British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced scrutiny on Wednesday as he had to justify the actions of the governing Conservative Party while acknowledging that one of the party’s major donors made “racist” comments targeting an Opposition Labour Party MP.

During Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons, Sunak, referring to his Indian heritage, defended his government amid criticism over wealthy businessman Frank Hester’s reported remarks in a 2019 meeting. Hester allegedly said that Labour MP Diane Abbott makes you “want to hate all black women” and in another meeting, mentioned that Abbott “should be shot”.

Sunak told members of Parliament that the comments were “wrong, racist, and he has rightly apologized for them.” He emphasized that there is no place for racism in Britain and highlighted the diversity within the government he leads.

While Labour Leader Keir Starmer criticized Sunak for not returning the donated money from Hester, the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) accused Sunak of prioritizing money over morals.

Responding to the criticism, Sunak defended Hester’s support for “one of the most diverse governments in this country’s history, led by this country’s first British Asian Prime Minister.”

The Guardian, which reported Hester’s controversial comments, mentioned that Hester expressed regret for being rude about Diane Abbott but clarified that his criticism wasn’t based on her gender or skin color.

In addition to the remarks about Abbott, the Guardian also reported another incident where Hester questioned if there was “no room for the Indians” at a company meeting. A minister in Sunak’s Cabinet defended Hester, stating that he does not believe Hester is a racist despite his inappropriate comments. The minister emphasized the diverse composition of the current government as evidence against accusations of racism within the Conservative Party.

According to a report by the BBC on Friday, a 22-year-old student in Pakistan has been sentenced to death for blasphemy over Whatsapp messages.

The court in Pakistan’s Punjab province issued the ruling this week, stating that the student had been convicted for sharing photos and videos containing derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad.

Another student, aged 17, received a life sentence instead of the death penalty due to being a minor.

Blasphemy is considered a capital offense in Pakistan, although no one has been executed by the state for it thus far. However, several individuals accused of blasphemy have been lynched by enraged mobs.

The case against the student originated from a complaint filed in 2022 by the cybercrime unit of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore. The complainant alleged receiving the offensive material from three different mobile phone numbers.

Upon examining the complainant’s phone, the FIA confirmed the presence of “obscene material.”

The lawyers representing the two students have argued that their clients have been ensnared in a fabricated case. The father of the student facing the death penalty intends to lodge an appeal in the Lahore High Court, as reported by the BBC.

In a separate incident last August, over 80 Christian homes and 19 churches in Pakistan were vandalized following accusations against two Christian brothers of desecrating the Quran.

One of the most prominent blasphemy cases in Pakistan involved Asia Bibi, a Christian woman whose decade-long legal battle culminated in the overturning of her death sentence, leading to her departure from the country.

Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed expressed issues on Friday concerning the outcomes of India`s latest boycott name, in particular withinside the tourism sector.Currently in India, Nasheed additionally issued an apology on behalf of the Maldivian human beings.The diplomatic tensions among India and the Maldives, that have been simmering for a while, escalated in addition whilst President Mohamed Muizzu, perceived as pro-China, introduced plans to expel allIndian navy employees from the united states of america via way of means of March 10.This selection heightened tensions and caused a boycott name from India, impacting diverse sectors, considerably tourism, that is a critical factor of the Maldivian economy.Nasheed, quoted via way of means of information corporation ANI, expressed his issues approximately the situation, stating, “It has impacted the Maldives a lot, and I am in reality rightI need to mention the human beings of the Maldives are sorry, we’re sorry that this has happened.We need Indian human beings to return back on their vacations to the Maldives, and there’ll now no longer be any extrade in our hospitality.”Nasheed recounted India’s traditionally accountable technique in dealing with such matters, noting that as opposed to exerting pressure, India proposed a diplomatic dialogue.”When the president of the Maldives desired Indian navy employees to leave, you understand what India did?They did now no longer twist their arms.They did now no longer show muscle, however simply clearly instructed the authorities of Maldives, ‘Okay, let’s have a dialogue on that’,” he said.Regarding the latest defence settlement among the Maldives and China, Nasheed disregarded it as now no longer being a defence percent however alternatively an acquisition of equipment.”I suppose that Muizzu desired to shop for a few equipment, in particular rubber bullets and tear fueloline.It could be very unlucky that the authorities idea that there’s a want for greater tear fueloline and greater rubber bullets.Governance isn’t always via the barrel of the gun,” he said.External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar these days said that misunderstandings can rise up among international locations and expressed optimism in resolving the dispute via diplomatic means.Diplomacy is international relations, and politics is politics.The complete global would not continually run with obligation…so if we’ve got encountered one of these situation, the answer will come via international relations only,” Mr Jaishankar said.”We need to make human beings understand, every now and then human beings do not actually have whole expertise of things, every now and then human beings get inaccurate onEarlier, the Maldives introduced that it’d now no longer enlarge the settlement that authorized India to behavior hydrographic surveys in collaboration with the Maldives.President Muizzu broke from the hooked up lifestyle via way of means of opting now no longer to go to India on his first authentic trip, alternatively deciding on to