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DUBAI/DOHA (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates has eased a ban on the shipping of goods between it and Qatar enforced under a political and economic boycott of Doha, according to port circulars and an industry source. An Abu Dhabi Ports circular dated Feb. 12 canceled previous directives that banned cargoes of Qatar origin from UAE waters and ports and those of UAE origin from Qatar. It maintained a ban on vessels flying the Qatar flag, owned by Qatari shipping firms or nationals.  An industry source told Reuters the circular applied to all ports in the UAE. Government authorities in both Gulf Arab states were not immediately available to comment. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain severed

Meghan Markle will celebrate her baby shower with 15 of her closest friends in New York on Tuesday. The Duchess of Sussex - who is pregnant with her and Prince Harry's first child - has jetted across the pond to mark the impending arrival of her little girl or boy with her friends and family. Meghan's stylist Jessica Mulroney has been co-ordinating the event, which will take place at an exclusive Upper East Side hotel and they will be joined by 15 of her closest friends. Details of the party are being kept private but it is thought Benita Litt, whose daughters Rylan and Remi took part in Meghan's wedding, and Meghan's former 'Suits' co-stars Abigail Spencer and Sarah Rafferty will also be in attendance.

Pakistan has rejected allegations by senior Iranian officials that it is harbouring the armed group, Jaish al-Adl, which claimed responsibility for last week's attack that killed 27 members of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the southern province of Sistan-Baluchestan. Javid Hussain, Pakistan's former ambassador to Tehran, on Wednesday said suggestions that Islamabad is allowing Jaish al-Adl fighters to operate freely within its border region with Iran are "baseless and completely false". "We do not allow our territory to be used by terrorist organisations to target our neighbours," he told Al Jazeera as fresh strains between the neighbouring countries begin to surface.

Who still remembers, or cares to remember, or cares at all about the "Salman Rushdie affair"?     Thirty years ago, on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1989, the late Ayatollah Khomeini, then the supreme leader of Iran, issued a religious decree, a fatwa, condemning the British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie to death. Up until that fateful decree, the name Salman Rushdie was known only to a community of South Asian literary aficionados admiring a gifted Mumbai-born novelist whose piercing prose and wicked sense of humour had given the world such literary gems as Midnight's Children (1981) and Shame (1983). The book was written and published in English. The ayatollah did not read English. He was

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the US of hypocracy for allegedly attempting to sell nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia while Washington tries to wreck Iran's nuclear programme.   Zarif's comment on Twitter on Wednesday came after reports the administration of President Donald Trump is trying to bypass US Congress to advance the sale of nuclear power plants to Saudi Arabia. "Day by day it becomes clearer to the world what was always clear to us: neither human rights nor a nuclear program have been the real concern of the US," Zarif wrote. "First a dismembered journalist; now illicit sale of nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia fully expose #USHypocrisy," Zarif added, referring

President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a cable of condolences to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, on the death of Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki, the First (1st) bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, have also dispatched similar cables of condolences to King Salman. Sharjah Ruler condoles King Salman on death of Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki H.H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme

Kim Kardashian West almost missed Kanye West's impressive Valentine's Day surprise because she was running late to volunteer at their daughter's school. Photo: Instagram The 38-year-old reality star was left stunned when her husband surprised her with a Kenny G performance on the romantic holiday last week, but has said she very nearly ruined the plans after she got held up when she was supposed to be the "class mom" at their five-year-old daughter North's school. Photo: Instagram Kim - who also has son Saint, three, daughter Chicago, 13 months, and is currently expecting another tot via surrogate - said: "I was running out the door to go be the class mom for my daughter's Valentine's Day." But