https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/rss/322264/feed The latest news, politics and current affairs from the Middle East. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg Reuters Reuters Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil on Monday asked the US Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that opened the door for US President Donald Trump’s administration to rearrest and deport the Palestinian activist. Khalil’s lawyers asked the justices to take up his case after the Philadelphia-based 3rd US Circuit ‌Court of Appeals ruled that federal immigration law barred a lower-court judge from ordering his release from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. Khalil was among... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3371429/palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil-asks-us-supreme-court-review-deportation-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3371429/palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil-asks-us-supreme-court-review-deportation-case?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Oct 2026 20:52:34 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Saudi Arabia has executed two Bangladeshi nationals, a man and a woman, after they were convicted of committing “indecent acts” in a mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca. Bangladesh said it was not informed before the sentences were carried out and has sought information from Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Interior Ministry said the Bangladeshis were executed because of “the gravity and seriousness of their actions in violating the sanctity of both time and place”. It did not elaborate. https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3371424/saudi-arabia-executes-2-bangladeshis-over-indecent-acts-holy-city-mecca?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3371424/saudi-arabia-executes-2-bangladeshis-over-indecent-acts-holy-city-mecca?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Oct 2026 19:13:26 +0000 Reuters Reuters Fifty-three people ⁠were killed and 200 were ⁠injured in an attack ⁠on Monday by the Iran-aligned Houthis on a government security forces training camp in Yemen’s Shabwa province, according to the local authority, as fighting in the impoverished country intensifies. Video verified by Reuters from Shabwa province ‌showed injured people and bloodied bodies scattered across the ground. The Houthis and the internationally recognised government, which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition, have been... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3371416/houthi-attack-kills-53-yemen-government-training-camp?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3371416/houthi-attack-kills-53-yemen-government-training-camp?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Oct 2026 15:19:26 +0000 Cliff Buddle Cliff Buddle Irish writer Sally Rooney is a publishing sensation, often described as the “voice of a generation” and the first great millennial novelist. More than six million copies of her books have been sold globally since her debut novel in 2017. But now, these beautifully written literary bestsellers, with their youthful exploration of romance and relationships, class and technology, are being withdrawn from sale in the United Kingdom. The generation of royalties for Rooney from the book sales, the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371199/palestine-action-sally-rooneys-books-and-absurd-fallout-uk-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371199/palestine-action-sally-rooneys-books-and-absurd-fallout-uk-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:30:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters A bomb threat forced an Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna to divert to Sofia late on Sunday, but searches found no danger and the aircraft was cleared to resume its journey overnight, the airline and Bulgaria’s BTA news agency said. BTA reported that the crew declared an emergency as the aircraft approached the Romanian border, prompting the Bulgarian Air Force to scramble MiG-29 fighter jets. Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the threat was called in by an Austrian national... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3371337/bomb-threat-forces-austrian-airlines-flight-tel-aviv-divert-bulgaria?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3371337/bomb-threat-forces-austrian-airlines-flight-tel-aviv-divert-bulgaria?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Oct 2026 02:12:37 +0000 Shouqing Zhu Shouqing Zhu The war in the Middle East has disrupted oil and gas supplies, leaving governments to confront energy pressures as they prepare for next month’s Cop31 UN climate conference in Antalya, Turkey. The crisis raises an enduring question: how can climate action strengthen the resilience of an economy? China offers a useful case. Its factories supply technologically advanced products essential to the green transition at competitive prices. China has production cost advantages in electric cars,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3371034/how-china-made-climate-resilience-part-its-economic-growth-strategy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3371034/how-china-made-climate-resilience-part-its-economic-growth-strategy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Oct 2026 21:30:06 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump on Sunday endorsed his ally Benjamin Netanyahu as the long-time Israeli prime minister struggles for an edge in next week’s parliamentary election. Trump praised Netanyahu as a “great warrior prime minister” and peace partner, crediting him with joining the United States in launching strikes on Iran in February. The conflict, in its seventh month, has disrupted energy markets globally and wreaked havoc across the Middle East, damaging critical infrastructure and... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3371326/trump-endorses-ally-netanyahu-israeli-election-praising-great-warrior-prime-minister?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3371326/trump-endorses-ally-netanyahu-israeli-election-praising-great-warrior-prime-minister?