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Meanwhile... the first international cricket match in eight years took place in Pakistan

And in Kenya, the country’s new ban on plastic bags is an economic opportunity for women, while in Peru, American trekker Nick Stanziano is urging people to walk the historical Great Inca Trail. 

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Mohsin Raza/Reuters
Fans watch a cricket match in Lahore, Pakistan.
  • By Staff

In Lahore, Pakistan, cricket fans stood in line for hours to see the first international cricket match in their country in eight years. 

In 2009, the Sri Lankan national cricket team was attacked by terrorists while in Lahore for a match. Eight players were killed and seven wounded. Since then, no major national cricket team has played a Test match (a form of cricket recognized by the International Cricket Council) in Pakistan.

That is, until last month, when a match was scheduled between Pakistan and Sri Lanka – in Lahore. Most of Sri Lanka’s first-string players refused to go. But Sri Lankan cricket star Thisara Perera and the second-string Sri Lankan team agreed to attend.

When the Sri Lankan players entered the stadium, Pakistani spectators were on their feet cheering, displaying Sri Lankan flags and posters with welcoming messages. “What can one say to Sri Lanka except a huge ‘thank you’?” Pakistani cricket fan Afia Salaam told Al Jazeera.

In Kenya, some consider the country’s new ban on plastic bags a hardship or an inconvenience. But for some women, it’s an economic opportunity. 

Members of Kerio Women, a group in Turkana County in northern Kenya, have been using palm leaves to weave eco-friendly baskets. The women told Kenya’s Daily Nation that demand is rising daily. “We are receiving a lot of orders from cereal and fruit vendors who are switching from plastic to biodegradable bags,” said Mary Erakai, leader of the group. 

In Peru, American trekker Nick Stanziano is urging people to walk the historical Great Inca Trail. 

The 15th-century road was an Incan trade conduit, stretching more than 1,700 miles from Ingapirca, Ecuador, to Cuzco, Peru. But today the trail is disappearing from lack of use. So Mr. Stanziano and other trekkers – with 10 llamas – walked the whole trail in 130 days, hoping to inspire others to follow.

“We want to start bringing hikers to experience sections of this ancient trail through the beautiful mountains of Peru,” Stanziano told Lonely Planet. “Tourism development can actually help preserve this piece of history.”

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