No Comment Pakistan: Karachi thunderstorm kills at least 16 as powerful winds wreak havoc A thunderstorm with strong winds hit Karachi overnight on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people, according to local rescue services. 19/03/2026
No Comment Iran missile strike hits Tel Aviv area as deaths mount across region Iranian missile fire damaged a Tel Aviv residential block and hit multiple sites nearby, as soaring violence across the region has killed over 2,000 people. 19/03/2026
Iran Trump threatens to 'entirely blow up' Iran's South Pars gas field Trump has vowed to “blow up the entirety” of Iran’s South Pars gas field if Tehran moves to attack Qatari gas fields again. The warning comes after Iran, in response to an Israeli attack on its gas field, struck Qatar’s largest Ras Laffan facility, sparking global outrage. 19/03/2026
Iran Iranians celebrate their New Year's Eve despite war and censure On the evening of March 17, the last Wednesday of the year before Nowruz, Iranians in various cities celebrated the long-standing tradition of Chaharshanbe Suri by jumping over fires and enjoying festivities, despite the war and the painful memory of the January massacres fresh in their minds. 18/03/2026
Japan Rattled by Trump, Japan seeks closer ties with Europe Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets US President Donald Trump this Thursday in Washington. A long-planned visit upended by the Iran war. It's a tricky moment for the Japanese leader who needs to balance Trump's unpredictability with Tokyo's security needs. 18/03/2026
Iran Watch: Gunshots scatter crowd during Chaharshanbe Suri celebrations in Tehran Social media footage posted March 17 shows crowds celebrating Chaharshanbe Suri in Tehran’s Chitgar district fleeing as gunshots ring out. Separate images appear to show Basij forces moving in to disperse gatherings during the fire festival. 18/03/2026
Cult How DJs and producers connect local and global sounds in this capital In partnership with Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan In Baku, artists and DJs say electronic music is being developed as a platform for cultural exchange, collaboration and youth expression, connecting local performers with international acts and audiences. 18/03/2026
East-West Connect A rising destination for medical tourism In partnership with MDQ Kazakhstan is positioning itself as Central Asia’s medical tourism hub. The country attracted about 80,000 foreign patients last year and aims to increase that to 300,000 annually. Among the attractions is Astana’s National Research Oncology Center, which hosts the region’s only proton therapy unit. 18/03/2026
Iran What Iran’s Strait of Hormuz strategy reveals about its war goals Attacks on ships in Hormuz and strikes across the region expose Tehran's strategy of gradual escalation and long war, testing US, Israeli and Gulf resolve. 18/03/2026
Iran The handful of marine choke points holding Europe's economy hostage From the Persian Gulf to the English Channel, a small number of narrow waterways carry the vast bulk of what Europeans eat, buy, and heat their homes with. When one of them is threatened the consequences ripple everywhere. 18/03/2026
Business China treads carefully on energy interests in Iran war The Iran war is disrupting global energy flows and increasing the risk of wider regional escalation, leaving major economies such as China walking a tightrope. 18/03/2026
Iran UN maritime body starts emergency talks on Middle East shipping At least 21 ships have been hit, targeted or reported attacks since the start of the conflict, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations, a naval monitor. 18/03/2026
No Comment China: Beijing AI and robotics expo highlights healthcare-focused smart robots Beijing’s International AI Application and Robotics Innovation Exhibition opened on 18 March at the China International Exhibition Center, bringing together companies, researchers and investors. 18/03/2026
The Cube Netanyahu denies death rumours in video falsely branded AI Since the US and Israel began their military campaign against Iran on 28 February, Iranian state media and pro-regime accounts have pushed fake news about the death of Netanyahu and other senior Israeli political figures. 18/03/2026
No Comment Iran: Rescuers search Tehran rubble after US-Israeli strikes kill senior figures Footage released on 18 March by the Iranian Red Crescent shows rescuers searching through rubble in the Resalat district of east Tehran after a residential building was destroyed in strikes on 17 March. 18/03/2026
Business New Almalyk Mining copper plant reaches 60m tonne capacity The facility is expected to raise daily copper concentrate output and expand processing capacity. 18/03/2026
Business Tankers still cross Strait of Hormuz as Iran controls who gets through Dozens of ships are still navigating the Strait of Hormuz as Iran keeps oil flowing, despite continued attacks aimed at one of the world’s most critical trade routes. 18/03/2026
Qatar Iran war enters dangerous phase as regime shows resilience Iran’s leadership is under pressure but the system is built to endure, says Middle East expert Professor Mehran Kamrava, warning the conflict could become a long and grinding war. 18/03/2026
Iran Iran vows to retaliate as Israel continues targeting leadership Israel killed another top Iranian official in its campaign against Iran's leadership, and reportedly attacked an Iranian offshore natural gas field Wednesday amid the war's escalating pressure on the region’s economic lifeblood: energy. 18/03/2026
No Comment Israel: Iranian missile strike near Tel Aviv kills elderly couple in Ramat Gan An Iranian missile struck a residential building in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, early on Wednesday 18 March, killing two people, according to Magen David Adom. 18/03/2026
No Comment Lebanon: Israeli airstrike flattens Beirut apartment block, killing at least six An Israeli airstrike destroyed an apartment building in the Bachoura district of Beirut early on Wednesday, killing at least six people, according to Lebanese authorities. 18/03/2026
Tech News The cyberattacks that are reshaping the Iran war State-linked and hacktivist groups have claimed a series of cyberattacks against the United States and Israel since the war with Iran began. 18/03/2026
Business Piety at home, property abroad: What are Mojtaba Khamenei's assets? Official sanctions records, corporate filings and land registry documents point to a vast financial network possibly tied to Iran's new supreme leader. 18/03/2026
Iran Iran launches new barrages targeting central Israel and wider region Iran fired advanced missiles at central Israel in the early hours of Wednesday, killing two people, as it looks to avenge the killing of two of its top security officials. Several countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iraq have also reported new attacks from Tehran. 18/03/2026
Business Line Skills development and job creation efforts expand In partnership with Center for the Production of Content for Mass Media under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Uzbekistan is overhauling its labour market to better match skills with employer demand, expand vocational pathways and support enterprise growth, as demographic pressures raise the stakes for productivity, job creation and long-term economic expansion. 17/03/2026
No Comment Lebanon: Beirut’s southern suburbs bombarded by Israeli strikes New Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, flattening buildings and deepening fears of wider war as Israel–Hezbollah clashes intensify. 17/03/2026