Asian shares mixed as hopes for US rate cuts wane; Bitcoin hits record

Asian shares showed a mixed performance today (14 August) following several days of gains fuelled by expectations of lower US interest rates, while US futures slipped. Bitcoin surged over 3%, reaching a new record above $1,23,000, according to CoinDesk. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.4% to 42,657.94 as investors booked profits after recent record […]

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Chinese investors eyeing Indonesia to avoid US tariffs, tap local market

Gao Xiaoyu, the founder of an industrial land consulting firm in Jakarta, has been inundated with calls from Chinese companies eager to expand or set up operations in Indonesia as they try to shield themselves from the United States’ hefty import tariffs. The 19% US tariff rate for goods from Indonesia is the same as […]

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Turkmenistan and Iran to Build Dual-Gauge Rail Lines at Sarakhs Border Crossing

By Sadokat Jalolova Turkmenistan and Iran have agreed to construct two new railway lines at the Sarakhs border crossing to enhance freight transport between the two countries, Iranian Railways chief Jabbar Ali Zakeri announced following talks with Turkmenistan’s Minister of Railways, Mammet Akmammedov. The agreement was reached during bilateral meetings in Turkmenbashi, held on the […]

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Trump–Putin Peace Talks: What Could They Mean for Central Asia?

By Stephen M. Bland As U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, located just outside of Anchorage, Alaska, hopes and anxieties are reverberating across Central Asia. Trump has signaled that securing a ceasefire in Ukraine is his top priority, warning of “very severe consequences” for Moscow […]

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Bangladesh EC to announce national election roadmap next week

Dhaka : The Election Commission (EC) will announce the roadmap for the upcoming national parliamentary elections next week, EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said today (14 August). “The roadmap will include all preparations and detailed guidelines for the polls,” he told the reporters during a briefing at the Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital’s Agargaon. “We have […]

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Zelenskiy in Berlin for online meeting with Trump, European leaders

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Berlin today (13 August) for a German-hosted virtual meeting with Donald Trump and European leaders, two days before the US president meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Europe’s leaders are trying to drive home the perils of selling out Kyiv’s interests at the first US-Russia summit since 2021. Trump […]

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Israel’s Smotrich announces settlement plan to ‘bury’ idea of Palestinian state

MAALE ADUMIM: Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said work would start on a long-delayed settlement that would divide the West Bank and cut if off from East Jerusalem, a move his office declared would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state. Standing at the site in Maale Adumim, Smotrich said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu […]

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