Tuesday, October 13, 2026Jumada I 2, 1448 AH

العربية
جديدًاJadidan

The news, anew

Asharq Al-Awsat English

Business

Saudi Arabia Announces Results of Natural Gas Distribution Licensing Competition in Al-Kharj

The Ministry of Energy today announced the results of a competition for a license to establish, own, and operate a natural gas distribution network in the industrial city of Al-Kharj in central Saudi Arabia. The ministry had previously invited interested investors to participate in the competition to obtain the license and completed the procedures for qualifying bidders, launching the competition, and evaluating the bids.

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News

Iran Tells US There is No Military Solution to Mideast War

Iran's top diplomat insisted on Sunday that there would be no military solution to the United States' war against Iran, with talks on ending the conflict apparently at an impasse. A campaign of heavy bombardment failed to bring a decisive close to the war launched by the US and Israel in late February, and Washington in recent weeks has dialed back military operations in favor of economic pressure.

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Sports

Marquez Wins Japanese GP to Cut Martin's Lead

Ducati's Marc Marquez won his fourth Japanese Grand Prix to complete a sprint-race double at the Motegi Circuit on Sunday and cut title rival Jorge Martin's championship lead to two points. After several riders experienced extreme degradation of their soft rear tires during Saturday's sprint, the entire grid opted for hard rear tires and the first few laps of the race were a cagey affair. Polesitter Martin managed to hold on to his advantage off the line and appeared comfortable in the opening eight laps as Marquez waited ⁠for the perfect ⁠moment to pounce.

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Sports

Sabalenka Knocked Out of China Open in Straight Sets by Nikola Bartunkova

Second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka was bundled out in the third round of the China Open in straight sets by the Czech Republic's Nikola Bartunkova on Sunday. The No. 34-ranked Bartunkova defeated the four-time Grand Slam champion 6-4, 6-3 in just over an hour and a half leaving the tournament without its two top seeds in the first week. Newly-crowned world No. 1 Elena Rybakina was ousted from the tournament on Saturday and will now be joined by Sabalenka in exiting WTA-1000 event in Beijing early.

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Business

From Absorbing the Shock to Recovery: How Is Saudi Arabia Building a More Resilient Economy?

Economic strength is no longer measured solely by GDP growth rates, the size of foreign reserves, or the ability to attract investment during prosperous times. In a world increasingly exposed to successive shocks, ranging from wars and disruptions in energy and trade to pandemics and financial market crises, another equally important standard has emerged: an economy’s ability to withstand changing circumstances, continue functioning during a crisis, and subsequently recover and adapt.

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Lifestyle

Could Alien Life Exist on One of Saturn’s Moons?

Aliens could live on a moon in our solar system, scientists have announced. Researchers have long been particularly excited about the possibility of life on Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons. It not only is one of few places in our celestial neighborhood to have conditions that could provide a home for aliens, but also shoots out jets that mean that it could be easier for future spacecraft to examine.

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Culture

Baghdad Secures Limited US Approval for Iranian Flights

Under pressure from armed factions, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government secured US approval for Iranian airlines, excluding Mahan Air, to operate 40 daily flights to and from Najaf airport, drawing praise from Iran-aligned figures and groups in Iraq. The US Treasury Department issued a tightly restricted, one-month license last Tuesday, allowing Iraqi Airways to fly to Iran exclusively from Najaf airport.

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News

‘Between the Lines’: Lebanon’s Constitution Under the Microscope at 100

Lebanon’s Culture Ministry is putting the constitution under the microscope on its centenary, urging citizens, especially young people, to examine their rights and the gap between the text and a century of political practice. The aim is to help Lebanese people read between the lines to understand “their constitutional rights and the political system it established,” Culture Minister Ghassan Salame told Asharq Al-Awsat.

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News

Thousands of Young Sailors Adjust to Iran War Aboard USS George Washington

An emergency alert blares from a loudspeaker, and Damon Dennard and other sailors on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington are scrambling. Dennard, 23, is readying bombs for loading onto aircraft as his crewmates race to their positions. “It has been eventful,” said Dennard, an aviation ordnanceman airman apprentice. Once the alert ends, he takes a breath, sits on one of the bombs and jokes that he probably expected an easier deployment. “It’s crazy, but at the end of the day, it’s work. That’s all.”

