DUBAI: Dubai-based Hollywood star Lindsay Lohan was spotted at the Michael Kors show during New York Fashion Week, where she watched part-Arab models Nora Attal and Loli Bahia walk the runway.

Lohan wore a sleek silver satin slip dress paired with a long grey coat featuring a fur collar. She kept her look minimal with subtle jewelry and straight, flowing hair.

The show took place in a cavernous space in midtown, with stark metal benches lining the rectangular walls. Gigantic faux black rocks were scattered throughout the center and sides of the venue, similar to the rocky beaches of the Amalfi Coast. The dramatic Italian cliffs in an urban setting played into Kors’ abstract inspiration.

Lohan watched as the Arab models graced the runway. Attal wore a strapless black lace midi dress with a deep sweetheart neckline and a small center cutout, accentuated by a belted waist that added structure to the silhouette.

Meanwhile, Bahia was seen in a tailored black ensemble, featuring a sharp blazer with a plunging neckline and high-waisted shorts, cinched at the waist with a thin black belt for a sleek, minimalist look.

For this collection Kors told The Associated Press that he was “glued” to pop culture and was especially fascinated by the recent Netflix series “Ripley,” based on Patricia Highsmith’s classic novel, “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” The dark story is set in coastal Italy where a man who covets a friend’s wealthy life kills him and takes over his identity, killing anyone else who threatens his new persona.

“There’s lots of texture, black raffia, white embroideries. Everything is very tactile,” Kors explained. “It’s all the colors that you would find in the Mediterranean. So all of the natural colors have very soft browns and creams. And then of course, there’s going to be blue.”

The brand’s craftsmanship was on display with intricate peekaboo lace dresses and skirts and several dresses, skirts and coats adorned with flower appliqué. Accessories stood out in the collection with leather handbags, hats and shoes teeming with black raffia that looked like leather straw. The ever-present trench coat appeared for men and women on the runway, mostly oversized and slouchy, AP noted.  

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday announced it had launched a “massive” crackdown on smuggling along its porous border with Iran, as its illicit economy continues to pose a major economic and security challenge for the country.

Experts say the illicit economy in Pakistan relies on collusion among Pakistan’s law enforcement institutions, political elites, and criminal and militant networks operating in the border regions of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran.

In May last year, an association of petroleum dealers flagged a surge in the smuggling of Iranian fuel to Pakistan, saying that up to 35 percent of diesel sold in the South Asian country had arrived illegally from Iran. The association said in the past, the smuggling of fuel was limited to the Pakistani province of Balochistan, but that it had now spread to the rest of the country.

In April, Pakistan’s energy ministry asked security forces to clamp down on fuel smuggling from Iran, according to an official memo, which said diesel sales had slumped “more than 40 percent” due to smuggled products.

Pakistan mostly meets its demand for fuel from the Middle East, but it is also smuggled in through its western border with Iran.

“The federal government has launched a massive crackdown against smuggling in line with its efforts to further strengthen economy,” state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday. 

“According to latest statistics, 126.4 metric tons of sugar, 4 metric tons flour, 3252 sticks of cigarettes, and approximately one million liters of Iranian oil were seized by the relevant departments during the first week of this month. The concerned departments are committed to continue their operations to prevent smuggling.”

The country is facing an acute balance of payment crisis and undertaking several measures, including raising fuel prices, to get clearance for a $7 billion International Monetary Fund bailout signed in July. 

The energy ministry said last year according to the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), around 4,000 tons per day of fuel smuggled into Pakistan was causing a total revenue loss of around 10.2 billion rupees a month.

Pakistan’s government has also ordered a clampdown on smuggling of flour, wheat, sugar and fertilizer to Afghanistan.