MEXICO CITY: Mexico welcomed a group of 124 Afghan media workers and their families Wednesday after the group fled their country because of the Taliban takeover.
The group arrived aboard a Qatar Emiri Air Force flight to Mexico City in the pre-dawn hours. The Foreign Relations Department said the Afghans had worked for “various media outlets” and had requested humanitarian visas because of the Taliban’s hostility toward journalists.
The New York Times reported that a group of its journalists had been taken in by Mexico and arrived Wednesday.
Mexico accepted its first group of refugees from Afghanistan on Tuesday, when five women and one man arrived in Mexico City.
The young women, who had to travel through six countries to reach Mexico, have competed in robotics competitions. They fled Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country earlier this month. The Taliban have been hostile to women working or going to school after a certain age.
Mexico’s interior secretary, Olga Sánchez Cordero, said Wednesday that Mexico would grant asylum “to those Afghan citizens who require it.”
The offer of safe haven to Afghan journalists is a sharp contrast in a country that is unable to protect its own reporters.
Press groups say nine journalists were killed in Mexico in 2020, making it the most dangerous country for reporters outside war zones. Six have been killed so far in 2021.
Mexico welcomes 124 Afghan refugee journalists and their families
https://arab.news/r37ax
Mexico welcomes 124 Afghan refugee journalists and their families
- Mexico welcomed a group of 124 Afghan media workers and their families after the group fled their country
Shahid, Disney+ and OSN+ launch exclusive streaming bundle across GCC
- Bundle available exclusively visa Shahid for $25 a month
RIYADH: In a landmark regional collaboration, Shahid, Disney+, and OSN+ have announced an exclusive streaming bundle that brings together world-class hits from the three platforms under a single subscription in a first-of-its-kind offer for audiences in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
The all-in-one entertainment package, available only through Shahid in the GCC for about $25 a month, grants subscribers full access to three leading platforms covering Hollywood blockbusters, Disney+’s expansive range of beloved films, animations and series, OSN+’s library of HBO originals and international hits, and Shahid’s Arabic premium content.
The bundle is designed to simplify subscription management with a unified payment model, allowing viewers to access all three apps at the price of two and offering a streamlined user experience.
Natasha Matos-Hemingway, chief commercial and marketing officer at Shahid, said the partnership reflects a broader effort to expand digital entertainment offerings in the Middle East, catering to a growing audience seeking diversity, convenience and high-quality programming.
“We are proud to collaborate with OSN+ and Disney+ to offer an unmatched streaming experience to our subscribers,” she said. “With one subscription, one payment, and full access to premium content from all three platforms, we’re delivering unbeatable convenience, value and entertainment.”
With a growing demand for high-quality on-demand content, the bundle is expected to attract a wide range of users seeking comprehensive entertainment without juggling multiple subscriptions.
The move also signals increasing cooperation between global media giants and regional platforms, in a bid to meet the entertainment preferences of Arab audiences while expanding market reach.
Karl Holmes, SVP and general manager at Disney+ EMEA, said the collaboration will bring award-winning series like FX’s “Shogun” and favorites such as “Lilo & Stitch” into a unique bundle with Shahid’s regional hits including “Al Dariya.”
The agreement “reflects a shared ambition between Disney+ and Shahid to shape the future of entertainment in the Middle East,” said Holmes. “The Middle East is young, dynamic and fast-growing, and we’re delighted to give consumers a new and easy way to access extraordinary content at exceptional value.”
Choucri Khairallah, chief business officer at OSN+, said the partnership takes OSN+’s entertainment experience “to the next level.”
He added: “Today’s audiences expect more than great content; they seek seamless access, variety and exceptional value. This all-in-one bundle delivers exactly that.”