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News

US Coast Guard Finds Debris from Medical Plane Carrying 6 People

The US Coast Guard said on Saturday it found debris from a medical transport plane that went missing while flying from Bermuda to Boston, with the six people on board still unaccounted for. The Federal Aviation Administration told the Coast Guard in the early hours of Saturday that it had lost contact with a Gulfstream G100 with the tail number C-GRJP, the Coast Guard said in a news release. "Coast Guard search crews located a debris field that has been confirmed to be associated with the missing aircraft," it said.

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News

Trump Mulling to Resume Major Combat Operations in Iran

With negotiations stalled, US President Donald Trump is considering resuming major combat operations in Iran. Trump's top cabinet members met secretly at the presidential retreat at Camp David ⁠to discuss next ⁠steps in the Iran war, Axios reported on Friday. Vice President JD Vance chaired the meeting, the news ⁠outlet reported, ⁠citing people familiar with the matter. "Things were decided or at least deeply discussed," one of the officials said, referring to the crisis in the Middle East. The White House declined to comment.

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News

Israel Targets Top Hamas Leader in Deadly Gaza Strike on Anniversary

Israel said on Saturday that it attempted to kill Hamas's top leader in the Gaza Strip in an airstrike on an apartment that local officials said killed five people, four of them women. The pre-dawn strike came on the anniversary according to the Jewish calendar of the October 7, 2023 attack, the deadliest-ever day for Israel which retaliated with a devastating offensive in Gaza. The Israeli military said it aimed to kill Ali al-Amoudi, describing him as the "right-hand man" of slain Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar and saying he was involved in planning the October 7 attack.

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News

North Korea Says It Conducted Intermediate-Range Strategic Missile Drill

North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile in a test overseen by leader Kim Jong Un, state media KCNA reported on Sunday. KCNA said the missile was launched on Saturday from eastern North Korea and hit a target 1,000 km (621 miles) in the sea off the country's east coast. It said the drill was intended to train troops operating a hypersonic strategic weapon system and to assess ⁠the reliability, efficiency ⁠and mobility of the country's war deterrent.

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Sports

Qatar and Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix to Go Ahead, Says F1 Boss

The final races of the Formula One season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi will go ahead as planned despite tensions in the Middle East, the sport's CEO Stefano Domenicali said Saturday. "Based on the information we have, everything is confirmed for (us to stay in) Qatar and Abu Dhabi," Domenicali told French broadcaster Canal Plus on the sidelines of the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was relocated to the Sepang circuit in Malaysia this weekend.

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Politics

'National Day' Stirs Debate over Independence in Iraq

Senior officials in Iraq celebrated the National Day on October 3, which marks the country's independence from the British mandate and its entry into the League of Nations in 1932. The day has sparked debate over conflicting occasions in the official calendar. President Nizar Amidi said in a statement that “on this day in 1932, Iraq became an independent state and a member of the League of Nations,” noting that “Iraqis have remained committed to their homeland despite the wars, crises, challenges, and difficulties they have endured.”

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News

Coalition to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthi Claims about Targeting Riyadh Are Misleading

The Saudi-led Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen dismissed on Saturday as “misleading” Houthi claims that they targeted the Saudi capital Riyadh. Coalition official spokesman Major General Turki Al-Malki told Asharq Al-Awsat that “what the Houthis are facing in Taiz, and the human losses suffered by the group's members at the hands of the heroes of the Yemeni Armed Forces and the Popular Resistance on all fronts drives them to seek illusory victories.”

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Sports

Verstappen Takes His First Pole Position of the Year at F1's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

Max Verstappen qualified on pole position for the first time this year at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on a rare off day for Mercedes and Formula 1 standings leader Kimi Antonelli. Verstappen went fastest by 0.298 of a second from Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, with Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar .130 further back in third. It was an “incredible result for us looking at the season,” Verstappen said. “I felt good, felt confident and I hope we can show that again tomorrow.”

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Business

'Handful' of G20 Countries Reject US Stance on Excess Industrial Capacity

A "handful" of Group of 20 trade ministers rejected US calls to curb excess industrial capacity and "non-market" policies, the US Trade Representative's office said on Friday, exposing divisions within the group of major economies. The US, this year's G20 chair, issued the statement a day after a trade meeting in Milwaukee that revealed that only two countries — Mexico and Argentina — signed on to a US-led statement calling for more work and cooperation to eliminate goods produced with forced labor from supply chains, Reuters reported.

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