The floods that submerged one-fifth of Pakistan's territory took more than six months to recede.

One of the most affected regions was the Sindh region, located in the western corner of South Asia. 

At their peak, the floodwaters were up to 20 feet deep. About 20 million people were displaced.

But apparently, people were not the only ones seeking shelter from the devastating floods. 

One of the unexpected side-effects of the flooding has been that millions of spiders climbed up into the trees to escape the rising floodwaters, turning them into futuristic-looking trees cocooned in spiders' webs.

The people living in that area claimed they have never seen this phenomenon before but were glad to discover that those cocooned trees were actually significantly reducing the numbers of mosquitos and thereby, the risk of malaria. 

It is thought that the mosquitoes were getting caught in the spiders' webs which would be one blessing for the people of the area, facing so many other hardships after the floods. 

Check out some of the stunning photos, released by the department of international development.

Once a week, we will be featuring an extraordinary animal account on Instagram! Their story, the adorable pictures, and pawesome videos! This week's spotlight goes to wild cat Fiona! 

Fiona is insta-famous with a following of over 100k and we have a suspicion it has something to do with those stunning emerald eyes of hers! Seriously, every single picture of this cat is the most beautiful picture, it was terribly difficult to sum up their beauty into a short list. 

Fiona isn't just a pretty face, she is a registered emotional support animal who has taken to Instagram to emotionally support the internet! Fiona's owners have created this beautiful idea called "Eterneva." Eterneva is a site in which you can turn your beloved pets ashes into diamonds that you can carry with you everywhere and every day. 

Pretty beautiful idea! Now, prepare to be mesmerized by Fiona's eyes! 

Weird blasts of radio waves from space called fast radio bursts have been baffling astronomers since they were discovered, but after finding one in our galaxy we may finally know what creates them

Love music? Follow your own tastes? Let’s share. Connect on Spotify.Connect on Last.fm. As a bonus, if we connect on Spotify, you not only get access to An Event Apart’s playlists from the past decade, you also get a preview of the 2020 playlist in progress.

The post Let’s hang (Spotify) appeared first on Zeldman on Web & Interaction Design.

Laduche: We can’t be satisfied yet

The Navi Mumbai police restarted the search operation with experts' help early this month. Pic/Hanif Patel

The search for murdered policewoman Ashwini Bidre's mortal remains has reached the final stage. Of the nine locations that came up during the search, two, showing strong signals of presence of a metal object, have been zeroed on.

Having a radius of five metres, both locations are covered with mud that's nearly two metres deep. The police will now take a call on how to remove the objects from these locations, as they will need specialised machinery for it. After an initial investigation, the police had procured a gradiometer, an equipment to locate metal objects underwater, from Israel. "During the two-day search operation, experts found nine spots with the help of the equipment; strong signals emanated at two of the spots," said an officer.

These two locations are expected to have objects at a depth of 25 to 40 metres below the water surface. "The depth varies according to tide. Our search also revealed that the objects are covered with one-metre thick mud, which is hard and can't be removed manually," said the officer. These spots also have deep wells, said a source, adding, "Sending divers in these wells can be dangerous to their lives. Hence, we are considering bringing in machines capable of drilling deep underwater."

Bidre's husband Raju Gore told mid-day, "We are looking forward to the next step from the police, which involves removing the objects and lifting them to the surface."

New study finds a growing number of places with intolerable conditions

It was a case of so near and yet not near enough for people at the disaster venue, a day after a plane crash shook the eastern suburb of Ghatkopar. An MTNL building at the mouth of this lane gives it its name — MTNL Galli. But now it has been temporarily rechristened as the 'plane crash galli' by the stream of curious visitors that poured in last afternoon.

A cop at the now-barricaded scene good-naturedly asked people to "get into a line and I will allow you to peek through the barricades. Only one minute per person," he grinned. Overhead, planes seemed to skim the buildings. "One day after the crash, every plane we see sends a jolt of fear through us," said someone, as Kalyan resident Jitendra Jaiswal, who works in Ghatkopar, made his way to the crash site. Jaiswal explained, "I keep coming back here, wondering how this could happen. There is still a sense of disbelief." Shakhawat Khan and Dinesh Yadav, both drivers (the latter drives a rickshaw), said, "The sound keeps echoing in our ears. We were eating snacks at a nearby restaurant and heard at least two-three blasts. The sound literally blew us off our chairs."

Policemen keep curious crowds at bay at the crash site. Pic/Sameer Markande

Thank God
A resident ambled to the site to see the progress of the clean-up. "I was in the car with my son at the wheel when we heard at least three blasts. Shaken, my son parked the car a few metres from this site. Everything was covered in black smoke. The smell of that smoke still lingers in my nostrils. No disrespect to the dead, but I cannot stop thanking God for sparing me," finished Pravin Shah.

