Pakistan and India should show maximum restraint to keep the crisis in Kashmir from worsening, the head of the United Nations has said.
Secretary General Antonio Guterres offered UN assistance to try to defuse the row between the nuclear-armed arch-rivals, as the Indian prime minister continued to weigh retaliation for a suicide bombing that killed at least 40 of his policemen.
The Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who is visiting India, meanwhile said his country shared New Delhi's concerns about terrorism and said the allies would increase intelligence sharing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming under vocal domestic pressure to enact vengeance against Pakistan for an attack it says was backed by Islamabad.
The blast on a security convoy last week was the deadliest ever against Indian security forces in the disputed territory and was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group.
Pakistan denies it was involved and has said it will cooperate if Mr Modi can show actionable evidence, but domestic anger at the scale of the death toll and Islamabad's alleged duplicity has led India to promise a “jaw-breaking response”.
The UN Secretary General urged both sides "to exercise maximum restraint and take immediate steps to de-escalate tensions," a spokesman said.
The secretary general's "good offices are available if accepted by both sides," added a spokesman for Mr Guterres.
Pakistan's foreign minister had earlier appealed for help from the UN to ease tensions, saying India blaming Pakistan before any investigation had been carried out was “absurd”.
Islamabad's envoy to Kabul appeared to further raise the stakes, saying the confrontation could affect nascent peace talks being held between America and the Taliban.
"Any attack by India will affect the stability of the entire region and impact the momentum," the ambassador, Zahid Nasrullah, told reporters in the Afghan capital.
Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan's UN Ambassador, also warned that a flare-up could harm the tentative peace efforts in Afghanistan.
"The escalation in the subcontinent poses a threat to prospects for peace in Afghanistan," she told AFP.
Mr Modi is believed to be considering a military response to the bombing, possibly including a repeat of cross-border “surgical strikes” used after another attack on Indian forces in 2016.
Yet while the scale of the attack and its proximity to a spring general election in India had put him under pressure to act decisively, analysts said India would not want to provoke retaliation from its neighbour.
India has also reached out to its allies to take its corner in the dispute and isolate Pakistan. France, Britain and the United States were said to be considering a new push at the Security Council to place Masood Azhar, the leader of JeM, on the UN terror list. China, a strong economic partner for Pakistan, is said to be resisting.
The Himalayan region of Kashmir has been a flashpoint for India and Pakistan ever since Partition and continues to dominate their relations.
The countries both claim the entire region, but rule it in part and regularly exchange artillery barrages across a heavily militarised demarcation line.
Indian-controlled Kashmir has been a hotbed of insurgency since the late 1980s and New Delhi accuses Islamabad of cultivating proxy militant groups to stoke up instability. A new cycle of violence began in 2016 and the UN has accused India of heavy-handed abuses putting down protests.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C600rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C500-4%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10.9L%2F100km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh119%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
Profile of Tamatem
Date started: March 2013
Founder: Hussam Hammo
Based: Amman, Jordan
Employees: 55
Funding: $6m
Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
A general guide to how active you are:
Less than 5,000 steps - sedentary
5,000 - 9,999 steps - lightly active
10,000 - 12,500 steps - active
12,500 - highly active
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Don't get fined
The UAE FTA requires following to be kept:
- Records of all supplies and imports of goods and services
- All tax invoices and tax credit notes
- Alternative documents related to receiving goods or services
- All tax invoices and tax credit notes
- Alternative documents issued
- Records of goods and services that have been disposed of or used for matters not related to business
England v South Africa Test series:
First Test: at Lord's, England won by 211 runs
Second Test: at Trent Bridge, South Africa won by 340 runs
Third Test: at The Oval, July 27-31
Fourth Test: at Old Trafford, August 4-8
