Indian Sub-continent

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s universities are ready to readmit female students, but the ruling Taliban’s leader has the ultimate say on when that might happen — if it happens at all, an education official said Saturday.

The Taliban barred women from campuses last December, triggering global outrage. Girls had been banned from school beyond sixth grade soon after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. Afghanistan is the only country in the world with bans on female education.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — An investigation has been launched into the death of a Pakistani porter near the peak of the world’s most treacherous mountain, a Pakistani mountaineer said Saturday, following allegations that dozens of climbers eager to reach the summit had walked past the man after he was gravely injured in a fall.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 11 (NNN-APP) – The United States had exerted pressure to remove former Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, in 2022, due to his government’s neutral policy on the Ukraine crisis, the online American magazine “The Intercept” revealed on Wednesday.

The magazine said, it obtained a classified Pakistani government cable, about a dialogue between Pakistan’s then-ambassador to the United States, Asad Majeed Khan and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Donald Lu, on Mar 7, 2022.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh is struggling to deal with higher casualties and infections from dengue this year, with officials warning that the death toll this month could break records.

The government’s Directorate General of Health Services reports the 2023 death toll from the mosquito-born illness has reached 364 in the south Asian country. More than 78,000 people have been infected since January this year, it said.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, Shukria Sediqi knew her days in safety were numbered. As a journalist who advocated for women’s rights, she’d visited shelters and safe houses to talk to women who had fled abusive husbands. She went with them to court when they asked for a divorce.

According to the Taliban, who bar women from most public places, jobs and education, her work was immoral.

11 August 2023; AA: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Friday struck down a law concerning court judgements, terming it unconstitutional.

The decision on the Supreme Court (Review of Judgements and Orders) Act 2023 was reserved by a three-member bench on June 19. The law provided a right to appeal under Article 184(3), which gives the court power to assume jurisdiction over any “question of public importance.”

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Tata Group on Thursday unveiled a new logo, branding and plane livery for Air India as part of a multi-million dollar transformation of the former state-run carrier.

The airline's new logo includes a design with golden, red and purple colours, and will replace the old logo of a red swan with orange spokes.

The rebranding by Tata, which comes after years of under-investment under government control, will not completely do away with the iconic mascot of a cheerful Maharaja in a red turban and with an outsized moustache.

NEW DELHI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The no-confidence motion brought by the opposition parties in India against the federal government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was defeated by a voice vote in the Indian parliament's lower house on Thursday.

The debate over the no-confidence motion lasted for three days after it was introduced by a lawmaker belonging to the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC), on Tuesday.

10 August 2023; MEMO: The US encouraged the Pakistani government to remove Imran Khan as prime minister over his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a classified Pakistani government document obtained by the Intercept.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 09 (APP): Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Saudi Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Eng. Waleed Abdulkarim El Khereji on Wednesday discussed investment opportunities in energy, agriculture, desalination, IT and mining sectors. 

On his Twitter handle, the foreign minister said that he was pleased to receive the Saudi minister leading a high level delegation to Pakistan.

He further said “There is a huge potential to unlock for enhanced cooperation also in infrastructure development including through public private partnerships.”