Lebanese army commander holds high-level talks in Washington amid U.S. criticism
Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal met with senior U.S. officials in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss strengthening military and secur...
China recorded the world’s largest-ever trade surplus in 2025, reaching $1.2 trillion as exporters shifted focus away from the U.S. amid ongoing trade tensions.
The surplus, up 20% from 2024, reflects Beijing’s pivot toward emerging markets in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America as exports to the U.S. fell 19.5% year-on-year.
Customs data showed total exports at $3.7 trillion and imports at $2.58 trillion. December alone saw a 6.6% increase in exports compared with the same month in 2024, surpassing economists’ expectations.
High-tech goods such as industrial robots and machine tools rose 13%, while electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar panels jumped 27%. Exports to Africa increased 26.5%, ASEAN 14%, the EU 9%, and Latin America 8%.
Despite rising tensions and tariffs with the U.S., China expanded into other global markets, strengthening its economic footprint and resilience. Officials say strong exports give Beijing confidence in trade negotiations with Washington and other partners.
Deputy Customs Administrator Wang Jun said the country will “open more” in 2026, signaling continued reliance on exports to drive growth amid sluggish domestic demand. Economists expect China’s trade surplus to remain above $1 trillion this year, though export growth may slow slightly.
The record surplus is likely to raise concerns among trading partners about dependence on Chinese goods and the impact on domestic industries.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has deployed one of its largest ballistic missiles at a newly unveiled underground base on Wednesday (3 February), just two days ahead of mediated nuclear talks with the United States in Muscat, Oman.
Morocco has evacuated more than 100,000 people from four provinces after heavy rainfall triggered flash floods across several northern regions, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
Rivers and reservoirs across Spain and Portugal were on the verge of overflowing on Wednesday as a new weather front pounded the Iberian peninsula, compounding damage from last week's Storm Kristin.
Winter weather has brought air travel in the German capital to a complete halt, stranding thousands of passengers as severe icing conditions make runways and aircraft unsafe for operation and force authorities to shut down one of Europe’s key transport hubs.
Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes killed 24 Palestinians including seven children in Gaza on Wednesday (4 February), health officials said, the latest violence to undermine the nearly four-month-old ceasefire.
Wall Street ended sharply lower on Tuesday as investors worried about artificial intelligence (AI) creating more competition for software makers, keeping them on edge ahead of quarterly reports from Alphabet and Amazon later this week.
U.S. stock markets finished mixed on Wednesday (28 January) as investors reacted calmly after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, a decision that had been widely expected and largely priced in.
The S&P 500 edged to a record closing high on Tuesday, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, as strong advances in technology stocks offset a sharp selloff in healthcare shares and a mixed batch of corporate earnings.
Chevron is in talks with Iraq’s oil ministry over potential changes to the commercial framework governing the West Qurna 2 oilfield, one of the world’s largest producing assets, after Baghdad nationalised the field earlier this month following U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia’s Lukoil.
Argentina's economic activity shrunk 0.3% in November compared with the same month last year, marking the first monthly contraction of 2025, data from Argentina's national statistics agency showed on Wednesday.
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