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Oct 2026 17:04:13 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Riyadh’s Kingdom Centre skyscraper ordered remote working for office tenants on Sunday following repeated Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, as the Saudi-led coalition said two pilots were killed in a crash near the Yemen border. The imposing, 99-storey landmark announced “mandatory” remote working until further notice. No reason was given for the order, but it comes a week after 13 people were killed in a major Houthi attack on Riyadh’s international airport. The Saudi coalition’s decade-plus war... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3371307/saudi-closes-riyadh-skyscraper-chopper-pilots-killed-near-yemen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3371307/saudi-closes-riyadh-skyscraper-chopper-pilots-killed-near-yemen?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Oct 2026 11:22:38 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israeli settlers attacked a convoy of European diplomats in the West Bank and beat up a visiting French mayor on Saturday, witnesses said, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned against a brewing “crisis” in the territory a day after an American photojournalist was injured in a brutal attack. The 78-year-old mayor said masked settlers yelled defamatory comments about France, kicked him and hit him with iron bars as he joined Palestinian olive farmers in the West Bank alongside the top... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3371275/israeli-settlers-attack-european-diplomats-beat-french-mayor-west-bank?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3371275/israeli-settlers-attack-european-diplomats-beat-french-mayor-west-bank?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Oct 2026 18:33:59 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Houthis launched a deadly missile attack Thursday on the presidential palace in the Yemeni government’s interim capital of Aden, as Saudi Arabia blamed Iran for the recent dramatic escalation in the long-running war. The attack hit command centres located inside the Al-Maashiq presidential compound used by government forces and the Saudi-led military coalition that supports them, a Yemeni minister said on condition of anonymity. Saudi Arabia and the internationally recognised Yemeni... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3371065/houthis-launch-deadly-attack-presidential-palace-yemens-aden?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3371065/houthis-launch-deadly-attack-presidential-palace-yemens-aden?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Oct 2026 18:41:55 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick Trade between Brazil and China reached a record US$143 billion in the first nine months of the year, driven by Brazilian oil sales that surged after the war on Iran disrupted Gulf supply, according to a report by the Brazil-China Business Council. Brazilian exports to China rose 12 per cent to US$84.7 billion between January and September, while imports from China grew 9.9 per cent to US$58.6 billion, the council said in its quarterly analysis of government data. The resulting US$26.1 billion... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/article/3371064/china-bought-half-brazils-oil-exports-iran-war-shut-hormuz-driving-sales-record?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/article/3371064/china-bought-half-brazils-oil-exports-iran-war-shut-hormuz-driving-sales-record?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Oct 2026 18:23:44 +0000 Morning Studio editors Morning Studio editors Issues affecting ageing populations worldwide will form the core of discussions for policymakers and health industry leaders gathered at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit, with a particular emphasis on how practising prediction and prevention can help ensure life is lived to its fullest. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has positioned itself as a global leader in transformative healthcare policy, and Dr Asma Al Mannaei, executive director of the health life science sector at the Department of... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/native/news/world/middle-east/topics/transforming-health-future/article/3370736/longevity-first-healthcare-takes-spotlight-abu-dhabi-future-health-summit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/native/news/world/middle-east/topics/transforming-health-future/article/3370736/longevity-first-healthcare-takes-spotlight-abu-dhabi-future-health-summit?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Oct 2026 03:00:08 +0000 Andy Xie Andy Xie Be warned. The global economy is likely to experience a recession next year. War across the Middle East is set to escalate, wrecking energy supplies for many years, even as the artificial intelligence (AI) bubble is ripe to burst. This, however, would also create an energy leadership opportunity for China. High energy prices already fuel demand for Chinese renewable energy products and electric vehicles. But as a leader in building coal-fired power plants, China can also offer the global market... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3370367/can-chinas-coal-industry-ride-rescue-world-oil-shock?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3370367/can-chinas-coal-industry-ride-rescue-world-oil-shock?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Oct 2026 21:30:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Yemeni government has spoken with Beijing about the Houthis’ alleged attempts to utilise Chinese-made technology for weapons, a Yemeni minister said on Wednesday, as the two sides’ long-running civil war escalates. “The Chinese are partners and we have discussed with them about, you know, the use of dual products,” Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba said in response to an Agence France-Presse question about reports the Iran-backed group was trying to secure Chinese components to help... