DOHA: The Qatar Diamond Exchange (QDE) has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the Diamond Exchange of Singapore, the Shanghai Diamond Exchange and the Tokyo Diamond Exchange during the 41st World Diamond Congress in Singapore. The agreements reflect QDE's strategic focus on developing cl»»»

The UAE remains open for business and air travel, but the sharp decline in Hormuz shipping and the recent attacks on three UAE-linked vessels show that the regional security environment remains fragile. With the deadline for a temporary agreement expiring today (Monday, August 17, 2026) the US-Iran»»»

Tokyo: The death toll from record rainfall in Japan's Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, has risen to 10, while one person remains missing, the prefectural government said Sunday. Homes have also suffered extensive damage, with approximately 1,500 houses flooded, following the record-breaking torrent»»»

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung proposed on Saturday that Pyongyang engage in dialogue to formally end the Korean War, which has technically been ongoing for more than 70 years due to the lack of a peace treaty. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung proposed talks with North Korea to formally e»»»

Heavy rain that battered eastern Japan has left nine people dead, public broadcaster NHK said Sunday, after an "unprecedented" deluge that flooded over a thousand homes and snarled up roads and rail services. Torrential downpours starting late Thursday triggered landslide warnings and power outages»»»

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»»»

TOKYO: Record-breaking rainfall flooded cities east of Tokyo overnight, killing at least five people, injuring over two dozen others and stranding thousands, authorities said Friday. As the deluge subsided, the Japan Meteorological Agency downgraded its most severe heavy-rain warning in more than a»»»

TOKYO: Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia and Oman from Aug. 17 to 22. According to the Foreign Ministry, Motegi, in consideration of the prevailing circumstances in the Middle East, will convene meetings with prominent government officials including his S»»»

Narita, Japan: At least five people died in eastern Japan after "unprecedented" heavy rain that left thousands stranded at Narita airport overnight and snarled up roads and rail services, authorities said Friday. The torrential downpours late Thursday triggered landslide warnings and power outages,»»»

Narita: At least four people died in eastern Japan after “unprecedented” heavy rain that left thousands stranded at Narita airport overnight and snarled up roads and rail services, authorities said Friday. The torrential downpours late Thursday triggered landslide warnings and power outages, with f»»»

Dubai: Dubai has been ranked the most attractive tourist city in the Middle East and 10th worldwide in a 2026 global index that uses online conversations to measure how travellers perceive destinations. The Yanolja Attractiveness Index assessed 261 cities using online data and sentiment analysis, e»»»

Tokyo, Aug. 14 (SANA) Japan summoned Russia’s ambassador to protest President Vladimir Putin’s visit to a disputed island in the Kuril chain, Japanese authorities said Thursday. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tokyo strongly protested Putin’s visit to Etorofu, known as Iturup in Ru»»»

Manila: Filipino motorists may face another round of fuel price increases next week as international oil prices climbed sharply amid renewed uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the prospects for a US-Iran peace deal. Based on the first two trading days of the week, petroleum »»»

As UAE airports enter one of the busiest periods of the summer travel season, the US-Iran standoff is entering a new phase, with the Strait of Hormuz remaining at the centre of the crisis affecting the entire planet. The UAE said early on Friday that two vessels affiliated with Abu Dhabi National O»»»

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 »»»

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»»»

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»»»

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»»»

Israeli soldiers observe Palestinians during a raid in the town of Qusra in the West Bank in Israel Thursday. The Israeli army entered Qusra following days of a settler siege on Palestinian homes and declared the area a closed military zone to dismantle the illegal settler outpost. Photo by Alaa Ba»»»

TOKYO: Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned the Russian ambassador on Thursday to “strongly protest” against President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the Kuril islands claimed by both countries, Tokyo said.“Upon learning reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin had visited Etorofu Is»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R), joins Pacific Fleet Commander-in-Chief Admiral Viktor Liina (L), on the bridge of the Guards missile cruiser Varyag on Wednesday during naval exercises off the coast of Sakhalin region. Photo by Gavril Grigorov/Kremlin Pool/EPA Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Japan issued a s»»»

DUBAI: The eagerly anticipated 2026/27 ADNOC Pro League kicks off this weekend, with questions ranging from whether an era of Al-Ain dominance awaits, to what revolutionary upstarts United FC can achieve on their debut with Italy icon Andrea Pirlo, somehow, still at the helm. The unbeaten Boss live»»»

The US-Iran standoff is deepening as Washington tightens pressure on Tehran and the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted, keeping shipping, oil markets and regional aviation on alert. US forces have now redirected 59 commercial vessels as part of efforts to enforce the Iran blockade, while t»»»

Japan warns companies after several nationals are detained as Beijing tightens controls on rare earths and dual-use goods 1 of 2 | Japanese national flag flies in front of the National Emblem of the People's Republic of China on the Great Hall of the People. Photo by HOW HWEE YOUNG / EPA Aug. 11 (A»»»

BIRMINGHAM, UK: Karsten Warholm kept his bid for a second gold of the European championships in Birmingham and a fourth 400m hurdles title on track as he sailed through qualifiers on Wednesday. Warholm, who set the 400m hurdles world record of 45.94 seconds when winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics i»»»

Germany and Japan are reviving practices reminiscent of the Gestapo and Japan’s Tokko secret police, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova writes on social media. “Two former WWII Axis powers returned in unison in July to surveillance practices from which they were forcibly weaned i»»»

North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the East Sea Wednesday, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. In this photo, people watch a news report on the launch at Seoul Station. Photo by Yonhap SEOUL, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Wednesday, the m»»»

Dubai: Travellers flying from the UAE today, August 12, should check their flight status before leaving for the airport, with most services operating as scheduled but disruptions continuing on selected Bahrain and Kuwait routes. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The usua»»»

