ticket and 24 for the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

    Talks for the formation of a coalition will follow in the coming months. “I would be very happy to become the Dutch prime minister, of course,” Wilders told party members who welcomed him with champagne and cake, adding that he was willing to negotiate.

    It is predicted that he will have to compromise on his motives because the other parties may not agree to the anti-islam and anti-EU demands.
    Wilders’ victory has caused shockwaves all across Europe, sending a message to all populist leaders across the continent that “a new Europe is possible”.

  • Another book launch today against Imran Khan

    After former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ex-wife Reham Khan released a book in August 2018 detailing her tumultuous and short-lived marriage, Pakistani actress, Hajira Panezai, has made serious allegations against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman in her book, The News has reported.  

    Actress Hajira Khan’s memoir, titled “WHERE THE OPIUM GROWS: Surviving Pakistan as a Woman, an Actress And Knowing Imran Khan,” was published in America in 2014.

    In the book, she reflects on her experiences with the PTI Chairman. The actress revealed that in her last book, many important things were deleted, but now she is going to publish a book with significant details.

    She explained how she was chased by popular individuals, calling it a “dark experience”.

    Panezai also claimed that her social media accounts were hacked by Imran Khan’s team, adding that she was forced to leave Pakistan as the PTI chairman was afraid of being exposed by her.

    The actress worked with Geo in 2009, and appeared in a film titled Pinky Memsaab in 2018. Hajira Khan claimed that her book is based on true stories, while the book is being launched in Islamabad today.

  • ‘Experience is experience; Bilawal is inexperienced’: Asif Ali Zardari

    ‘Experience is experience; Bilawal is inexperienced’: Asif Ali Zardari

    Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has been campaigning across the country, touting his party as the solution to Pakistan’s ills, while also asking “old politicians (babay)” to sit back and allow the new generation to lead from the front in the elections slated to take place on February 8 next year.

    The former president of Pakistan and Bilawal’s father, Asif Ali Zardari, during an exclusive interview with Hamid Mir on Geo News’ program “Capital Talk”, said that Bilawal is “inexperienced” and that it would take some time for him to gain more exposure.

    “Bilawal is much more talented than I am, but he isn’t experienced,” he said.

    Zardari said the new generation in every house says, “Dad, you don’t know anything”.

    The former president said the new generation has its own mindset and the right to express itself.

    He further stated that if he tried to intervene in their affairs, it would just lead to more mess.

    “If Bilawal says, ‘You do politics, I won’t’, then what can I do? People learn over time in politics. I have made several mistakes myself.”

    Zardari also mentioned that Bilawal’s narrative would’ve been the same if we were doing business, “You [Zardari] don’t know anything. It’s the same in politics.”

    Zardari said during his tenures, there was no political prisoner as he had never resorted to revenge politics. “Every now and then, new allegations were leveled against me, but I never responded to them.”

    Speaking about the different mindsets of the top PPP leaders, Zardari stated that there are two parties — PPP and Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP).

    Zardari said he is the president of the PPPP, which is authorised to allocate election tickets, while his son Bilawal is chairman of the PPP. “I allocate tickets,” he said.

    He also confirmed he has the authority to issue a ticket for Bilawal in the next polls.

    Zardari said his party is actively campaigning because it is certain that general elections will take place on February 8, next year.

  • 65-year-old man goes to school in Dir

    65-year-old Dilawar Khan from Dir Upper has enrolled in the first grade of a local primary school to improve his reading and writing skills.

    Khan and his classmates have a stark age gap as the fellow students are younger than his grandchildren.

    While talking to The Express Tribune, a local resident of the area revealed that, “Dilawar Khan, hailing from a financially struggling family in Dir Upper district, had to forego the luxury of a formal education in his youth to support his family. Yet, his passion for learning endured.”

    Khan has now enrolled into the Government Primary School Khongai to learn to read and write.

    “As a devout Muslim, I believe it is our responsibility to seek knowledge, and I firmly believe that age is merely a number, not a formidable barrier in this pursuit,” Dilawar states.

    Despite his old age, he regularly attends school on time, ensuring punctuality as do his younger classmates.

  • Israeli soldier posts video playing guitar he stole from Palestinian after bombing

    Israeli soldier posts video playing guitar he stole from Palestinian after bombing

    A heartbreaking video is going viral on the internet where an Israeli soldier was seen playing a guitar he stole from a Palestinian home after bombing it. The guitar belonged to Hamadah, who shared online that the guitar was gifted to him by his late father, who passed away after the 2014 Gaza attacks.

    “I was shocked today when I saw this TikTok video of an IOF soldier playing guitar in the midst of the rubble in Gaza. I know this guitar very well, because there are not many guitars like this in Gaza. My dad gifted me this guitar 15 years ago. My dad died shortly after the 2014 attack on Gaza, and now they have come to take the last thing I have from him.’
    Isn’t it enough that they take away our loved ones, our homes, our families, and even our music and memories? Where does the injustice stop?!”

    Hamadah shared two videos where he was seen humming a melody on the guitar, and then an Israeli soldier strumming it at a bombed site.

    The video has since then gotten responses with users writing they’re horrified by the brutality displayed by Israeli soldiers.

    “this is actually sinister. I’ve seen countless videos of them “playing” amongst the rubble. What could be so awful inside you to push you to do that? It’s inhumane. It’s lacking compassion empathy emotions and humanity,” one user wrote.

    Comedian Anees and activist Shaun King expressed their outrage over the video.