BEIJING: China's exports of electric trucks to other Asian countries have spiked, adding to a surge in domestic sales ​as higher fuel costs as a result of the Iran war accelerate regional electrification. China’s rapid adoption of e-trucks — from lighter vehicles to tractor-trailers — has partially»»»

Darlene Regis DOHA The Grind Basketball Team has put Qatar on the international youth basketball map, clinching first place in the U12 Division at the World Youth Championship 2026 in Singapore from August 6 to 9. The Qatar-UAE squad battled through a highly competitive international field featurin»»»

The Taliban-appointed mayor of Faizabad in northeastern Afghanistan was on August 13 assassinated by the National Resistance Front (NRF), according to the insurgent group. Habibur Rahman Mansur was killed in a targeted operation aimed at a vehicle carrying the mayor around 100 metres from the gover»»»

An international scientific conference will be held in Issyk-Kul region on September 3 as part of the VI World Nomad Games. It aims to unite the scientific community for a comprehensive study of the historical heritage, philosophy, culture, traditions, and contemporary aspects of the development of»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar National Bank (QNB) expects copper prices to maintain their upward trajectory in the coming period, supported by growing global demand for the metal, driven by the accelerating energy transition and the expansion of infrastructure related to artificial intelligence, while the sup»»»

The USS Abraham Lincoln has been grappling with dismal conditions for months during the US-Israeli war on Iran, amid mounting reports of severe exhaustion, supply shortages, and mental-health problems among crew members. The problems have sparked an uproar among crew members’ families and prompted »»»

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have sent separate cables of condolences to Chinese President Xi Jinping over the death of former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, state news agency SPA reported on Friday. King Salman expressed his deepest condolences and sincere s»»»

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump dismissed concerns Friday over living conditions and the mental health of service members on a US aircraft carrier deployed against Iran, while confirming the ship would soon rotate out. Asked by reporters whether family members were worried about the situation on»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Affairs Vice Minister Waleed Elkhereiji recently received Ambassador of China to the Kingdom Chang Hua for talks. The officials reviewed relations and discussed regional and international developments, the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said on X on Thursday. Earlier, the»»»

Rumen Radev's government will hit its hundredth day this weekend and the numbers behind it are still remarkable. Progressive Bulgaria won 131 of 240 seats in April, forming only the second single-party government since 1990. Radev became the first Bulgarian to hold both the presidency and the premi»»»

A container ship carrying cargo moves away from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York City on November 2. A new White House report accuses Chinese companies of doing limited assembly and repackaging in third countries to avoid U.S. tariffs. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo Aug. »»»

Russia is stitching together a web of new railway corridors that reach from the South Caucasus to the Indian Ocean, redirecting freight away from Europe and towards Asia and the Global South as it makes a pivot to the east. More than 93% of Russian Railways' (RZD) international traffic already runs»»»

Japan’s foreign minister summoned the Russian ambassador in Tokyo to lodge a “strong protest” against President Vladimir Putin’s surprise visit to the Kuril islands on Thursday. Tokyo maintains its claim to the disputed islands near Japan's northernmost Hokkaido island since they were seized by the»»»

Russia is stitching together a web of new railway corridors that reach from the South Caucasus to the Indian Ocean, redirecting freight away from Europe and towards Asia and the Global South as it makes a pivot to the east. More than 93% of Russian Railways' (RZD) international traffic already runs»»»

Russia is rebuilding its drone war around the jet-powered Geran-4, a faster machine built to slip past the cheap interceptors now knocking down its slower first generation Geran-2 drone, based on the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 loitering munition that Moscow bought from Tehran at the start of the U»»»

Ukraine, a country with no navy, has driven Russia's Black Sea Fleet out of its home in the Crimea to Novorossiysk, the largest functioning port on the Russian Black Sea coast, where it has now struck warships in the Kremlin’s last naval refuge. Ukrainian forces hit the naval base at Novorossiysk, »»»

Russia is stitching together a web of new railway corridors that reach from the South Caucasus to the Indian Ocean, redirecting freight away from Europe and towards Asia and the Global South as it makes a pivot to the east. More than 93% of Russian Railways' (RZD) international traffic already runs»»»

Ukraine, a country with no navy, has driven Russia's Black Sea Fleet out of its home in the Crimea to Novorossiysk, the largest functioning port on the Russian Black Sea coast, where it has now struck warships in the Kremlin’s last naval refuge. Ukrainian forces hit the naval base at Novorossiysk, »»»

Beijing: A Chinese shipowner is set to begin the first weekly container service through the Arctic on an express route to Europe this Saturday, making the voyages until October and prompting concerns over vessels warming polar ice. The company, Sea Legend, tested the premise last year when it compl»»»

The Russian Foreign Ministry has hosted a briefing for foreign diplomats in Moscow on the Roscongress Foundation’s main international events scheduled for autumn and winter 2026. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin opened the meeting, highlighting the role of Russian forums in promoting intern»»»

POLITICS The first 100 days of the government led by Prime Minister Rumen Radev remain a major focus of the Bulgarian media. Dnevnik published an extensive assessment of the government's first three months in office, arguing that the new administration has so far failed to demonstrate how it intend»»»

US military installations across the Pacific are in an alarming state of decay, a new Pentagon inspector general’s report has found, calling for “immediate attention” to fix crumbling infrastructure. The heavily redacted report, released this week, is part of an ongoing audit of US military facilit»»»

Volunteers and rescuers from Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations continue searching for three missing mountaineers. The search headquarters reported on the operation carried out the previous day. «The team worked on the slope all day. It was sunny until noon, then clouds moved in, and it »»»

