Entertainment
Bangladesh to launch direct flights to Karachi: high commissioner
- Pakistani carriers unlikely to operate flights to Dhaka.
- Direct routes could boost profits for traditional industries: envoy.
- South Asia trade potential blocked by politics, says Hussain.
ISLAMABAD: Bangladesh High Commissioner to Pakistan Iqbal Hussain Khan has confirmed that Biman Bangladesh Airlines is preparing to launch three weekly flights to Karachi.
He made these remarks while speaking to The News on the sidelines of his address at the Foreign Services Academy on Wednesday. The academy has recently introduced a new lecture series featuring foreign envoys, giving young Pakistani diplomats in training a chance to engage directly with ambassadors on diplomatic affairs and regional issues.
“Yes, we are starting direct flights with Pakistan. Our national airline will operate three weekly flights to Karachi”, the Bangladesh high commissioner said when asked about the development.
When asked whether the route would pass over Indian airspace, he said that, just as Indian aircraft can use Bangladesh’s airspace, Biman flights would also fly over India.
Sources indicate that, due to India’s ongoing airspace restrictions on Pakistan, there is currently no immediate prospect of Pakistani carriers operating flights to Dhaka.
Earlier, High Commissioner Khan delivered a detailed lecture and also responded to questions from young diplomats in an interactive session.
The high commissioner said South Asia holds vast potential for trade, connectivity, and cooperation, but limited access, border restrictions, and regional politics continue to obstruct economic growth. He said platforms such as the Foreign Services Academy’s new lecture series allow constructive dialogue with young diplomats who represent the region’s future.
He said Pakistan and Bangladesh can significantly expand bilateral trade, but access constraints remain the biggest barrier. He noted that, in the past, railway links facilitated trade between the two countries, but today Pakistan’s dates reach regional markets via Dubai.
Direct access, he said, would boost profits and raise farmers’ incomes. Citing the centuries-old pashmina industry in Kashmir, he noted that traditional sectors like dates and pashmina could multiply trade volumes if given direct market routes.
High Commissioner Khan said weak geographical connectivity is South Asia’s most serious obstacle to progress, even though ancient trade routes once linked Kabul, Peshawar, Dhaka, and Myanmar.
No country, he stressed, can progress in isolation, and regional cooperation is the only practical way forward. Referring to BIMSTEC, he called it an important regional grouping including India, Thailand, and Bangladesh, but said border restrictions and the behaviour of larger powers often weaken regional trust.
He said colonial mindsets, ideological dominance, and tendencies towards regional supremacy hinder the effectiveness of regional organisations. Across the world, he said, countries experiencing internal inequalities often create external distractions, particularly during election periods, to consolidate political advantage.
“South Asian societies share deep historical, cultural, and civilisational linkages. The influence of Arab traders, interactions during the British era, and the legacy of Muhammad bin Qasim remain visible in the region’s culture and social structures,” the high commissioner said.
Bangladesh’s coastal and maritime history, he added, has contributed to a tradition of openness and exchange.
He highlighted that the younger generation in South Asia is more aware, ambitious, and eager for change. Political shifts in Bangladesh in 2024, he said, have revived optimism among youth.
“As young leadership emerges, new avenues of economic progress will open, and older barriers can be dismantled. Despite artificial restrictions, people across the region want to come closer, and with time, democratic processes will strengthen and better leadership will emerge.”
Concluding his remarks, he expressed hope that a new era of regional trade, connectivity, and shared development can take shape if South Asian nations prioritise collective progress and put cooperation at the centre of policymaking.
Laufey is about to release the music video for her new single, Madwoman, and it stars many familiar faces, including KATSEYE member Megan Skiendiel.
The 26-year-old jazz pop star has been teasing the project on social media and revealed all her co-stars one by one in Instagram posts.
The From The Start hitmaker will be starring in the video alongside Olympics champion Alysa Liu, The Summer I Turned Pretty star Lola Tung, as well as Skeindiel in the video, according to her latest post.
The music video is set to be released on April 10, alongside the deluxe version of Laufey’s latest album, A Matter of Time: The Final Hour.
The announcement sparked an exciting reaction among fans who flocked to the comments and wrote, “OMGGG?????? HELLO WE WON,” and “ALL QUEENS.”
A third chimed in, “Friday will simply not come FAST enough,” while some joked that she is “collecting wasians like pokemon cards.”
Tom Holland declared Christopher Nolan’s upcoming epic The Odyssey “an absolute masterpiece.”
In a recent interview with GQ, Tom Holland praised Christopher Nolan’s upcoming epic The Odyssey, describing it as “unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”
Holland explained that Nolan’s reliance on practical, in-camera effects rather than CGI left him stunned by the sheer scale of the production.
“There were certain sequences in the movie where I’m watching it and I’m just sort of thinking like, ‘How on earth has he done that? That has to be CG,’” Holland said.
“And then after the movie asking him, ‘That was definitely CG, right?’ And he’s like, ‘No, no, no, that’s all in camera effects. Very planned, very prepared.’”
Based on Homer’s legendary poem, The Odyssey stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Holland as Telemachus, and Zendaya as Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war who guides Odysseus through his trials. The ensemble also includes Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, and Charlize Theron.
Holland explained that Nolan’s approach reminded him why audiences still crave the big-screen experience.
He added, “I am a real advocate for theatrical and the cinema and the communal experience of sitting in a dark room and being entertained. I think that is something for the next 10 years of my life that I will be very focused on.”
With a reported $250 million budget and a July 17, 2026 release date, Nolan’s film is shaping up as one of the year’s most ambitious projects.
More than just a film, it is being positioned as a cultural event: one designed to remind audiences of the enduring power of myth and the magic of theaters.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have been living in exile for the past two months ever since he had been kicked out of his Windsor property, Royal Lodge, per King Charles’s orders.
Members of the royal family had publicly maintained their distance from the disgraced ex-prince, but in a surprising turn of events, Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie were the first ones to approach Andrew.
The former Duke of York has been living in Sandringham since it is a privately-owned estate by Charles, to avoid any further uproar from taxpayers. Before he officially moved into Marsh Farm, Sophie and Edward visited his temporary accommodation Wood Farm to do a “welfare check”.
It was previously reported that there were some grievances as the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh were forced to stay at the main house since Andrew was occupying Wood Farm – the holiday let for royals during Easter and other key events.
However, royal sources dismissed to Daily Mail that there was any tension between Edward and Andrew over accommodation.
Duchess Sophie and Prince Edward reportedly had dinner with Andrew one night and talked things through. They “feel sorry” for him and how things have gone downhill for him. Moreover, they expressed concerns about Andrew’s “fragile state of mind” due to recent events.
“They do feel for him, but of course that doesn’t excuse his behaviour,” the source stressed. “It’s a difficult balancing act supporting him while not condoning what he has got involved with.”
Edward has tried to make tried to talk sense into him and has pointed out that Andrew can never return to the royal fold. Only time will tell if Andrew has understood everything briefed to him or if he remains in a delusion.
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