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Pakistan has lodged an official complaint with the United Nations, demanding the removal of Indian actress Priyanka Chopra as a UN goodwill ambassador over her "support for war" amid heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. In a letter to the UNICEF chief Henrietta Fore, Pakistan's human rights minister Shireen Mazari accused the 37-year-old actress and former Miss World of publicly endorsing the position of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government in Indian-administered Kashmir. Earlier this month, the Indian government revoked the partial autonomy of the Muslim-majority region and imposed an unprecedented security lockdown and communications blackout,

Lebanese pop star Elissa, one of the best-known female singers in the Arabic-speaking world, has announced she is retiring, comparing the music industry to the mafia. "I am preparing this new album with a lot of love and passion. The reason is that it will be the last one in my career," the 46-year-old singer posted on Twitter late on Monday, adding that she made the announcement with a "heavy heart". "I can't work in a field that is similar to mafias. I can't be productive anymore." The singer did not elaborate on her comments, instead expressing her love for her fans and sharing their messages of support. The comments hit headlines around the world, prompting a discussion over artists' right

NEW DELHI: An unmanned spacecraft India launched last month began orbiting the moon Tuesday as it approaches the far side to study previously discovered water deposits. The Indian Space Research Organization said it successfully maneuvered Chandrayaan, the Sanskrit word for “moon craft,” into lunar orbit, nearly a month after it left Earth. The mission is led by two female scientists. Chandrayaan will continue circling the moon in a tighter orbit until reaching a distance of about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the moon's surface. The lander will then separate from the orbiter and use rocket fuel to brake as it attempts India's first moon landing on a relatively flat surface between two craters

ADEN (Reuters) - Southern separatists seized two Yemeni government military bases near the southern port of Aden early on Tuesday, triggering fresh clashes between nominal allies that have complicated UN peace efforts, residents and officials said. The separatists and the government are both part of a Saudi-led military coalition battling the Iran-aligned Huthi movement, which took over the capital Sanaa and most major cities in 2014. But the separatists broke with the government this month, seizing its temporary base of Aden on Aug. 10. On Tuesday, they took two government military bases in Zinjibar, around 60 km (40 miles) east of Aden in Abyan province, residents said. On another front in

The Israeli military says its aircraft have struck a Hamas naval base in the Gaza Strip after a rocket was fired into southern Israel from the territory.  The military said early Thursday that several targets at the base in southern Gaza City had been hit.   The rocket was the fifth in a week and landed on open ground in southern Israel. There were no reports of injuries.   The tit-for-tat exchange has shattered weeks of a tense calm along the volatile Gaza-Israel border.   Gaza's Hamas rulers say that Israel's slow-moving approach to implementing an unofficial Egyptian-brokered truce aimed at alleviating the enclave's dire living conditions could lead to further escalation. Last Update: Thursday,

Over half-a-million people are expected to arrive into Dubai on Emirates flights from Tuesday, August 20, through to the beginning of September. Travel is expected to reach an all-time high in the coming weeks as the Eid breaks and summer holidays come to an end. “With another record breaking period coming up when it comes to passenger arrivals, we want to ensure that Emirates customers coming back to Dubai have the best experience possible starting from disembarkation through to every touchpoint and have positioned extra resources to ensure a speedy arrival journey," said Mohammed Mattar, divisional senior vice president, Emirates Airport Services.  Emirates has a number of services and initiatives

A Muslim woman wearing a niqab - a veil that covers the whole face except for the eyes - has been forced to leave a bus in the Netherlands following the introduction of a law that bans face-covering clothing in public buildings and on transport, according to local media reports. The woman tried to take a bus in the southern town of Stein on Monday, but the driver would not let her board while wearing the veil, Dutch media reported on Tuesday. The woman refused to remove the veil and the bus driver called the police, who escorted the woman off the bus, according to reports. It is the first time the controversial law, which went into effect earlier this month, has been used to deny someone entry on public transportation, the reports said.