News
Russia's fuel crisis is back as Ukraine continues to knock out Russian refineries
Petrol rationing is back across Russia, and this time a governor has admitted his region's refinery will be out of action for six months.
Russia's defence ministry threatens to freeze Ukraine this winter
Russia's defence ministry has put its winter plan for Ukraine on Telegram: a photograph of attack drones in flight, captioned "just like snow on your head".
Ukraine starts testing interceptor drones that can bring down Russia’s new jet-powered drones
Ukraine has begun combat-testing jet-powered interceptor drones fast enough to run down Russia's new jet Shaheds.
Taliban mayor assassinated by resistance front in Afghanistan amid battles across province
NRF, led by son of legendary Mujaheddin commander known as “Lion of Panjshir”, claims responsibility.
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Tehran Friday prayers leader says Iran "made America grovel"
A senior Iranian cleric has used a Tehran Friday sermon to claim the country's missile force humiliated the United States, defiant remarks delivered more than 160 days into a war that has already killed Iran's former supreme leader.
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Wildfire sweeps into Croatian coastal town, forcing mass evacuation
Wildfire tears through Omiš, a Dalmatian tourist hotspot, forcing over 1,000 to flee as flames reach the Adriatic shoreline. At least 36 injured, seven critically, and nearly 1,000 hectares burned.
Ukraine’s dragging of Wildberries into war hits Uzbekistan as exporters complain of lost business
With losses mounting up, Uzbek entrepreneur reflects that one of the Russian ecommerce giant’s warehouses “burns down almost every day."
Ukraine targeting Novorossiysk, Russia's last functioning Black Sea port
Ukraine, a country with no navy, has driven Russia's Black Sea Fleet out of Crimea to Novorossiysk, and has now struck its warships in that last refuge, damaging four.
Tashkent wins vote over Almaty in Etihad Airways' expansion into Central Asia
Service to Kazakh city may start next year. For now, UAE's national airline sees Uzbek capital as the better option.
China expanding scientific cooperation with Central Asia
China-Central Asia Monitor: July 31 – August 6.
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Skopje water scare exposes deeper concerns over Rašče spring’s safety
Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, woke up on August 12 to an unusual rush for bottled water. Rumours had spread overnight that the capital’s tap water was contaminated.
India courts Myanmar’s rare earths as China tightens grip
International Energy Agency data shows that Myanmar and China together account for about 83% of global mined supply of heavy magnet rare earth elements.
Ukraine halted Black Sea tanker strikes after Vance's July 31 call with Zelenskyy, FT reports
Ukraine halted tanker strikes near Russia's Novorossiysk port after a July 31 Vance-Zelenskyy call, the Financial Times reported, as Washington moved to shield Chevron and Exxon's Kazakh oil interests.
Ukraine and Russia trade heaviest overnight strikes in weeks as 40-day campaign passes $8bn in damage
Ukraine hit Novorossiysk's grain terminal, a Wildberries warehouse and an Orenburg refinery overnight; Russia answered with a North Korean-missile strike on Zaporizhzhia that killed six and wounded dozens.
China’s Africa investment surge shifts the contest from capital to value
Africa’s pipeline is expanding rapidly at a time when officially measured Chinese investment across the wider BRI is declining.
Fears Borsa Istanbul could fall to ‘frontier market’ status spark calls for action on share price manipulation
Meteoric gains in small and illiquid stocks under scrutiny. Warnings issued by MSCI Inc and S&P Dow Jones.
South Korea petrochemicals face renewed margin squeeze
South Korea’s major petrochemical companies returned to profit in the second quarter, but the recovery is expected to prove short-lived as margins deteriorate and global oversupply intensifies.
Israel's Cellcom achieves highest quarterly profit in 11 years
Cellcom reported its most profitable quarter in 11 years in Q2 of 2026, with net profit jumping 44% y/y to $25.3mn as terminal equipment sales surged and debt reduction persisted.
Ukraine stops publishing Russian missile-attack data as interceptor shortage bites
Ukraine's air force has stopped publishing how many missiles Russia fires each night, days after failing to intercept a single one of 28 missiles launched on August 5.
HANA says Afghan women and children at risk in continued deportations from Iran
In a report published August 10, HANA said deported children could face family separation, disrupted education, lack of legal identity, exploitation and unsafe living conditions.