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370919/yemen-government-says-it-raised-houthis-alleged-use-chinese-tech-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370919/yemen-government-says-it-raised-houthis-alleged-use-chinese-tech-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Oct 2026 17:16:15 +0000 Reuters Reuters An administrative building belonging to Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco in the eastern city of Dhahran was attacked, causing a limited fire, the Energy Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday as fighting between Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthis and the kingdom intensified. Authorities responded to the incident late on Tuesday and took necessary measures, the ministry said, adding that there were no injuries or deaths. A company source told Reuters earlier that a ballistic... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370793/aramco-facility-hit-houthis-and-saudi-coalition-exchange-attacks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370793/aramco-facility-hit-houthis-and-saudi-coalition-exchange-attacks?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Oct 2026 01:33:54 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Iran is trying to hit military sites in the UK and the suspected plot to attack a US-run military airbase in September was “not unique”, the head of Britain’s MI5 spy agency said on Tuesday. Ken McCallum, who leads the UK’s domestic security service, said Tehran was seeking to intensify its attacks in Britain beyond the traditional targets of Iranians opposed to the country’s Islamic authorities. That has included arson and sabotage attacks on Jewish sites that Britain says were carried out by... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3370774/mi5-chief-warns-iran-targeting-military-sites-uk-hostile-state-threats-surge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3370774/mi5-chief-warns-iran-targeting-military-sites-uk-hostile-state-threats-surge?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Oct 2026 13:39:32 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A Houthi official has warned the US it would receive a “painful response” if it entered the war in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has reportedly requested Washington’s help in dealing with the group as it weathers repeated attacks. Yemen’s civil war - in which a Saudi-led military coalition supports the government against the Iran-backed Houthis - reignited in July, months into the wider regional conflict that has roiled energy markets and plunged the Middle East into crisis. The Houthis quickly... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370729/houthi-official-warns-us-against-entering-war-yemen-saudis-weather-attacks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370729/houthi-official-warns-us-against-entering-war-yemen-saudis-weather-attacks?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Oct 2026 09:00:25 +0000 Reuters Reuters British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday that a suspected plot targeting the RAF Fairford airbase in Britain was “highly likely” to have been coordinated in Iran, and almost certainly directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The RAF Fairford base in southwest England, which had been used by US bombers to carry out strikes on Iran, became the focal point for a major ‌security response after five British men were arrested nearby in the early hours of September 27 on... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3370646/uk-pm-burnham-says-irans-irgc-highly-likely-have-been-behind-raf-fairford-incident?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3370646/uk-pm-burnham-says-irans-irgc-highly-likely-have-been-behind-raf-fairford-incident?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2026 17:56:23 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse An Israeli teenager was killed and more than 20 other people injured Monday by a suspected leftover Hezbollah bomb as they hiked near the Lebanese border, officials said. The Israeli military, which dispatched helicopters to the scene, said an initial review showed the explosion was likely caused by an unexploded munition from Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The explosive, which was likely a cluster bomb from a round of fighting three years ago, went off in the hands of a pupil who picked it... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370639/israel-pupil-15-killed-over-20-hurt-after-suspected-leftover-bomb-detonates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370639/israel-pupil-15-killed-over-20-hurt-after-suspected-leftover-bomb-detonates?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2026 15:41:38 +0000 Cliff Buddle Cliff Buddle The visit by star-studded Manchester City, the most successful English football team of recent times, was a highlight of Hong Kong’s football festival this summer. Supporters, sporting the club’s colours, flocked to Kai Tak Stadium, turning it into a sea of blue. Now, the club has plumbed the depths, found guilty by an independent tribunal of systematic breaches of the English Premier League’s financial rules over almost a decade. The affair has, with justification, been described as one of the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3370382/manchester-city-scandal-test-britains-commitment-rule-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3370382/manchester-city-scandal-test-britains-commitment-rule-law?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2026 12:30:07 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Saudi Arabia said it was dealing with new drone and cruise missile attacks on Monday, posing fresh security threats to the kingdom following the weekend’s deadly strikes on Riyadh airport. “We have detected and are monitoring a threat involving drones and cruise missiles against the kingdom and the threat is being dealt with,” the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. It cited Defence Ministry spokesman Turki al-Maliki on behalf of a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed Houthis. The... