Israel strikes on east Lebanon kill 12: state media

Israel strikes on east Lebanon kill 12: state media
Israeli strikes on the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon killed 12 people on Tuesday, Lebanese state media reported, as the Israeli army said it hit Hezbollah targets in the area. (X/@madfajy)
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Updated 15 July 2025
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Israel strikes on east Lebanon kill 12: state media

Israel strikes on east Lebanon kill 12: state media
  • Warplanes struck in the northern Bekaa Valley and targeted a camp for displaced Syrians

BEIRUT: Israeli strikes on the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon killed 12 people on Tuesday, Lebanese state media reported, as the Israeli army said it hit Hezbollah targets in the area.

“Enemy warplanes launched raids on the Wadi Fara area in the northern Bekaa Valley, one of which targeted a camp for displaced Syrians, resulting in the deaths of 12 martyrs, including seven Syrians, and eight wounded,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.


India moves to strengthen ties with Russia, China amid Trump’s tariff war

India moves to strengthen ties with Russia, China amid Trump’s tariff war
Updated 1 min 30 sec ago
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India moves to strengthen ties with Russia, China amid Trump’s tariff war

India moves to strengthen ties with Russia, China amid Trump’s tariff war
  • Narendra Modi meets Chinese FM, Indian FM visits Russia
  • Delhi, Moscow agree to strengthen trade ties, boost Indian exports

NEW DELHI: In the wake of US President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs on Indian goods, New Delhi has moved to rebuild ties with Beijing while continuing its close energy and defense partnership with Russia, moves that experts say carry strategic opportunities.

After a yearslong standoff between India and China over a deadly clash at their disputed border, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in the Indian capital on Monday for a two-day visit and talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar.

Modi hailed the improved relations with Beijing and said after the meeting that the “steady progress” they made was “guided by respect for each other’s interests and sensitivities.”

The two sides also agreed to resume direct flights between China and India to help boost trade and investment, facilitate business and cultural exchanges, and recommence the issuing of journalist and tourist visas.

The thaw in relations comes after Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods, 25 percent of which was a penalty for India buying Russian oil, which Washington said was helping fuel Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The Indian government said the tariffs were “unjustified and unreasonable” and vowed to “take all necessary steps to protect its national interests.”

The progress in India-China relations was followed by Jaishankar’s three-day visit to Moscow, which ended on Thursday and resulted in the two sides agreeing to boost trade ties.

In a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Jaishankar said that relations between the two countries had been “among the steadiest of the major relationships in the world” since World War II.

The sides reaffirmed their ambition to expand two-way trade, including an increase in Indian exports to Russia.

“This requires swiftly addressing non-tariff barriers and regulatory impediments,” Jaishankar said.

“Enhancing Indian exports to Russia in sectors like pharmaceuticals, agriculture and textiles will certainly help to correct the current imbalance.”

Harsh V. Pant, vice president at Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation, said that while India’s engagements with Russia and China had started before Trump’s global tariff campaign, it had acted as a catalyst.

“What Trump seems to have done is to create a sentiment against America in India and to accelerate India’s ties with these countries,” he told Arab News.

International affairs expert Mohan Guruswamy said that Delhi’s efforts to strengthen ties with China and Russia would assure “India of its strategic independence.”

“By associating with America, it lost it. And associating with America has proved to be expensive,” he told Arab News.

Bharat Karnad, a political scientist and emeritus professor at the Center for Policy Research in Delhi, said India’s frayed ties with Washington were an opportunity for it “to rethink and repurpose (its) strategy.”

“America has always been an unreliable, untrustworthy partner to all its allies. It’s historically been the case that America helps only when its own interests are served and not when the allies’ interests are at stake,” he told Arab News.

This was an opportunity for Modi’s government to support de-dollarization efforts that had been pursued by the BRICS geopolitical forum, which includes India, Russia and China, he said.

“This is the time, and there are still some indications that we are working toward precisely the kinds of BRICS initiative to de-dollarize trade.

“Rather than become captive of the US or Western or any other … trading system, we should have the independence and the flexibility to switch to serve our national interests.”


Pakistan, Bangladesh discuss deeper defense cooperation as ties improve after Dhaka power shift

Pakistan, Bangladesh discuss deeper defense cooperation as ties improve after Dhaka power shift
Updated 22 August 2025
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Pakistan, Bangladesh discuss deeper defense cooperation as ties improve after Dhaka power shift

Pakistan, Bangladesh discuss deeper defense cooperation as ties improve after Dhaka power shift
  • Bangladesh’s Lt. Gen. Faizur Rahman meets Gen. Shamshad Mirza as ties reset after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster
  • Visiting army official praises professionalism of Pakistan’s forces, notes sacrifices in fight against militancy

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Bangladesh discussed enhanced defense and security cooperation on Friday during a meeting between senior army officials in Rawalpindi, the Pakistani military said.

Bangladesh witnessed a major political change last year when former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a popular uprising against her government.

Hasina, long seen as close to India and critical of Pakistan, fled to New Delhi after her fall, putting pressure on Dhaka’s ties with India. The shift also opened space for Pakistan and Bangladesh — one nation until the bloody 1971 war of independence — to edge closer again, with senior officials from both sides meeting more frequently at global forums.

The meeting between Lt. Gen. Md. Faizur Rahman, Bangladesh’s Quarter Master General, and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza took place against this backdrop of improving relations.

“During the meeting, both sides discussed the prevailing security environment in the region and laid emphasis on shared resolve for enhancing existing cooperation in defense and security domain,” the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement.

It added that Mirza “highlighted the rising trajectory of bilateral relations between both the countries and identified new avenues of defense cooperation.”

