China's Sea Legend launches regular Arctic service as shorter route challenges Suez shipping but raises Russian, climate and safety risks. An aerial view of the Xuelong 2 docking at a port in east China's Shanghai. Photo by Zhang Ansong// Xinhua/EPA Aug. 13 (Asia Today) -- China is moving to establ»»»

Dubai: The family of an Indian expat in Dubai, who died last week during a vacation in Kerala, has confirmed that final laboratory results show he had contracted leptospirosis, commonly known as rat fever, highlighting risks of infection during rainy-season travel and from rat-infested surroundings»»»

The north side of the White House is shown on Sept. 10, 2014 in Washington, D.C. The Trump administration on Thursday announced tariffs of up to 100% on drone imports. File Photo by Ron Sachs/Pool/UPI. | License Photo Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The Trump administration on Thursday announced tariffs on import»»»

The US State Department reportedly ordered Israel to stick to its word and pull its troops out of Lebanon after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his forces were “here to stay” in the south of the country. Under a US-brokered framework signed on June 26, Israel agreed to leave the territory»»»

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday tariffs of up to 100 percent on imports of unmanned drones and their components to reduce US reliance on imports in an industry dominated by China. The US president justified the decision on national security grounds, according to a White House statement»»»

The Kuril Islands will forever remain Russian land, with Japan looking for trouble by continuing to stick to its claim over the archipelago, former Russian President Dmitry Medvdev has said. The Kuril archipelago came under Soviet control at the end of World War II following Japan’s defeat and was »»»

Tribune News Network Doha Qatar Duty Free (QDF) has marked the conclusion of the Doha edition of Toblerone’s The Ultimate Gift campaign by presenting a donation to Education Above All (EAA) Foundation. The winning bid was the highest recorded across the nine participating airport auctions, with the»»»

Tribune News Network Doha Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) continues to implement the activities of ‘Care Summer’ organised by PHCC for the first time with the participation of 123 students—63 female and 60 male—across six health centres. The programme combines theoretical and practical compo»»»

First Sermon (Khutbah One) All praise is due to Allah, who has made youth a stage of strength and giving, and has placed within young people determination and the capacities for building and achievement. We bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, and we bear witness that our master and Pr»»»

KINHASA: Congo’s Ebola outbreak has spread to a sixth province after a death was recorded in the previously unaffected Bas-Uele province, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said Thursday. Kaseya said the man had traveled from Isiro in Haut-Uele province to Buta, the capital of Bas-Uele, where »»»

Scaffolding and tarp covers the building name of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on June 15. The Kennedy Center voted on Thursday to inscribe U.S. President Donald Trump's name on the building for a second time. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The K»»»

RIYADH: Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is proving to be more than a box-office hit, particularly in the Gulf, where it has drawn a sizable audience. The film’s global success has spotlighted Greece’s mythology-rich culture and breathtaking landscapes as never before. News outlets across the worl»»»

Turkish investment funds are reportedly urging authorities to crack down on unusual trading activity that has put Turkey’s stock exchange at risk of exclusion from major equity benchmarks. The activity has sent some Borsa Istanbul stock prices soaring, with some traders alleging flagrant manipulati»»»

After almost three decades, the Nato-led KFOR presence at Kosovo’s most sensitive security flashpoints is beginning to change. KFOR has announced that it is gradually handing over security responsibilities at two locations that carry enormous political and symbolic weight: the Serbian Deçan Monaste»»»

Ukraine's power generation capacity has collapsed from just under 60GW before the war to just 12GW today. If Russia's missiles get through this winter the way they did last year, the shortfall could nearly double. Ukraine already has a 5-6GW deficit of power generation between what it can produce a»»»

Ukraine's foreign reserves jumped back above $51bn in June after more than $15bn in delayed Western financing finally landed, ending four months of steady decline. The rebound papers over a widening hole in the country's external accounts. The cumulative goods trade deficit reached $25.8bn in the f»»»

Ukraine and Russia exchanged their heaviest overnight strikes in weeks on August 11-12, with Ukrainian drones and missiles hitting Russia's Novorossiysk grain terminal, a Wildberries logistics hub and an Orenburg oil refinery, while a Russian missile barrage on Zaporizhzhia killed six people and wo»»»

