Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Bishkek during the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit. The August 31 meeting covered political ties, trade, defence, energy, space, mobility and contacts between people. Modi and Putin also discussed regional conflicts and cooperation through major multilateral forums. The talks marked their first in-person meeting of 2026 and continued a series of high-level exchanges between India and Russia.
Business
Semiconductor exports, the primary driver of national trade performance, soared 209% year-on-year to an all-time high of $46.65 billion. Growth in chip shipments was fueled by sustained capital expenditure programs among major global technology operators expanding data center networks and enterprise AI hardware deployments. The performance marks the third consecutive month in which semiconductor export volumes exceeded the $40 billion threshold. Additional information distributed by the Yonhap News Agency highlighted that computer product exports expanded 419.5% to $6.24 billion amid elevated global NAND memory pricing.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation put real gross domestic product at ₹81.36 lakh crore for the quarter. That compared with ₹75.46 lakh crore in the same period a year earlier. Nominal GDP reached ₹88.27 lakh crore, up 10.3% from ₹80 lakh crore. Real gross value added, another measure of economic activity, increased 8.2% to ₹73.82 lakh crore. Nominal GVA rose 11.5% to ₹80.53 lakh crore.
Japanese stocks came under sharp pressure Monday as the Nikkei 225 dropped nearly 2% in early trading. The benchmark fell 1.97% to 65,096.63 and later touched an intraday low of 64,832.10. Technology shares led much of the decline as investors reacted to higher bond yields and tighter interest rate expectations. The broader Topix also weakened early, falling 0.84% to 4,111.71. Japanese government bond yields rose at the same time, adding pressure to rate sensitive parts of the equity market.
The agreement brings the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming together with the Ministry of Youth and Sports on business licensing. It also covers investment promotion and services for companies operating in sports-related fields. The ministries will coordinate through Indonesia’s Online Single Submission system, known as OSS. Their cooperation also includes compliance monitoring, regulatory coordination and data sharing. The framework applies to investment development across Indonesia’s sports sector rather than establishing a US$521 billion domestic industry target.
Oil prices recovered modestly on Tuesday after Brent crude and WTI fell more than 2% in the previous session. Brent futures rose 27 cents, or 0.3%, to $92.44 a barrel by 0330 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 37 cents, or 0.4%, to $85.38. The rebound followed Monday’s sharp pullback, which ended six consecutive sessions of gains across the two benchmark crude contracts.
Alibaba Group has priced an HK$80 billion share placement to fund artificial intelligence investment and expand its AI infrastructure. The Chinese technology group will issue 710 million new ordinary shares at HK$112.70 each, worth about US$10.2 billion. Alibaba expects the transaction to close on Aug. 26, with 100% of the net proceeds directed toward full-stack AI capabilities, including expansion and upgrades across its artificial intelligence infrastructure. The placement targets non-U.S. investors outside the United States through offshore transactions.
Travel
On Mondays and Saturdays, flight G9 0628 will leave Sharjah at 4 p.m. and arrive in Gdansk at 8 p.m. The return flight, G9 0629, will depart Gdansk at 8:50 p.m. It will reach Sharjah at 6:10 a.m. the following day. On Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, Sharjah departures are scheduled for 8:15 a.m. Return flights will leave Gdansk at 1:05 p.m. and arrive in Sharjah at 10:25 p.m. All published times are local.
Messi said he reached the decision after extensive consideration following Argentina’s 2026 World Cup final against Spain. He wrote his retirement message on July 21, two days after the final in New Jersey. Messi later said the death of his father, Jorge Messi, in August reinforced his decision to publish the message. He described leaving the national team as painful while stressing the pride he felt representing Argentina. Messi also thanked teammates, coaches, family members and supporters who accompanied him throughout his international career.