At least 28 people have been killed and 230 rescued after a passenger ferry caught fire in the Philippines. Officials said the blaze began in the ship’s air-conditioned cabins on Wednesday night but it is unclear how. Among the dead were at least three children, including a six-month-old baby. The Philippine Coast Guard said search and rescue operations were ongoing and there were no signs of overloading on the ship. The initial death toll amounted to less than a dozen people. These were thought to have drowned as they jumped into the water without life jackets.
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Kazakhstan’s Parliamentary Election will be held on March 19
Kazakhstan will elect members of the Mazhilis, the lower house of Parliament, and maslikhats, local representative bodies on March 19. New names will surely appear in the legislative branch, while up to 50 percent of the country’s local representative offices are expected to have new members. Thirty-nine percent of the self-nominated candidates are women and young people. The vote will be held according to the new rules adopted following last year’s constitutional amendments.
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UN, Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor Call Again on Tajikistan to Release Journalists
UN Special Rapporteur of Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, has once again called on the authorities of Tajikistan to release imprisoned Tajik journalists and bloggers.
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Kenes Rakishev turns heads, Oxus invests in radically new-world class culinary food technology
Kenes Rakishev, an international entrepreneur, philanthropist and former special envoy of the Kazakhstan government, is leading the charge for an upcoming Nasdaq listing of Borealis Foods Inc. Rakishev, a businessman from Kazakhstan is experienced investor in the high-tech startups.
