President Donald Trump participates in a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Gimhae International Airport terminal, on Thursday, October 30, 2025, in Busan, South Korea. File Photo by Daniel Torok/The White House/UPI | License Photo Dec. 17 (Asia Today) -- China's vast number»»»

Oil prices surged on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of "sanctioned" oil tankers heading to and leaving Venezuela. Both Brent and WTI contracts jumped more than two percent before paring gains. "The big news is the oil-price rally after President Donald Trump announced »»»

Dubai: Construction of the Dubai Metro Blue Line has reached 12 per cent completion, with more than 3,500 personnel now deployed across 12 active sites to ensure the project meets its 2029 deadline. The progress update followed a meeting of the Dubai Metro Blue Line Forum, chaired by Mattar Al Taye»»»

The team of Kyrgyzstan became the champions of Asia in gymkhana for the 2025 season, taking the first place in the overall team standings at the Asia Auto Gymkhana Championship. The Federation of Motorsport and Road Safety reported. According to it, the Kyrgyz team scored 114 points at the end of t»»»

Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A fire at a western North Carolina home sparked an explosion, injuring two civilians and 12 firefighters, the Salisbury Fire Department said. The blaze sparked just before 5 p.m. EST Monday at a single-story brick home in Salisbury, a town along Interstate 85 about midway between W»»»

Wall Street inched slightly lower early Tuesday ahead of the release of U.S. employment and inflation reports that could drive the direction of interest rates. Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.2% before the bell Tuesday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were unchanged. Nasdaq future»»»

Hong Kong’s High Court on Monday convicted jailed media tycoon and pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai of national security offences that could see him sentenced to life in prison, a verdict that has intensified global scrutiny of the city’s judicial independence amid a sweeping crackdown on dissent»»»

US President Donald Trump says he has asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to "consider" releasing Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon who was earlier this week found guilty under the city's controversial national security law. "I feel so badly," Trump told reporters. "I spoke to President Xi »»»

BEIJING, Dec 15 (KUNA) -- China announced on Monday that it sanctioned former Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF) chief Shigeru Iwasaki over what it deemed as violation of the one-China policy concerning Taiwan.The Foreign Ministry said in a statement, cited by Xinhua News Agency, that Iwasaki was i»»»

The Airbnb logo displayed Dec. 2020 outside at the Nasdaq Exchange before the opening bell and the Airbnb IPO in Times Square in New York City, N.Y. Last year in November, official figures showed that approximately 321,000 Spanish homes held a holiday rental license in Spain, which was a 15% increa»»»

The iRobot headquarters pictured Nov. 2016 in Bedford, Mass. This week, the company announced its buyout by two Chinese companies after a failed bid by Amazon to purchase the Massachusetts robotics company. Photo Provided by CJ Gunther/EPA Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Picea Robotics and its partner entered int»»»

Shares opened higher in Europe after a retreat Monday in Asia following Wall Street's worst day in three weeks. The price of bitcoin sank as traders braced for an interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan, expected later in the week. Germany's DAX gained 0.3% to 24,254.58 and the CAC 40 in Paris was »»»

Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner and media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of colluding with foreign forces under the the city's controversial national security law (NSL). The 78-year-old, who has been in jail since December 2020, pleaded not guilty. He faces life in prison and is expected»»»

Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily, is escorted by police after he was arrested at his home in Hong Kong in August 2020. File Photo by Vernon Yuen/EPA-EFE Dec. 14 (UPI) -- A Hong Kong court is scheduled to deliver its verdict Monday in the national security case against media founder and former publ»»»

Filipino students from Philippine School Doha (PSD) and Beta Cambridge School (BCS) have achieved a historic milestone for both Qatar and the Philippines after qualifying to represent Qatar at the Oxford Schools Debating Competition Finals Day, set to take place on March 14, 2026 at the world-renow»»»

Hong Kong: An exhibition by the Franco-Chinese artist Zao Wou-Ki opened in Hong Kong on Saturday, the first time his print work has been on display in Asia. Hong Kong's M+ museum is hosting a collection of more experimental prints by the artist, who is considered a master of the lyrical abstraction»»»