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370628/saudi-arabia-faces-more-drone-missile-attacks-after-houthis-fatal-airport-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370628/saudi-arabia-faces-more-drone-missile-attacks-after-houthis-fatal-airport-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2026 12:23:03 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain When Liverpool fans greeted Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday with jeers and banners demanding the Abu Dhabi-owned football club be relegated, they took aim at what critics have long dubbed “sportswashing” – the practice of using high-profile sports investments to launder a tarnished international reputation. Focusing solely on public relations, however, obscures a much deeper network of high-stakes diplomacy and geopolitical economics between London and Abu Dhabi. The reality behind the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3370627/inconvenient-truth-man-city-case-spotlights-realities-uk-uae-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3370627/inconvenient-truth-man-city-case-spotlights-realities-uk-uae-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2026 12:20:44 +0000 Emma Ma Emma Ma Global diesel prices remain near record highs as Gulf producers struggle to restore refined-fuel exports, despite a recovery in crude shipments and pledges by more countries to release reserves. Net diesel exports from Gulf countries averaged 390,000 barrels per day in August, just over a quarter of their levels before the US-Israel war on Iran, according to the latest available data by the International Energy Agency (IEA) published in September. One obstacle to recovery is that Persian Gulf... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/global-economy/article/3370606/global-diesel-shortage-why-gulf-refined-fuel-exports-lag-crude-oil-shipments?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/global-economy/article/3370606/global-diesel-shortage-why-gulf-refined-fuel-exports-lag-crude-oil-shipments?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2026 11:00:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse At least 139 migrants died, including 15 children, and 84 went missing when an overcrowded boat sank while heading from Djibouti to Yemen, a UN agency said on Sunday. The vessel was carrying 305 people, most of them Ethiopian, when it capsized north of the Djibouti town of Obock on the night of October 8-9, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement. “Survivors told me that the boat started to sink backwards as soon as they got in it,” Alexandre Coissac, IOM chief of... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370522/least-139-migrants-dead-dozens-missing-after-boat-capsizes-djibouti?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370522/least-139-migrants-dead-dozens-missing-after-boat-capsizes-djibouti?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2026 01:05:42 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A fresh Houthi strike hit Riyadh’s international airport on Sunday, killing one person and wounding 11 others, a day after another deadly attack claimed by the Yemeni group forced authorities to suspend operations there. Saturday’s attack, the deadliest on Saudi soil in more than a decade, was a sharp escalation in the Yemen war, where Riyadh has long militarily supported the internationally recognised government against the Houthis. The Iran-backed group on Sunday claimed multiple attacks over... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370513/riyadh-airport-hit-fresh-houthi-strike-day-after-deadly-attack-killed-12?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370513/riyadh-airport-hit-fresh-houthi-strike-day-after-deadly-attack-killed-12?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Oct 2026 17:52:46 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Eleven people were killed and 27 injured in western Turkey on Sunday when a coach turned over after colliding with a truck, authorities said. The coach crashed near the entry to a motorway between the city of Bursa and the seaside city of Izmir, the governor’s office of the local Manisa district said on social media, stating the death toll. Emergency services rushed to the scene, Turkey’s Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said. “We are closely following the situation, in coordination with all the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3370511/11-dead-27-injured-after-coach-crashes-lorry-western-turkey-officials-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3370511/11-dead-27-injured-after-coach-crashes-lorry-western-turkey-officials-say?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Oct 2026 16:54:09 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain When 60,000 football fans gathered in Jeddah for the Arabian Gulf Cup on Tuesday, they inadvertently highlighted the vulnerability of major sports events hosted by Gulf monarchies to the wars raging across the region. The previous day, Saudi Arabia resumed strikes on Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi rebels after a four-year ceasefire collapsed. That truce had originally followed a Houthi attack on an oil facility near Jeddah’s Formula One track during a practice session. While the two-week football... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3370430/can-saudi-arabias-2034-fifa-world-cup-survive-middle-easts-escalating-wars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3370430/can-saudi-arabias-2034-fifa-world-cup-survive-middle-easts-escalating-wars?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Oct 2026 08:00:13 +0000 Reuters Reuters Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday postponed legislative elections due next month until September 11, 2027, and called a presidential poll for the same date, blaming Israel and ‌the security situation in the Palestinian territories for the delay. Abbas’ decree cited “obstacles posed by Israeli measures” and the need to establish suitable political, security and on-the-ground conditions for “free, fair and inclusive elections”, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. The... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370455/palestinian-leader-abbas-postpones-elections-september-2027?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370455/palestinian-leader-abbas-postpones-elections-september-2027?