Iranian authorities have announced a new crackdown on models who post images of themselves online without their hair covered.   State television reported Monday that officials particularly targeted the picture-sharing application Instagram as part of an operation it called Spider II.   It said authorities arrested eight people out of some 170 people identified as being involved in modeling…

India is set to divert water from its rivers to deal with a severe drought, a senior minister has told the BBC.   Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti said transferring water, including from major rivers like the Brahmaputra and the Ganges, to drought-prone areas is now her government's top priority.   At least 330 million people are affected by drought in India.   The drought is…

Abu Dhabi:  Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today directed an investment of $20 million in support of the small and medium enterprises sector in Yemen. This comes within the framework of the United Arab Emirates' keenness to support governmental efforts aimed at empowerment of young people and the promotion of social, economic and political stability in Yemen. The initiative,…

A journalist in India is facing charges over a report he wrote saying Muslims were banned from being yoga teachers under government policy. Pushp Sharma’s report appeared in March in the Milli Gazette, a newspaper aimed at India’s Muslim community. It quoted what was said to be a government document that banned Muslims from travelling abroad to teach yoga for last year’s World Yoga…

In a shocking video, believed to have been aired on the Saudi Arabia’s national television, a family therapist has given advice on “wife beating”. According to news website AWDNews.com, the video was aired in the country in February this year. However, it has come to light only after it was aired in the US via the Washington DC-based Middle East Media Research Institute, in April…

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is concerned about the targeted violence in Bangladesh against journalists, bloggers, and individuals and calls for steps to put an end to the killings and harassment, his spokesman has said. “We would like to see the (Bangladesh) Government create an atmosphere in which journalists can operate freely,” Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said…

Boris Johnson has compared the EU’s aims to Hitler’s, saying both involved the intention to unify Europe under a single “authority”. The pro-Brexit Tory MP said both the Nazi leader and Napoleon had failed at unification and the EU was “an attempt to do this by different methods”. Labour MP Yvette Cooper, from the Remain campaign, accused the ex-London Mayor of…

A Bangladeshi origin British man has been jailed for life for planning a terror attack on a US airbase in Britain. A court in London on Friday sentenced Junead Khan, 25, for contacting the Islamic State militant group following a plan to attack the US airbase in East Anglia, bdnews24.com reported. He was preparing to go to Syria to join the IS, the police said. Junead's relative Shazib Khan joined…

China has increased defence capabilities and deployed more troops along the Indian border, the Pentagon has said, as it warned of increasing Chinese military presence, including bases in various parts of the world -- particularly Pakistan. “We have noticed an increase in capability and force posture by the Chinese military in areas close to the border with India,” deputy assistant secretary…

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Hezbollah’s top military commander, who was directing its operations in Syria and was accused in a string of deadly attacks stretching across decades, has been killed in Damascus, Hezbollah officials confirmed on Friday.   Mr. Badreddine, 55, had been overseeing Hezbollah’s forces in Syria, which have been decisive in keeping President…

Iran will not send pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this year for the annual hajj, an Iranian official said Thursday, the latest sign of tensions between the two Mideast powers after a disaster during the pilgrimage last year killed at least 2,426 people. Saudi Arabia blamed Iranian officials for the decision and suggested it was politically motivated to publicly pressure the kingdom. Iran says Saudi "incompetence"…

Pakistan said on Thursday that it has closed its border with Afghanistan “to implement border control measures”. Pakistani authorities closed the border on Tuesday after the Afghan forces prevented Pakistan’s plan to fence the border to stop illegal cross-border movement, Xinhua reported. Afghan ambassador in Islamabad, Omar Zakhilwal, also confirmed border closure at Torkham and…

Afghanistan is hopeful an agreement with India and Iran on the Chabahar port will be inked by June, boosting Kabul’s plans to use the harbour to drive economic development despite security concerns. The three countries have engaged in protracted negotiations on the Chabahar Agreement since 2003 but the venture was helped by recent developments, including India’s renewed focus on the port…