Pakistan’s Khan rallies supporters ahead of parliament vote

Published by
Al-Araby

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan turned to grassroot supporters Monday, lobbying the poor and promising better hospitals for the sick as he faces a no-confidence motion in parliament. The challenge may be the biggest yet for the former cricket star turned Islamist leader since he came to power in 2018. The opposition has demanded Khan step down over his alleged failure to improve the country’s economy. Pakistan’s key opposition parties launched a formal no-confidence vote for Khan earlier this month. Asad Qaiser, speaker of the National Assembly, convened a special session for Friday to del…

BREAKING: Hong Kong to scrap Covid flight bans from April 1; in-person classes to resume April 19 earliest

Published by
Hong Kong Free Press

Hong Kong is to lift its Covid-19 flight ban from nine countries from April 1, Chief Executive Carrie Lam has announced. Meanwhile, schools will be able to resume in-person classes earliest at April 19. Flights from nine countries have been banned this year, including Australia, Canada, France, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, the UK and the US. Lam said at Monday’s press briefing that the flight suspensions were “no longer timely” as the pandemic situation in the listed countries was often “no worse than Hong Kong.” Hong Kong will no longer divide travellers from different categories …

Pakistani fintech startup raises $70 million in series B financing

Published by
Reuters UK

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistani business-to-business fintech startup Bazaar has raised $70 million in a Series B funding round, the platform said on Tuesday, taking the total funding to $100 million in less than two years, said a statement. The latest funding, led by Dragoneer Investment Group and Tiger Global, makes the platform it one of best capitalised in the country’s young startup ecosystem. The platform seeks to bring online Pakistan’s $170 billion retail economy consisting of some 5 million small and medium enterprises, which remain primarily offline, a company statement said. …

President of AZAL discusses prospects for co-op in civil aviation with ambassadors of Pakistan and Bulgaria

Published by
Azer News

On Monday, March 14, the President of AZAL, Mr. Jahangir Asgarov, held working meetings with Pakistan’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mr. Bilal Hayee, and Bulgarian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mr. Nikolay Yankov. At the meeting with the Ambassador of Pakistan, the sides exchanged views on the agenda of mutual cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan in the field of civil aviation, and long-term plans to increase passenger traffic were also discussed. The parties noted that the anti-epidemic measures taken have made it possible to improve the current situation with COVID-19. During the meeting, th…

CMCFeature-CARIBBEAN-POLITICS-The Commonwealth at a time of threat to the international legal order

Published by
CANA News

The Commonwealth, made up of 54 nations of which 32 are small states, should be deeply concerned at the grave threat to the international legal order caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and should act together to show strong disapproval. This was the theme of a lecture I delivered at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London, on March 7, to over 100 high-level government and military participants from 47 countries, 14 of which were Commonwealth members. This week’s commentary is a brief outline of some of the points in a 45-minute lecture. Russian military forces have invaded the sove…

Khojaly Genocide – Dark page of Human History

Published by
Azer News

By Muhammad Asif Noor Thirty years since the Khojaly genocide, one of the dark sides in the history of humanity, the victims are still waiting for justice to be delivered and served. Azerbaijan has made all global efforts to make the world realize and understand the horrific crimes against humanity, which have been perpetrated by Armenia in the regions. This February Azerbaijan commemorates the thirty years of the atrocious crimes committed against the civilians and the defenders of the town of Khojaly situated in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Khojaly Genocide …

India court: No religious clothes until hijab row settled

Published by
Al-Araby

A court in a southern Indian state told students on Thursday not to wear any religious clothing until it delivers a verdict on petitions seeking to overturn a ban on hijabs, headscarves used by Muslim women. The court in Karnataka state is considering petitions filed by students challenging a ban on hijabs that some schools have implemented in recent weeks. “We will pass an order. But till the matter is resolved, no student should insist on wearing religious dress,” the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi as saying. The court also directed the state to reopen…

‘Rebel’ candidates risk it all: Elections in Bangladesh

Published by
Global Voices

Illustration by Giovana Fleck Welcome to Undertones, the Civic Media Observatory newsletter! In each edition we’ll analyze an event, emerging trend, or a complex story, identifying key narratives of urgent public interest, delving deep into the context and subtext of local, vernacular and multilingual media. Undertones also offers an entry point into the public datasets that underpin our Observatory work. Subscribe to UndertonesIn this edition: BangladeshBangladeshis will head to the polls for the last phase of their local elections on January 31 and February 7. The election period has been mi…