ISPR said the visiting Bangladeshi official lauded the professionalism of Pakistan’s armed forces and acknowledged their sacrifices in the fight against militant violence.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also met Bangladeshi High Commissioner Md. Iqbal Hussain Khan in Islamabad, expressing satisfaction at the revival of bilateral mechanisms to rebuild ties.

The envoy, according to a statement released later by Sharif’s office, briefed him on steps being taken to ease travel, trade and connectivity and voiced his intent to “further strengthen the historic bonds of friendship.”


Saudi pavilion at Expo 2025 shines light on inspirational women

Saudi pavilion at Expo 2025 shines light on inspirational women
Updated 22 August 2025
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Saudi pavilion at Expo 2025 shines light on inspirational women

Saudi pavilion at Expo 2025 shines light on inspirational women

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan includes a display of manga drawings that tell the stories of some of the Kingdom’s most influential women and how their accomplishments have inspired generations.

Three of the women featured are: Rania Moualla, founder and president of the ZADK Culinary Academy; Mashael Al-Shamimry, aerospace engineer and founder of Mashael Aerospace; and Jumana Al-Rashed, CEO of Saudi Research and Media Group and chair of the Red Sea Film Foundation.

According to the organizers, the pavilion aims to celebrate Saudi women leaders, foster dialogue with other cultures and highlight the Kingdom’s transformation, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

“Step into the Saudi Courtyard and feel the inspiration," they said on X.

Over the course of the Expo, which runs from April to October, the pavilion will host more than 700 events that provide visitors with an insight into the diversity of Saudi heritage, culture and arts.

The theme of the event is “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.”

The next World Expo will be held in Riyadh in 2030.


Saudi Arabia condemns Gaza famine as ‘stain on conscience of international community’

Saudi Arabia condemns Gaza famine as ‘stain on conscience of international community’
Updated 22 August 2025
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Saudi Arabia condemns Gaza famine as ‘stain on conscience of international community’

Saudi Arabia condemns Gaza famine as ‘stain on conscience of international community’
  • Palestinians ride on a truck loaded with food and humanitarian aid from the World Food Program, after it arrived in the northern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025. (AP/File Photo)

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Friday voiced “deep concern” over the official confirmation of famine in the Gaza Strip, condemning what it described as “genocide crimes” committed by Israeli forces against civilians.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza was the direct result of the lack of accountability for Israel’s repeated violations.

“The Kingdom affirms that the exacerbation of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is a direct result of the absence of deterrence and accountability mechanisms for the repeated crimes of the Israeli occupation, and will remain a stain on the conscience of the international community, foremost among them the permanent members of the Security Council, unless it quickly intervenes immediately to end the famine and stop the war of genocide and crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the brotherly Palestinian people,” the ministry said.

The ministry issued its statement following the latest report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, which officially declared famine in Gaza City for the first time since the war began.


Global Markets — stocks rise, yields fall as Powell opens door to September rate cut

Global Markets — stocks rise, yields fall as Powell opens door to September rate cut
Updated 22 August 2025
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Global Markets — stocks rise, yields fall as Powell opens door to September rate cut

Global Markets — stocks rise, yields fall as Powell opens door to September rate cut

LONDON: Stocks rose and US Treasury yields and the dollar fell on Friday after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell pointed to a possible rate cut at the central bank’s September meeting.

Powell stopped short of committing to cutting interest rates as he tried to walk a narrow line acknowledging growing risks to the job market while also saying risks of higher inflation remain.

His remarks, to the annual central banking symposium at Jackson Hole, are his final address as chair of the Fed.

Share markets rallied in response to Powell’s speech, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 1.4 percent and 1.6 percent respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.6 percent to a record intraday high.

Government bonds also welcomed the news with the rate-sensitive two-year Treasury yield down nearly 10 basis points at 3.69 percent. Benchmark 10-year yields fell 6 bps to 4.27 percent.

Powell’s past speeches at the event have often moved markets, and this year’s remarks are under particularly close scrutiny as his position has come under heavy criticism from US President Donald Trump, sparking concerns about potential threats to the Fed’s independence.

His comments open the door to a rate cut at the Fed’s Sept. 16-17 meeting, and while he put heavy weight on jobs and inflation reports that will be received before then, analysts said Powell appeared to be putting greater weight on the former.

“Chair Powell was able to talk about the balance of risk shifting and therefore the potential of shifting of policy would be appropriate,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist, B. Riley Wealth.

“That’s a clear hint that Chair Powell is open to supporting rate cuts in the future.”

But he offered little guidance about how soon or how quickly rates might continue to move lower, likely stoking further pressure from Trump, who contends there is no risk of inflation and that the Fed should slash rates immediately.

European markets echoed the moves by their US peers, but in a more muted manner.

Europe’s broad STOXX 600 index was last up 0.6 percent, while Germany’s 10-year yield, the euro zone benchmark, was down 3 bps at 2.72 percent.

The comparatively larger fall in US yields weighed on the dollar, which was down 0.7 percent on the Japanese yen at 147.3 yen.

The euro rose 0.64 percent to $1.1683.

China tech

Earlier in the day, the focus was on Chinese shares and the CSI 300 Index gained 2.1 percent, after DeepSeek released an upgrade to its flagship V3 AI model and Reuters reported that Nvidia had asked Foxconn to suspend work on the H20 AI chip, lending support to Chinese rivals.

Tech stocks listed in Hong Kong rose 2.7 percent.

Also in Asia, Japanese data showed core consumer prices slowed for a second straight month in July but stayed above the central bank’s 2 percent target, keeping alive expectations for a rate hike in the coming months.