JEDDAH: The Saudi-led multinational maritime defence coalition has finalized key arrangements to activate its command structure, and preparations began to integrate officers and personnel from member states into its command, maritime operations and intelligence structures, the Saudi Ministry of Def»»»

The San Francisco skyline on Feb. 18, 2019. The Bay Area was struck by a magnitude 3.8 earthquake Thursday morning. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The San Francisco Bay area was rattled by a magnitude 3.8 earthquake Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Geologica»»»

BEIRUT: Human Rights Watch has called on the United Nations to keep an international force in Lebanon after its peacekeepers’ mandate ends this year. The peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL, has roughly 7,500 personnel from nearly 50 countries, and has been in place since 1978. Its prese»»»

RIYADH: It was fitting that the 2026/27 Saudi Pro League season opened with a video showcasing Diriyah's storied history. The club, which has made it to the Kingdom's top tier for the first time since its founding in 1976, represents more than just a football team. It is directly tied to the First »»»

LONDON: US Central Command is establishing what it described as the first multinational task force in the Middle East region dedicated to the use of attack drones across the air, land and sea domains. The new unit, “Task Force Falcon Strike,” will use unmanned, one-way attack drones, which detonate»»»

LONDON: The UN human rights office on Thursday urged Israeli authorities to protect Palestinian families trapped in their homes for days by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, amid what it described as an intensifying campaign to seize Palestinian land. Three families, comprising about 15 p»»»

CASABLANCA: Ghana came from behind to beat Ivory Coast 2-1 Thursday and earn one of Africa’s last two chances to qualify for the Women’s World Cup. Nigeria were to play South Africa for the other later as the four beaten quarterfinalists at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations were pitted against each»»»

BEIRUT: Syrian and Lebanese officials have agreed to strengthen coordination along their shared border, including measures to combat smuggling, while easing the movement of travelers and goods through official crossings, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported on Thursday. Delegations from the two »»»

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East on Jan. 26. Senate Democrats want details about the status of the ship's operations following reports of attempted suicides by sailors. File Photo by Will Tyndall/U.S. Navy/UPI | License Photo Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Senate Democrats are pressing»»»

A passenger train derailed in southern England Thursday, injuring nine people. File Image courtesy of UPI Aug. 13 (UPI) -- A passenger train derailed in southern England Thursday, seriously injuring two people. Police and emergency services are on the scene outside of Lewes, England, in East Sussex»»»

Hungary enjoyed a spectacular evening at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris on Thursday, with Kristóf Milák setting a European record in the men’s 100m butterfly before helping the Hungarian men’s 4x100m freestyle relay claim a historic gold medal with a national record. The two victories»»»

ROME: Italy’s Sara Curtis broke her own 50m women’s backstroke world record on Thursday when she won gold in 26.56 seconds at the European Championships in Paris, a day after she had set the previous record. Curtis, 19, had smashed five-time Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown’s ‌2023 record ‌on Wednes»»»

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice against Harvard University for allegedly allowing anti-Semitism. File Photo by CJ Gunther/EPA Aug. 13 (UPI) -- A federal judge dismissed the anti-Semitism lawsuit against Harvard University filed by the Department of Justice ear»»»

ROME: Italy’s Sara Curtis broke her own 50m women’s backstroke world record on Thursday when she won gold in 26.56 seconds at the European Championships in Paris, a day after she had set the previous record. Curtis, 19, had smashed five-time Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown’s ‌2023 record ‌on Wednes»»»

BEIRUT: A British company said Thursday it has been hired to salvage a grounded Russian shadow fleet tanker off Oman’s coast and stop an oil spill that is threatening wildlife as it reaches the country’s shoreline following its dramatic spread in recent weeks. Satellite images have shown that oil f»»»

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin visited Russia’s far-eastern Kuril islands for the first time on Thursday, prompting protests by Japan which also claims the territory. Russian-Japanese relations have long been dogged by the contested islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and seized b»»»