SEOUL, South Korea: North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the sea on Wednesday, its neighbors said, the second such weapons testing activity in less than a week. The series of launch events were likely a protest of the upcoming Korea-US military drills that North Korea views as an invasio»»»

TOKYO: Tropical storm Chan-hom moved westward Wednesday after making landfall in the greater Tokyo region the night before, knocking down trees and leaving thousands of homes without power. Five people suffered minor injuries. Chan-hom was significantly weakened after making landfall in southern Ib»»»

North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its east coast towards Japan early on Wednesday, Seoul's military said, days before the planned start of massive US-South Korea joint drills. The 11-day exercises due to begin on Monday are a regular fixture of the summer calendar, designed to steel the Uni»»»

Iran has hardened its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with a senior official saying the strategic waterway will remain closed unless its conditions are met: Mohsen Rezaei, the newly-appointed secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said that Tehran would not reopen the»»»

Wall Street is modestly lower in premarket trading and oil prices settled despite lingering uncertainty about when the Strait of Hormuz will reopen to the global flow of oil again. Futures for the S&P 500 ticked up 0.1% before the opening bell Tuesday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Ave»»»

Tokyo: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched an H-3 rocket carrying the Michibiki-7 navigation satellite into space from the Tanegashima Space Center. The rocket's upper stage successfully placed the satellite into its target orbit approximately 29 minutes after liftoff. The Michib»»»

XIANGYANG, China: Typhoon Dolphin churned deeper inland to the central Chinese province of Hubei on Tuesday, prompting the closure of tourist areas and suspension of construction projects, as forecasters warned of the danger of extreme rainfall in the province’s mountainous northwest. The strongest»»»

Dubai: UAE travellers continue to face a mixed picture this month as airlines operate amid ongoing regional security concerns, with some routes cancelled, others delayed and several international carriers maintaining suspensions across the Gulf. While regional airlines are gradually restoring servi»»»

Oil prices were higher in early Asian trading Monday as uncertainty over a possible agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz continued to outweigh hopes for a quick return to normal shipping. At 8:33 am Tokyo (on Aug. 10, 2026), market data on OilPrice.com showed West Texas Intermediate crude at $7»»»

Hong Kong: Hong Kong recorded its highest temperature since records began in 1884 on Sunday, with the mercury reaching 36.8°C, as extreme heat gripped the city ahead of the approach of Typhoon Dolphin. The Hong Kong Observatory said the record-breaking temperature was linked to a low-pressure syste»»»

The Japanese city of Nagasaki on Sunday marked the 81st anniversary of the US atomic bombing with a ceremony at the Peace Park memorial. It came as Japanese  Minister Sanae Takaichi ’s government has opened a debate on the country's postwar non-nuclear principles amid increasing doubts over th»»»

TOKYO (Sputnik) - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, during her speech at a memorial ceremony for the victims of the atomic bombing, again failed to mention the United States as the country that had dropped atomic bombs on Japanese cities. The ceremony is broadcast on Japan's main television c»»»

FUKUOKA, Japan: Fijian rugby player Saimoni Vunilagi has died of suspected heatstroke after a training session in Japan. He was 26. His death was announced on Saturday by his team, Kyushu Electric Power Kyuden Voltex — known as Kyushu KV. The Japanese second-division club said Vunilagi died Friday »»»

TOKYO/BEIJING: Typhoon Dolphin lashed Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture on Saturday, injuring six people and cutting power to more than 50,000 buildings, while China shut ports and halted ferries ahead of the storm’s expected arrival on its east coast. Five elderly people, three of whom fell due »»»

Tokyo: A Fijian rugby player with a Japanese professional team has died after being taken to hospital with "symptoms consistent with severe heatstroke", Saimoni Vunilagi's club said on Saturday. Second-division side Kyushu KV said that 26-year-old Vunilagi was taken to hospital in the southern city»»»

Tokyo: The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck southwestern Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture on July 28 has risen to 39, while more than 6,500 people remain in evacuation shelters, the prefectural government said Saturday. Of the 39 fatalities, 36 were directly caused by the 7.1-magnitud»»»

On Aug. 8, 1974, facing expected impeachment over the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to resign. 1 of 4 | President Richard Nixon resigns from the office of the president August 8, 1974, following his role in the Watergate scandal. Photo courtesy CBS | License Photo»»»

Dubai: From scorching streets to sun-baked landscapes, heatwaves have gripped parts of the world as summer temperatures soar. This photo gallery captures the intense heat seen across countries during late July and early August, highlighting crowded cooling spots, shimmering cityscapes and the strik»»»

HONG KONG — Oil prices tumbled Monday as Donald Trump said fresh talks with Iran will begin later in the day, while the yen extended gains after US and Japanese officials confirmed a rare joint intervention to prop up the currency.The positive development in the five-month Middle East war did littl»»»

DUBAI: The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) has opened an exhibition of the five shortlisted works for the seventh edition of the Ithra Art Prize, bringing all the finalists together under one roof. The exhibition, which opened on Aug. 6 in Dhahran, featured new works by Aseel Al-Yaq»»»

The US-Iran conflict remains unresolved Friday, with the Strait of Hormuz still at the centre of diplomatic and economic pressure. Residents across the UAE and the Gulf are watching closely for changes to flights, fuel prices, shipping and regional security. Here are the key developments UAE reside»»»

TOKYO — Japanese tech investor SoftBank reported Thursday a 1.3 trillion yen ($8.4 billion) return on its investment in Intel thanks to the US chip giant's increased share price.SoftBank posted a nearly 18 per cent year-on-year fall in first-quarter net profit, but the figure still beat expectation»»»