QtrendsUS Senator Lindsey Graham has died at 71 after a sudden illness. Former Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani also passed away at 74. Chinese investors are driving Africa's e-bike boom while facing overlapping US-China sanctions. Typhoon Bavi has made landfall in China, forcing nearly two million evacuations. The US and Iran have traded direct military strikes, escalating conflict across the Middle East.
US Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina died on Saturday evening at age 71 after a brief and sudden illness, his office confirmed. The Republican lawmaker served in the Senate for more than two decades and was known as one of Israel's strongest allies in Congress. Tributes poured in from both sides of the aisle. His death marks the first loss of a sitting US senator since 2020.
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar who modernized the nation and turned it into a global energy and diplomatic powerhouse, has died at age 74. He ruled from 1995 until his abdication in 2013, overseeing Qatar's rise as a major LNG exporter and establishing Al Jazeera. His death was announced by Qatar's state news agency. He is widely regarded as the architect of modern Qatar.
Chinese investors are fueling a multibillion-dollar e-bike boom across Africa, providing affordable electric mobility solutions to rapidly urbanizing markets. Meanwhile, overlapping US and China sanctions are creating complications for businesses operating on the continent. Chinese car shipments to the EU have surged but European analysts warn they may be nearing a peak, signaling potential headwinds for Chinese exports.
Typhoon Bavi has made landfall in eastern China, forcing the evacuation of nearly two million people. The storm caused widespread travel chaos across coastal provinces before weakening. Alerts were lowered further south as the typhoon moved inland. Bavi also brushed past Taiwan and battered southern Japan before reaching the Chinese mainland, leaving a trail of disruption across the region.
The United States and Iran have traded direct military strikes, with Iran attacking Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar after US bombings targeted Iranian positions. Tehran struck US sites in the region in retaliation, plunging the Middle East into a new phase of open conflict. China Daily described the region as on "shaky ground" as both sides escalate. The situation marks a dangerous escalation beyond the proxy warfare that has characterized US-Iran tensions for years.