(News report) KUWAIT, Dec 13 (KUNA) -- Kuwait has witnessed a diplomatic outreach enabling it to expand regionally and globally by broadening strategic partnerships via a series of deals and MoUs covering diplomatic, economic, military, security, health, scientific research sectors and artificial i»»»

Dubai: Billionaires worldwide stand poised to transfer nearly $7 trillion in assets to their heirs by 2040, with $5.9 trillion likely flowing directly or indirectly to children. The US will capture the lion's share, but significant sums head to markets across Asia, Europe and the Middle East as old»»»

When China’s President Xi Jinping inaugurated Peru’s Chancay megaport in November 2024, he was doing far more than opening a Chinese offshore project; he was executing a vision that has reshaped global power three times before and is poised to do so again. The $1.3bn deep-water facility, capable of»»»

When China’s President Xi Jinping inaugurated Peru’s Chancay megaport in November 2024, he was doing far more than opening a Chinese offshore project; he was executing a vision that has reshaped global power three times before and is poised to do so again. The $1.3bn deep-water facility, capable of»»»

A cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia's Portovaya plant was delivered to the Beihai terminal in China on December 8. This marks the first delivery since the facility was placed under US sanctions in January 2025. The development highlights deepening China-Russia energy ties as Moscow s»»»

MEROSINA - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Friday he was preparing for his first official visit to China and noted that the two countries maintained a steely friendship based, among other aspects, on mutual respect of territorial integrity. Speaking to reporters in Merosina, souther»»»

Abu Dhabi: Etihad Airways carried 2.1 million passengers in November 2025, marking a 28 per cent increase compared with the same month last year and setting a new monthly record for the airline this year. The national carrier sustained strong operational performance, with a passenger load factor of»»»

French indie sensation "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" on Thursday stole the spotlight at the Game Awards in Los Angeles, taking home a record nine prizes including Game of the Year. Created by Montpellier-based studio Sandfall Interactive, the post-apocalyptic RPG triumphed over industry heavyweight»»»

Donald Trump has exerted more pressure on Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, who accused the US president of ushering in a new “era of criminal naval piracy” in the Caribbean after Washington seized a Venezuelan oil tanker. Late on Thursday, the US imposed curbs on three nephews of Maduro’s wife»»»

Dubai: The Central Bank of the UAE has announced that the first phase of the digital dirham will soon be launched, in a significant shift in the country’s financial landscape. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.According to the bank, the digital currency will enable real-»»»

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been named game of the year at this year's Game Awards. The French-developed role-playing game (RPG) cleaned up in 9 of the 10 categories it was up for, with further wins in best narrative, best music and best performance. It fended off competition from Death Strandi»»»

Washington has reaffirmed its commitment to providing extended deterrence to South Korea, officials said Friday. This Oct. 29 file photo shows U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the APEC summit in Gyeongju. File Photo by Yonhap The United States has reaffirmed i»»»

Warning: This report contains details of physical and sexual abuse and discussion of suicide. Baobao's heart still races when she smells soil after morning rain. It takes her back to early military drills behind locked gates - and the constant fear that marked every one of her days at Lizheng Quali»»»

When China’s President Xi Jinping inaugurated Peru’s Chancay megaport in November 2024, he was doing far more than opening a Chinese offshore project; he was executing a vision that has reshaped global power three times before and is poised to do so again. The $1.3bn deep-water facility, capable of»»»

A high-profile Hong Kong pro-democracy activist living in the UK has been the target of a campaign of harassment involving letters containing fake, sexually explicit images of her sent from China to her neighbours. Carmen Lau, 30, who fled Hong Kong four years ago, told the BBC she was "shocked" as»»»

In a McDonald's by a lake surrounded by mountains, in the centre of the Swiss city of Lugano, a customer orders coffee. "Can I pay with bitcoin?" he asks, and the person behind the counter holds out what looks like a credit card payment terminal. It is in fact a machine for paying by crypto currenc»»»

On Wednesday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said officers in Kentucky confiscated millions of dollars with in fake luxury items. CBP officers in Louisville intercepted three separate shipments of counterfeit jewelry via Hong Kong and Taiwan last week and Monday. Photo courtesy of U.S. Customs »»»