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Oct 2026 15:09:00 +0000 Reuters Reuters At least 12 people were killed and more than 300 wounded in an attack on Riyadh’s international airport on Saturday, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade, as the Iran-backed Houthis escalate a campaign they launched this summer. The dead from the third attack this week on the airport included four Saudis, two people from Bangladesh and one person each from the US, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt, ‌the Saudi civil aviation authority said. At the latest count, 309 were... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370454/loud-blast-heard-riyadh-airport-airlines-cancel-more-flights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370454/loud-blast-heard-riyadh-airport-airlines-cancel-more-flights?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Oct 2026 14:19:25 +0000 Reuters Reuters An Omani Flydubai co-pilot had intended to seize a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight and crash it into a terminal at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on September 30 in a suicide attack before he ‌was thwarted by the captain, the UAE attorney general said on Friday. Attorney General Hamad Saif al Shamsi’s statement did not appear to implicate Flydubai in any wrongdoing and contained the most detailed account yet from prosecutors about what they believe to have happened. Flydubai was not immediately available for... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370407/omani-flydubai-co-pilot-planned-crash-plane-israeli-airport-uae-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370407/omani-flydubai-co-pilot-planned-crash-plane-israeli-airport-uae-says?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Oct 2026 17:01:59 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Saudi Arabia said on Friday that three people were killed including a pilot, in attacks on Riyadh’s international airport, after Yemen’s Houthis claimed a series of attacks targeting the facility. The conflict between the Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government has widened, with the Iran-backed fighters repeatedly attacking Saudi targets since they began a lightning offensive just across the border. While seizing large swathes of territory along the Red Sea coast in Yemen, the Houthis have... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370366/saudi-arabia-says-3-killed-riyadh-airport-yemen-war-expands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370366/saudi-arabia-says-3-killed-riyadh-airport-yemen-war-expands?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Oct 2026 10:08:47 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Thousands of emotional reunions unfolded Thursday as the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose lengthy deployment in the Gulf supporting President Donald Trump’s war on Iran sparked fears for its crew’s welfare, arrived back in its home port. Families of servicemen and women had lined the quayside in San Diego, California, for hours, waiting to welcome loved ones they have not seen for almost a year. There were tears of joy as more than 100 new dads met their babies for the first time, or fathers were... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3370240/long-deployed-uss-abraham-lincoln-returns-home-san-diego-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3370240/long-deployed-uss-abraham-lincoln-returns-home-san-diego-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Oct 2026 19:21:32 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg US President Donald Trump said in a social media post that the US would “not be attacking Iran” before November’s midterm elections, citing what he said were “productive discussions” with the Islamic Republic. The president’s comments on Thursday amounted to an unusual blending of national security issues and domestic politics. His decision to lay off on new strikes comes despite Iran escalating attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran-backed militants in Yemen attacking energy... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3370235/trump-says-us-will-not-attack-iran-novembers-midterm-elections?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3370235/trump-says-us-will-not-attack-iran-novembers-midterm-elections?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:39:11 +0000 Asad Ullah Asad Ullah Two summits in five months between US President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping have produced shared language but not an open Strait of Hormuz. After the May meeting in Beijing, there was little sign the two sides agreed on how to end the war. Xi’s visit to Washington yielded no breakthrough on Iran, though Xi backed a return to the interim US-Iran agreement. Last week, Trump rejected a truce proposal from Iran and said he was considering resuming US bombing of Iran after the midterm... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3369792/its-time-china-offer-more-statements-hormuz?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3369792/its-time-china-offer-more-statements-hormuz?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Oct 2026 12:30:06 +0000 Reuters Reuters Britain and Israel announced on Thursday that the nearly 200-year-old British diplomatic mission in Jerusalem would stay open at a smaller scale and with a new name, in a compromise after Israel ordered the consulate shut in a sanctions dispute. Under the last-minute agreement, Britain will rename the consulate, founded in 1839, as the “UK Mission” in the city. Israel said 20 British diplomats including the ‌consul general would depart, leaving just seven working at the mission in a limited... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370163/britain-downscales-and-renames-jerusalem-consulate-after-israel-orders-closure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370163/britain-downscales-and-renames-jerusalem-consulate-after-israel-orders-closure?