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ISLAMABAD: Astronomy enthusiasts, students and the general public came together on Sunday to witness a rare lunar eclipse, commonly called the “Blood Moon,” which began in the Pakistani skies at around 0830pm local time.

The phenomenon happens when the Sun, Earth and Moon line up, causing the planet to cast a giant shadow across its satellite. But as the Earth’s shadow creeps across the Moon, it does not entirely blot out its white glow and instead the Moon glows a reddish color.

Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are completely safe to observe with the naked eye, binoculars or telescopes, according to the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).

The fascinating celestial phenomenon, which began in Pakistan at 0830pm, reached its maximum at 1157pm and concluded at 0155am on Monday, when a portion of the Moon appeared darkened as it passed through Earth’s shadow.

“The eclipse will be visible in Asia, Africa, and parts of Europe, with clear visibility expected in most regions of Pakistan, weather permitting,” SUPARCO said in a statement.

This phenomenon happens because the only sunlight that reaches the Moon is “bent and scattered” as it goes through Earth’s atmosphere, according to experts.

It is similar to how the light can become pink or red during sunrises or sunsets on Earth. The more clouds and dust there are in Earth’s atmosphere, the redder the Moon appears.

“This is a great chance for people, especially students and astronomy enthusiasts, to connect with science and explore the wonders of our Universe,” SUPARCO added.

ISLAMABAD: Bookme, a Pakistani e-ticketing startup, said on Sunday it aims to reach one million subscriber base in ������Ƶ this year after signing a deal to become official ticketing technology provider of ������Ƶ’s rewards leader, Resal, enabling users to redeem loyalty points for travel, entertainment and leisure experiences.

Resal is a leading Saudi company in prepaid digital card solutions, loyalty and reward programs. It provides integrated technology solutions to enterprises, merchants and individuals through its diverse offerings, which include Resal for Business, Resal for Merchants and the Resal app with its built-in wallet. The company is distinguished by its strategic partnerships with more than 1,000 partners across government entities and the private sector.

Founded in 2013, Bookme is Pakistan’s leading cashless e-ticketing platform, offering users online bookings for travel via train, bus and airplanes, hotels, cinemas and events. The startup, which has forged partnerships with major transport and fintech companies across Pakistan, says it has over 15 million registered users, integrations with more than 30 banks and super apps, and more than 80 million bookings processed in over 11 years of its ticketing technology experience.

Bookme entered the Saudi market in 2024 through a strategic partnership with Mrsool, a leading food and package delivery app in the Kingdom, and the Saudi Tourism Ministry (STA). In early 2025, it signed a deal with flyadeal, a low-cost Saudi airline, to facilitate direct flight bookings between Pakistan and the Kingdom, aiming to generate $20 million annually from its expansion into ������Ƶ.

“Resal, the Kingdom’s pioneering rewards and loyalty platform serving leading enterprises including Saudi Aramco, STC (Saudi Telecom Company), SAB (Saudi Awwal Bank) and Mobily, has signed Bookme as the official ticketing technology provider for its solutions,” Bookme founder Faizan Aslam told Arab News.

He shared the agreement, signed in Riyadh on Sept. 4 and officiated by Resal chief executive officer Hatem Kameli, will go live by the end of October.

Resal CEO Kameli said Bookme’s trusted ticketing infrastructure is the perfect addition to Resal’s solutions, according to a Bookme statement.

“This partnership allows us to expand our offering from digital rewards to real-world experiences, creating more value for employees and customers across the Kingdom,” he was quoted as saying.

Aslam said this partnership integrates Bookme’s advanced ticketing infrastructure with Resal’s loyalty ecosystem, enabling millions of users across ������Ƶ to seamlessly redeem points for tickets to travel, entertainment, cultural and sporting events.

“We have more than 450,000 registered users in ������Ƶ and Resal itself has more than 2.5 million customer base. If we manage to bring even 10 percent of it, we easily see our base in the Kingdom going more than double this year, touching one million,” he said

“Users across the Kingdom will now be able to use a mix of different reward point balances to purchase air travel, sports events, live concerts, activities and hotel bookings from a collection of over one million hotels worldwide.”

End users would also have the ability to aggregate loyalty points from multiple programs within the app, combining their value to access larger, more meaningful redemptions for various ticket options, a first in the Saudi market, according to the Bookme founder.

“On the technology side, the partnership leverages secure API (Application Programming Interface) integrations to ensure real-time ticket inventory, backed by Bookme’s multi-language customer support in Arabic and English,” he said.

Aslam said having strong partners like Resal would help Bookme establish itself in the Kingdom, adding that his company was in the process of signing agreements with multiple banks across ������Ƶ and other Gulf countries.

“A few of these banking partnerships are currently awaiting the Saudi Central Bank approval and once that’s in place, we will be able to announce them publicly,” he added.