Doha, Qatar: Consumers in Qatar should verify that weight-loss medicines and other therapeutic products are registered in the country and obtain them only from licensed healthcare facilities and pharmacies, a Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) official has said, amid growing interest in slimming prod»»»

Dubai: Three people were killed and 11 injured after a gas cylinder exploded at a restaurant inside a shopping mall in New Cairo, triggering a fire and causing a lift to collapse, Egyptian media reported. Emergency services were called to the mall in the Tagamoa area following reports of a fire ins»»»

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia's defence minister called Iraq a "cherished neighbour" in talks with a senior Iraqi army official on Thursday, despite last month's deadly US-Saudi strikes on targets in the country. The Riyadh visit was the first announced by an Iraqi security official to Saudi A»»»

WASHINGTON: An engine fan blade broke off on a Ryanair flight and sent parts flying that shattered a plane window shortly after takeoff in Greece last month, which caused a man’s head to be sucked into the hole in the fuselage before his fellow passengers pulled him to safety, US investigators said»»»

Luigi Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, attends a pre-trial appearance at Manhattan Criminal Court Tuesday. He is due in federal court Friday and may plead guilty to a stalking charge. Pool Photo by David Dee Delgado/UPI | License Photo Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Luigi Mangion»»»

MADRID: Celta Vigo postponed their La Liga opener against Osasuna because of a fungus outbreak on the field of their stadium Thursday. La Liga said both clubs and the Spanish soccer federation agreed to the postponement of Sunday’s game because of an “illness that has affected the stadium’s pitch.”»»»

QUSRA: For five nights, Israeli settlers surrounded three Palestinian homes on the outskirts of a town in the occupied West Bank, preventing the families from leaving safely as their food and water supplies dwindled. Qusai Abu Rida was holed up inside with his teenage son when settlers cut the wate»»»

LONDON: The Syrian Arab Republic’s Interior Ministry said on Thursday that it released six people detained during an investigation into a Daesh cell in the southern province of Quneitra, saying it found no evidence that they were involved and apologizing to them and their families. The detentions f»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia categorically rejects the Japanese leadership's claims regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to the Far Eastern island of Iturup as politically irrelevant, offensive, and legally null and void, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thurs»»»

Steven King, owner of Metro Shooting Supplies, shows the proper use of the popular Smith & Wesson AR-15, 556 caliber rifle at his store in Bridgeton, Mo. on Nov. 12, 2014. A federal judge last week struck down regulations on silencers, shot-barrel rifles, and short-barrel shotguns. File Photo by Bi»»»

Families rest Thursday in a shelter in Chico, one of Colombia's poorest departments, after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck several regions of the country three days earlier. Photo by Mauricio Duenas Castaneda/EPA Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Colombia's government declared a state of economic, social and ecol»»»

Polish inflation accelerated to 3.0% year on year in July from 2.5% in June, with fuel prices responsible for much of the increase. Fuel costs jumped 13.9% month on month after government measures cushioning prices ended. The result nevertheless remains within the National Bank of Poland’s inflatio»»»

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) on August 13 announced that it is setting up the first multinational attack drone task force spanning multiple domains. Named Task Force Falcon Strike, the new unit will deploy one-way attack drones, unmanned systems operating in the air, on the water and beneath th»»»

LONDON: A passenger train derailed Thursday in southern England, leaving at least three cars flipped on their sides. Aerial footage showed firefighters and paramedics attending to passengers in a field next to the derailed train, with several ambulances and three helicopters standing by. There were»»»

The Danube has begun falling again at Paks, increasing the threat of further restrictions or even a complete shutdown at the Paks nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Thursday. The government has already begun emergency river-engineering works, while two 80-metre barges are bein»»»

Damascus, Aug. 13 (SANA) Rail freight shipments in Syria rose by nearly 59% during the first seven months of 2026 as maintenance crews repaired key routes and restored specialised equipment using locally available expertise and parts, the country’s railway authority said Thursday. The General Estab»»»

The Central Election Commission (CEC) has adopted a timeline for the presidential and vice-presidential elections on October 25, 2026, the CEC's press service said on Thursday. By September 4, the CEC must announce the list of places outside the country where at least one polling station was formed»»»