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Oct 2026 07:27:19 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Saudi authorities said Wednesday three people were killed in attacks on two of the kingdom’s international airports, including in the capital Riyadh, after Yemen’s Houthis claimed to have fired on both transport hubs. The Iran-backed Houthis have claimed a wave of attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure in recent weeks, which came as Riyadh-backed forces pressed a counteroffensive against the group’s territorial gains. Since Yemen’s civil war reignited in July, more than 200,000 people have... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370112/houthi-strikes-saudi-airports-leave-3-dead-dozens-wounded?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370112/houthi-strikes-saudi-airports-leave-3-dead-dozens-wounded?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Oct 2026 01:54:42 +0000 Aldo Giovannitti Aldo Giovannitti For decades, the Gulf superhubs of Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi performed an improbable trick. They redirected millions of people travelling between the West and Asia to connect through their airports. Last year, the three airports handled about 182 million passengers, three times the traffic at Hong Kong airport. Dubai alone handled 95.2 million, the highest ever recorded by an airport. The Gulf’s hub-and-spoke model – funnelling passengers through a central airport to multiple destinations –... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3369927/can-gulf-aviation-superhub-model-survive-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3369927/can-gulf-aviation-superhub-model-survive-war?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Oct 2026 21:30:05 +0000 Reuters Reuters ⁠Yemen’s Houthis attacked Aden’s international airport with ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones on Wednesday, the country’s transport ministry said, as fighting between the Iran-aligned group and Saudi-backed government forces intensified. Fighting has been focused in recent days on areas around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a shipping route that has become more crucial for energy exports since the conflict between the US and Iran restricted trade through the Strait of Hormuz. This week,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370080/yemens-houthis-attack-aden-airport-fighting-intensifies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370080/yemens-houthis-attack-aden-airport-fighting-intensifies?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Oct 2026 12:20:05 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press It’s perhaps the most dramatic wound inflicted on the Gaza Strip by Israel’s military campaign over the past three years: the city of Rafah, once home to a quarter million people, has been erased. Satellite imagery shows the Israeli military has systematically razed the southern city and other towns and districts to the ground and in some places ploughed away the rubble. Demolition, using bulldozers and explosives, has continued unabated since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal reached a year ago,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370017/israel-continues-demolishing-buildings-gaza-year-after-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3370017/israel-continues-demolishing-buildings-gaza-year-after-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Oct 2026 08:11:19 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israel marked the third anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Wednesday with silent tributes, new strikes on Gaza and intense political debate, weeks before elections in which the country’s deadliest day will be front and centre. At the site of the Nova music festival, where Hamas militants in trucks and paragliders opened fire around dawn on October 7, 2023, family members bowed their heads in silence – although at least one instead put on techno music in tribute to the dead. Both at Nova... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369994/israel-marks-3-years-october-7-attack-sparked-war-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369994/israel-marks-3-years-october-7-attack-sparked-war-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Oct 2026 05:39:41 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Iran and Saudi Arabia are edging dangerously closer to direct conflict, analysts warn, after Riyadh resumed major air strikes on Yemen’s Tehran-allied Houthi rebels this week, ending a four-year lull. More than 100 Saudi warplanes bombed rebel positions on Monday, enabling Yemeni government forces to retake much of the Red Sea coastal territory the Houthis seized last month. The Houthis had been aided by embedded Iranian military advisers. Analysts expect the Houthis to retaliate by intensifying... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3369933/saudi-iran-war-risk-grows-riyadh-resumes-yemen-bombing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3369933/saudi-iran-war-risk-grows-riyadh-resumes-yemen-bombing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Oct 2026 11:30:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed there would be no Hamas rule in Gaza as he attended a memorial event marking three years since the militant group’s October 7, 2023 attack. Monday is a national day of remembrance for the deadliest day in Israel’s history, with flags lowered to half mast on public buildings from 6.29am, the time the attack began. Speaking during a state ceremony at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said “we have achieved enormous... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369831/there-will-be-no-hamas-rule-gaza-netanyahu-vows-october-7-memorial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369831/there-will-be-no-hamas-rule-gaza-netanyahu-vows-october-7-memorial?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Oct 2026 15:05:32 +0000 Reuters Reuters Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces staged a lightning advance on Monday to retake the coast around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait up to the city of Mocha, the government said, pushing the Iran-backed Houthis out of most of the areas they seized last month. In response, the Houthis said they had attacked key locations in Saudi Arabia including the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, an Aramco refinery in Rabigh, the Abha international airport and the Khamis Mushait military base. The claims... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369825/yemeni-government-forces-seize-control-bab-el-mandeb-strait-minister-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369825/yemeni-government-forces-seize-control-bab-el-mandeb-strait-minister-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Oct 2026 13:23:24 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a security review of international flights to Israel on Sunday, after an attempt by an Omani co-pilot to crash an Israel-bound plane from Dubai. Netanyahu “has instructed the head of the National Security Council, Shmuel Ben Ezra, to appoint an examiner to conduct a thorough review of all security aspects of foreign civil aviation to Israel”, a statement from the premier’s office said. Calls have mounted in Israel for an investigation into the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369732/netanyahu-orders-security-review-international-flights-israel-after-flydubai-attack?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369732/netanyahu-orders-security-review-international-flights-israel-after-flydubai-attack?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Oct 2026 20:09:25 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Iran’s top diplomat insisted on Sunday that there would be no military solution to the United States’ war against the Islamic republic, 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 dialled back military operations in favour of economic pressure. The main point of contention remains Iran’s attempt to blockade the Strait of... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369731/iran-tells-us-there-no-military-solution-middle-east-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369731/iran-tells-us-there-no-military-solution-middle-east-war?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Oct 2026 19:44:29 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The UK’s left-wing Green party voted Sunday to define Zionism as racism at the party’s annual conference, drawing sharp backlash from three British Jewish groups, the ruling Labour Party and Israel’s government. Members of the Green Party, which has five MPs in Britain’s 650-seat parliament and which enjoyed a boost in recent local and special elections, backed the motion at the party’s conference, with 1,022 votes in favour and 813 against. Israel’s foreign ministry, declaring the resolution “a... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3369725/uk-green-party-adopts-zionism-racism-policy-drawing-backlash-israel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3369725/uk-green-party-adopts-zionism-racism-policy-drawing-backlash-israel?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Oct 2026 16:26:47 +0000 Wang Xiangwei Wang Xiangwei For American and Chinese people interested in the outcome of the latest summit between China’s President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, their conclusions could not be more different if they turn to the media and pundits for guidance. Chinese state media spared no superlative, echoing the official description of the summit as: forging the right way for the major powers to get along and writing a new chapter in ties. It played up the fact that Trump gave Xi the highest-level reception... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3369358/how-g2-effect-trump-xi-summit-reverberating-through-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3369358/how-g2-effect-trump-xi-summit-reverberating-through-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:30:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Huge billboards on the walls of Tehran mocking US President Donald Trump and depicting American drones under the boot of an Iranian soldier are providing a chronicle of Iran’s war with the United States and Israel. Khaneh-ye Tarrahan, or Designers’ House, produces the billboards with anti-US messaging for prominent locations in Tehran where they are seen daily by large crowds of passers-by, including the city’s famed Valiasr Square. The team created a towering portrayal of Trump’s lips sewn and... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369685/trump-burger-hormuz-meet-iranian-team-behind-billboard-war-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369685/trump-burger-hormuz-meet-iranian-team-behind-billboard-war-us?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Oct 2026 05:35:04 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Yemen’s Houthis claimed an attack on an oil facility near the Saudi capital on Saturday, where flames and smoke were seen, and accused the Gulf kingdom of striking Sanaa dozens of times. The foes have traded strikes since the Houthis seized all of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and took control of the Bab al-Mandab strait in a lightning offensive last month. Houthi-affiliated channel Al-Masirah TV reported that “Saudi enemy aircraft” hit Sanaa with 26 strikes, after earlier reporting “Saudi aggression”... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369667/flames-smoke-seen-aramco-facility-south-saudi-capital?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369667/flames-smoke-seen-aramco-facility-south-saudi-capital?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Oct 2026 13:57:44 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Pakistani troops are expected to take over various defensive functions for Saudi Arabia to enable the Middle East country to fight an all-out war aimed at defeating Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. According to defence analysts, Pakistani troops are not expected to participate directly in ground offensives against the Houthis being planned by Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s squabbling government factions. Instead, their primary objective would be to free up Saudi forces to focus on what is likely to... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3369645/saudi-arabia-steps-war-against-yemens-houthis-pakistan-set-play-support-role?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3369645/saudi-arabia-steps-war-against-yemens-houthis-pakistan-set-play-support-role?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Oct 2026 08:00:14 +0000