Lebanon has formally abolished the death penalty, going against the grain in a region where Iran and Saudi Arabia are reportedly the second- and third-biggest executors globally, after China. Here's a look at which countries in the Middle East and North Africa top the list of executioners, which ha»»»

North Korea on Friday condemned the upcoming U.S.-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise. In this photo, taken Thursday, U.S. military vehicles are parked at a base in Dongducheon. Photo by Yonhap SEOUL, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- North Korea on Friday condemned an upcoming major U.S.-South»»»

On Aug. 14, 2015, after 54 years, the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, was re-opened amid a thawing in relations. 1 of 7 | On August 14, 2015, after 54 years, the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, was re-opened amid a thawing in relations. File Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of State | License Phot»»»

Doha: Qatar’s U-18 national basketball team will begin their campaign at the FIBA Asia Championship when they face Iran at 11:00 am Doha time today, at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Hall in Ahmedabad, India. The match marks the opening fixture of Group C in the continental tournament, which runs from Au»»»

President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov spoke about the further construction of Balykchy—Kochkor—Kara-Keche—Makmal railway in an interview with journalist Ali Toktakunov. The section from Balykchy to Kochkor was completed this year. He noted that once the project is completed, passengers will be able»»»

President Sadyr Japarov said that anti-China sentiments in Kyrgyzstan are being fueled by both external and domestic forces. In an interview with journalist Ali Toktakunov, he linked these sentiments, among other things, to opposition to the construction of China—Kyrgyzstan—Uzbekistan railway and o»»»

President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov answered a question about the country’s external debt in an interview with journalist Ali Toktakunov. The journalist noted that there is public concern over Kyrgyzstan’s debt to China and whether it could put the country in a position of dependence on the Peopl»»»

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is ordering the US Navy to remove the advanced system used to launch fighter jets from its newest type of aircraft carrier and return to using older steam catapults that he has long said he prefers, according to a directive issued Thursday. The new mandate would l»»»

The Trump administration has accused Chinese exporters of building a sprawling system to circumvent US tariffs by routing goods through third countries turning what has long been a familiar feature of global trade — "transshipment" — into a new front in Washington’s economic confrontation with Beij»»»

WASHINGTON: The Pacific-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington has begun heading toward the Middle East as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln has been supporting the US war against Iran, and its deployment has incl»»»

WASHINGTON: The Pacific-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington has begun heading toward the Middle East as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln.The Lincoln has been supporting the US war against Iran, and its deployment has inclu»»»

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»»»

The US Navy is preparing to send the aircraft carrier USS George Washington to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose deployment has stretched to more than eight months as the Iran war continues. The rotation, reported by the Wall Street Journal, was planned before the latest con»»»

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»»»

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»»»

ISLAMABAD: A team of local volunteers on Thursday recovered the body of a Pakistani climber who was among 10 mountaineers killed in an avalanche on Broad Peak nearly two weeks ago, officials said. The body of Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi had been missing since July 30, when a 10-member internatio»»»

The Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) has officially announced that Pakistan's first lunar rover has been named "Jinnah‑I" in honor of Muhammad Ali Jinnah — the founder of Pakistan. The rover is being developed by SUPARCO engineers. Its technical specifications (according to »»»

Soft power, in the form of scientific cooperation, is helping to drive an expansion of China’s economic influence in Central Asia. Uzbekistan and China, for example, recently launched the joint hyperspectral satellite, Samarkand-2028, which will support applications in agriculture, environmental mo»»»

Dubai: Pakistan has named its first lunar rover “Jinnah-1”, which is scheduled to travel to the Moon in 2029 aboard China’s Chang’e-8 mission, Dawn reported. The Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) announced the name on Thursday at a ceremony in Islamabad. Also Read: W»»»

The United States is considering closing its consulate in Medan, Indonesia, which is near the highly strategic Strait of Malacca. File Photo by Fazry Ismail/EPA Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The Trump administration's decision to close the U.S. Consulate in Medan, Indonesia, may save relatively little money. Bu»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Qatar U-18 National Basketball Team delegatio arrived in Ahmedabad, India yesterday to participate in the FIBA U-18 Asian Championship, hosted by India from August 13 to 23, with the participation of elite youth teams from across the continent. The delegation is headed by Qatar Bas»»»

Dubai: Gold buyers in the UAE saw some relief on Thursday morning after local prices retreated from their highest levels of August, although rates remain well above where they started the month. (Check latest UAE gold prices here, alongside prices in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and »»»

JAKARTA/TAIPEI: Indonesia’s navy said on Wednesday that joint exercises which China said took place east of Taiwan were routine and not related to “war fighting,” after Taipei expressed alarm and called them dangerous. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, and in June beg»»»

PANAMA CITY: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth floated on Wednesday the possibility of joint strikes on Colombian armed groups, as he welcomed the nation into a military-led counter-narcotics coalition after its conservative president took over last week. Colombia had authorized “joint military ope»»»

Chinese Cinema Days kicked off in Bishkek on August 12. The first audience was shown Shenzhou 13, a film largely shot in orbit by members of the Chinese space mission. Cosmonauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu spent six months on the Chinese space station and filmed the action themselves»»»

BEIJING: China’s homegrown C919 jet completed its first international commercial flight on Wednesday, a symbolic step toward Beijing’s goal of challenging the decades-long aerospace dominance of Boeing and Airbus. The narrow-body jet has been billed as a potential competitor to Boeing’s 737 or Airb»»»

1 of 4 | Attorney General Todd Blanche and others are shown during a press conference Wednesday at the Department of Justice Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The Justice Department announced criminal charges against 11 people they allege participated in a fraud scheme that involved more than 1,000 »»»