Hong Kong: An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 jolted near east coast of Honshu, Japan at 14:52:25 GMT on Wednesday, the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences said. The epicenter, with a depth of 48.7 km, was initially determined to be at 40.87 degrees north latitude and 142.76 degrees east »»»

Twelve people were killed after a fire broke out in a residential building in Shantou City, south China's Guangdong Province, on Tuesday night, local authorities said on Wednesday, Xinhua reported. The blaze erupted around 9.20pm in Chaonan District and was brought under control within 40 minutes, »»»

DOHA: beIN MEDIA GROUP (‘beIN’), the global sports, entertainment and media group, announced that its flagship sports channels, beIN SPORTS, will once again exclusively broadcast the final three matches of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup Qatar 2025 in 39 markets across the Middle East and North Afric»»»

Dubai: For the first time, global trade is on course to exceed $35 trillion in 2025, according to UNCTAD’s final Global Trade Update of the year. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.New data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) confirmed tha»»»

Dubai: The UAE is cementing its status as the world's leading destination for high-net-worth individuals (HNWI), with close to 9,800 millionaires expected to relocate to Dubai and Abu Dhabi by year-end, according to Henley & Partners reports. The influx marks a third consecutive year of record migr»»»

Beijing: A fire that broke out in a residential building in southern China killed 12 people, state media reported Wednesday. The blaze at the four-storey building in Shantou, Guangdong province, erupted around 9:20 pm on Tuesday, and was extinguished just after 10:00 pm, the local fire department s»»»

One of the men charged in the scheme pleaded guilty and faces up to 10 years in prison. File Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI | License Photo Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A Texas-based businessman has pleaded guilty and two others have been charged in a scheme to smuggle artificial intelligence technology to China in »»»

Hong Kong: All 24 patients remaining in hospitals for injuries from the deadly fire at the residential complex Wang Fuk Court are in stable condition, said a spokesperson for Hong Kong's Hospital Authority (HA) on Tuesday. The last person considered seriously injured came out of critical condition »»»

Jakarta: A fire in a building on Tuesday in Indonesia's capital killed at least 20 people, police said. Police said the fire started in the afternoon when a battery on the first floor of a seven-story office building in central Jakarta exploded and the fire spread to the upper levels. "As of now, 2»»»

Dubai: A fresh wave of self-made entrepreneurs pushed the number of new billionaires to its highest point since 2021, driven by widespread business creation across a diverse set of industries, according to the new UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2025. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Che»»»

Dinara Otorbaeva, head of the Department of Disease Prevention and State Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance of Kyrgyzstan, commented on the epidemiological situation regarding acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) and influenza on the air of Birinchi Radio. According to her, the flu seas»»»

A television screen shows a news report from July by the Japanese Meteorological Agency in Tokyo, Japan. On Monday, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit northeast Japan in the evening hours. File Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A preliminary 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit northeast Japan Monda»»»

Voters come and go at a polling station in Tai Po in the New Territories on Sunday as the community mourns those killed in an inferno at the nearby Wang Fuk housing complex amid public calls for accountability and questions about how such a disaster could have occurred. Photo by May James/EPA Dec. »»»

In yet another milestone achievement, the UAE Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka has been awarded the Silver Award at the DFA Design for Asia Awards 2025, recognising its outstanding architectural and design excellence on an international stage. Organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre, the Awards celebra»»»

Doha, Qatar: Ali Bin Ali Holidays recently announced the launch of it’s first-ever Holidays Kiosk at 21 High st, Katara, marking a new milestone in the company’s journey to bring personalised travel experiences closer to its customers. Under the theme, “We Build The Trip, You Live The Story”, the n»»»

Turnout in Hong Kong's legislative elections on Sunday rose slightly to 31.9 percent, official data showed. Beijing's sweeping changes to Hong Kong's electoral system in 2021 following massive and sometimes violent protests have seen fewer people turning out to vote in the Chinese territories elect»»»

In early 2025, billionaire John Fredriksen made headlines—not just for the scale of his fortune, but for where he chose to move it. Long a fixture on London’s rich lists, Fredriksen decided to call time on the UK’s “non-dom” tax regime and shift the nerve centre of his empire to Dubai. He is hardly»»»