Wing clip
Conversations in Gujarati dominated as one walked down the lane. Ankita Shah who lives nearby said, "I will never forget the thick, black smoke rising into the sky. It's my most enduring memory of this disaster." A number of people who claimed they witnessed the crash, insisted they saw the wing of the plane clip the pedestrian who died. A woman said dramatically, while others concurred, "one second the wing had clipped him and the next a charred body lay on the ground. It was the man," she stressed, while others agreed that they too saw a "wing clip the man. It was a wing," they shouted as some onlookers snorted in disbelief. Through the drama, an idli seller arrived putting down his wares and joining the queue to peer through the barricades. People shouted "idli, idli" while the cops shooed him off.

Mother-daughter duo of Naina (right) and Tanisha Gala point to an aircraft above them. Pics/Sameer Markande

Terrifying images
Naina Gala, MTNL lane resident, said, "I witnessed the blast and last night, the terrifying images — burnt bodies, fire, smoke and the wreckage came back to haunt me." Her daughter Tanisha said there were tons of questions from her classmates. Naina added, "I feel the pain of the pilots, the crew. They knew they were going to die, they sacrificed their lives to save all of us." Naina and Tanisha said the fire brigade, police and everyone was at the site within minutes. A local informed this reporter, "The birds in the sky were faster though. There were a huge number circling the crash site within minutes. They had smelt death in the air…" Yet another gent walked down the lane wearing a T-shirt with the prophetic lines: 'Your life is your story. Write well. Edit often'. As one exited the lane, one could not help thinking, this must rate as a very surprising twist in Ghatkopar's story.

5
No. of people dead in the plane crash

Pravin Shah (left) tells his story

Also Read: Ghatkopar plane crash: Doctors to use teeth to ID victims

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A pod of dolphins was spotted in the Ragodi beach in Nalsopara West in north Mumbai. Janardan Alonghe, a lifeguard deployed by the VVMC at Rajodi beach said, "I was on duty and suddenly noticed some movement in the sea. I thought someone was drowning in the water so I immediately took the help of a guard and rushed to the spot on a rider boat. There we saw a bunch of dolphins swimming and enjoying in the water."

He further said that this is not the first time when a dolphin appeared on the beach. Alonghe said, "Dolphins are seen here but mostly far away from the seashore. This is the first time when dolphins were this seen close to the seashore. Dolphins are usually seen at the seashore when the days are cold and then they go to the deep sea around 11:30 am when it is hot and sunny. Since it was cold for the last few days, the dolphins must have come closer to the seashore."

Nikhil Tandel, 'Blue life Adventure' guard deployed at Rajodi beach said that he has seen several dolphins in the past but he had seen them this close for the first time. He said, "There were ten to twelve dolphins jumping and swimming in the water. As soon as the people heard about them, they started visiting the seashore to witness the pod," he added. 

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Thane: An adult leopard was spotted by security personnel at the basement of Korum Mall in Thane early on Wednesday morning at around 5.30 am. The leopard's movement was caught on the CCTV camera installed towards the exit gate of the parking area. Forest department officials finally managed to tranquilise the big cat and rescued it from the densely populated human area.

The guards alerted the forest department and Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) officials. A veterinary doctor has also reached the spot. However, the leopard could not be traced even after a thorough search in the morning, as per reports. Finally, the forest officials succeeded in tranquilising the leopard around 12 pm

The leopard which was later spotted at the basement of a hotel near Cadbury junction in Thane was tranquilised by forest officials.

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Bandra got its first outlet of The Wine Table in May last year. What does it offer? MRP Wine bar by glass & bottle and Wine education/training/food pairing with wines, etc. From imported - Ren, Beaujolais villages, Peppoli, Cono Sur, Torres, Salbach, Masi masianco, Robert Mondavi to domestic - Amaris reserve, Fratelli MS red, Fratelli Sangiovese, Moksh sauvignon blanc, M reserve, Raaya rose, the outlets offer all things wine.

Tignanello Italian, priced at Rs 20,000, is the most expensive buy. We walk in at 6 pm to douse our red craving, and a bite but the kitchen opens only at 7 pm. We order a Sileni pinot noir (Rs 630) and a Mokksh ren (Rs 396), a flagship brand of the store. The Sileni from New Zealand is light and perfumed and perfect for the rather early indulgence. The ren merlot is medium bodied, woody and deeper on the palate.

While our server gives us back stories of wines and vineyards, we’ll surely go back to try some whites next.

AT: Darvesh Royale Building, Perry Road, Pali Hill, Bandra West
CALL: +91 9167007667
TIMINGS: 10 am to 12.30 am
NOTE: The Wine Table didn't know we were there. The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for its meals

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