https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/rss/325687/feed Latest news and updates on Afghanistan, China relations and the Taliban's return to power after the 20-year war with the US and allies. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The number of people facing acute food insecurity in Afghanistan is set to rise above 19 million this winter, the United Nations warned on Tuesday. The food crisis gripping Afghanistan is projected to affect millions of young children in 2027, the United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA said. More than four million babies and children under six will need treatment for acute malnutrition next year, it warned. Between September and October, 15.9 million people – or nearly one in three Afghans –... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3371551/192-million-afghans-could-soon-face-acute-food-insecurity-un https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3371551/192-million-afghans-could-soon-face-acute-food-insecurity-un Tue, 20 Oct 2026 14:14:04 +0000 Fan Chen Fan Chen In Kazakhstan’s futuristic capital Astana, car dealer Auyez Kabdygali is planning a big change to his business as he switches from importing European cars to Chinese electric vehicles. Kabdygali says there is increasing demand for Chinese EVs both from locals and Russian customers due to their competitive price and quality. His grandfather is among the converts – he has an order in for a BYD Han, the carmaker’s flagship model, and plans to collect it from a terminal on the border with China and... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3371232/beyond-evs-and-perception-how-china-gaining-ground-central-asia https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3371232/beyond-evs-and-perception-how-china-gaining-ground-central-asia Sat, 17 Oct 2026 22:00:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Pakistan’s president declared a state of emergency and suspended the provincial government of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan on Sunday, the president’s office said, following allegations it had failed to tackle Islamist militancy. The constitution allows the federal ‌government to take over some or all provincial government functions during an emergency. The provincial governor will take charge with an advisory council, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told a news conference in Islamabad,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3370508/pakistan-imposes-emergency-rule-over-ex-pm-imran-khans-provincial-government https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3370508/pakistan-imposes-emergency-rule-over-ex-pm-imran-khans-provincial-government Sun, 11 Oct 2026 13:53:51 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump’s administration imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court on Friday, hours after one of its former judges won the Nobel Peace Prize, putting Washington on a diplomatic collision course with European allies. The court denounced the move as an “assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order” and called on its 125 member states to take action to defend it. “The court cannot stand alone. Its fate now rests also in the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3370403/us-slaps-sanctions-icc-hours-after-ex-judge-wins-nobel https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3370403/us-slaps-sanctions-icc-hours-after-ex-judge-wins-nobel Fri, 09 Oct 2026 14:51:06 +0000 Reuters Reuters The US will live-stream the US Army’s coming firing squad execution of a gunman who killed 13 people at the Fort Hood military base in 2009, the Pentagon said, in what would be an unprecedented broadcast of a US execution. Nidal Hasan, a former US Army psychiatrist, is set to become the first person to be executed by firing squad by the US military since 1945. The execution is scheduled for December 3 at the same sprawling Texas base where Hasan opened fire with a laser-sighted handgun in ‌a... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3370245/us-live-stream-firing-squad-execution-military-base-shooter-nidal-hasan https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3370245/us-live-stream-firing-squad-execution-military-base-shooter-nidal-hasan Thu, 08 Oct 2026 22:05:41 +0000 Teresa Elena Frontado Teresa Elena Frontado The United States has downgraded Hong Kong to the lowest tier in its annual human trafficking report, citing shortcomings in prosecutions and victim identification, an assessment the city’s government rejected as “entirely unfounded”. The US State Department’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, released on Thursday, moved Hong Kong from the Tier 2 Watch List, where it had been listed for two consecutive years, to Tier 3. That places the city alongside mainland China and Macau among 20... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3370244/hong-kong-rejects-us-downgrade-lowest-tier-human-trafficking-report https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3370244/hong-kong-rejects-us-downgrade-lowest-tier-human-trafficking-report Thu, 08 Oct 2026 21:43:50 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist who shot dead 13 people at a military base in 2009, the Pentagon said on Monday. Hasan’s execution for the attack at Fort Hood in Texas – which also wounded more than two dozen people – will be the first carried out by the US military since 1961. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth “has recommended – and President Donald J. Trump has approved – death by U.S. Army firing squad for convicted... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3369851/trump-approves-firing-squad-execution-us-military-base-shooter-nidal-hasan https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3369851/trump-approves-firing-squad-execution-us-military-base-shooter-nidal-hasan Tue, 06 Oct 2026 02:17:38 +0000 John Brunton John Brunton Tourists visiting the Belgian city of Antwerp are usually drawn by its reputation as the cradle of Flemish culture. This was home to the Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), whose masterpieces decorate churches across the city, including St Charles Borromeo Church and the soaring Cathedral of Our Lady. Grand squares and marketplaces are lined with flamboyant Renaissance guild-houses and palatial merchants’ mansions dating back to a golden age, at the beginning of the 16th century, when... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/postmag/travel/article/3369159/antwerp-well-seasoned-melting-pot-rubens-diamonds-and-belgiums-only-chinatown https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/postmag/travel/article/3369159/antwerp-well-seasoned-melting-pot-rubens-diamonds-and-belgiums-only-chinatown Mon, 05 Oct 2026 23:30:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The International Criminal Court on Monday gave more details about arrest warrants issued last year for two Afghan education ministers accused of committing crimes against humanity through the Taliban government’s restrictions on women and girls. The warrants, for Habibullah Agha, minister of education, and Neda Mohammad Nadeem, minister of higher education, were issued on September 9, 2025 and remained under seal until Monday. The two officials are accused of gender-based persecution linked to... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3369838/icc-unseals-arrest-warrants-4-taliban-leaders-wanted-gender-persecution-charges https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3369838/icc-unseals-arrest-warrants-4-taliban-leaders-wanted-gender-persecution-charges Mon, 05 Oct 2026 19:43:42 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A march protesting against the imprisonment of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan kicked off in northwest Pakistan on Sunday after talks to avoid the demonstration stalled. Authorities have been preparing for weeks for the possible arrival of demonstrators in Islamabad, with the march planned by supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party originally slated for September 27 and then postponed until Sunday. Videos posted on PTI’s official social media showed supporters... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3369723/supporters-imran-khan-begin-long-march-islamabad https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3369723/supporters-imran-khan-begin-long-march-islamabad Sun, 04 Oct 2026 15:23:05 +0000 Reuters Reuters US forces are set ⁠to pull out from their last bases in Iraq by Wednesday, a departure celebrated as a victory by Iran and its allies who now have deep influence in the country where 4,500 Americans died during more than two decades of war. Iraqi security experts say the withdrawal – agreed in 2024 under President Joe Biden and carried out by Donald Trump’s administration even as it wages war against Iran – could give Tehran and its powerful allies free rein, while also allowing other US enemies... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369168/us-forces-set-complete-withdrawal-iraq-after-2-decades https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3369168/us-forces-set-complete-withdrawal-iraq-after-2-decades Tue, 29 Sep 2026 07:03:10 +0000 Reuters Reuters Afghanistan’s defence ministry said on Sunday its forces had killed 28 fighters and wounded 32 in the eastern province of Nuristan after a group it said included Islamic State militants travelled from Pakistan. The ministry alleged Pakistani militias ‌had supported the fighters and that most of them were former Afghan government security personnel. Pakistan’s information ministry rejected the allegations, describing them as “frivolous, baseless and devoid of any truth” in a post on social... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368972/afghanistan-says-28-dead-fighters-came-pakistan-islamabad-denies-ties https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368972/afghanistan-says-28-dead-fighters-came-pakistan-islamabad-denies-ties Sun, 27 Sep 2026 14:37:53 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a roadside police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 11 people and wounding about 30 others, officials said, in a sign of increasing violence in the region bordering Afghanistan. The attack occurred in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the provincial emergency service. Local police chief Safdar Baloch said most of those killed and wounded were... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368910/suicide-bombing-police-checkpoint-pakistan-kills-least-11 https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368910/suicide-bombing-police-checkpoint-pakistan-kills-least-11 Sat, 26 Sep 2026 13:18:29 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain For over two decades, Pakistan has waged countless counterterrorism campaigns against Taliban and Baloch insurgents in its western regions bordering Afghanistan and Iran, yet remains mired in a cycle of violence it cannot break. Scores of soldiers, policemen and civilians are killed every month in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces, where near-daily attacks on security personnel, government officials and other prominent figures are carried out by... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3368825/why-pakistans-endless-war-militants-fails-break-cycle https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3368825/why-pakistans-endless-war-militants-fails-break-cycle Sat, 26 Sep 2026 05:00:17 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump’s administration has prepared sanctions against the entire International Criminal Court (ICC) and plans to announce them soon, two sources familiar with the matter said, ‌a move that would step up its attack on the global tribunal that prosecutes war crimes and genocide worldwide. The Trump administration has made no secret of its disdain for the court and has worked to undermine it. US officials want the court to drop its arrest warrants against Israeli leaders as well... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3368180/trump-administration-prepares-sanctions-against-international-criminal-court-sources-say https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3368180/trump-administration-prepares-sanctions-against-international-criminal-court-sources-say Sun, 20 Sep 2026 22:22:25 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The death toll from an explosion and gun attack at a police headquarters in northern Pakistan rose to at least 31, including 16 police personnel, a senior police official said on Saturday, with fighting ongoing. An attacker rammed an explosives-laden car ‌into the Old Police Lines complex while gunmen stormed the compound on Friday afternoon as officers and ⁠their families were praying in a mosque. The police complex at Kohat, a town of around 220,000 people in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368092/31-dead-pakistan-after-suicide-bomber-gunmen-attack-police-complex https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368092/31-dead-pakistan-after-suicide-bomber-gunmen-attack-police-complex Sat, 19 Sep 2026 04:47:28 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Standing in the town that sheltered thousands of stranded Americans after the September 11 attacks, former Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien marked the 25th anniversary on Friday with a pointed message for the US: “Never mistake our generosity for weakness.” The 92-year-old former leader, who was prime minister at the time of the attacks, drew a standing ovation after telling his “American friends” that Canadians might be tolerant and kind but “we bow to no one”. US Ambassador to Canada Pete... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3367270/ex-canada-pm-jean-chretien-tells-us-never-mistake-our-generosity-weakness https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3367270/ex-canada-pm-jean-chretien-tells-us-never-mistake-our-generosity-weakness Fri, 11 Sep 2026 23:14:21 +0000 Reuters Reuters Twenty-five years ⁠after the deadliest attack on US soil, Americans paused on Friday to commemorate the nearly 3,000 people killed when hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania – and to wrestle with the consequences of September 11 that reverberate to this day. In New York, family members of the victims, many carrying pictures of their loved ones, joined Vice-President J.D. Vance and four former US presidents at ground zero in Lower... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3367265/americans-mark-25-years-9/11-attacks-amid-enduring-grief-reflection https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3367265/americans-mark-25-years-9/11-attacks-amid-enduring-grief-reflection Fri, 11 Sep 2026 17:06:42 +0000 Reuters Reuters Emma Bonino’s life in politics began with a crime. In 1974, at a time when abortion was illegal in Italy, ⁠she travelled to a clandestine clinic in Florence ⁠to terminate an unplanned pregnancy. “Coming back by train at night, I ⁠decided that never, never, never again should anyone have to suffer this humiliation,” she later recalled. A year later, determined to drag abortion out of the shadows, she handed herself in to police, turning her private “offence” into a public act of defiance. The... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3367210/emma-bonino-italian-politician-who-fought-abortion-rights-dies-aged-78 https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3367210/emma-bonino-italian-politician-who-fought-abortion-rights-dies-aged-78 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:30:35 +0000 SCMP SCMP This article was first published on September 12, 2001. America’s nightmare by Greg Torode in Washington President George W. Bush this morning (September 12, 2001) told the United States that thousands had lost their lives after two hijacked airliners destroyed New York’s World Trade Centre and another smashed into the Pentagon in the most brutal terrorist attacks in the nation’s history. Mr Bush, in a televised address to the nation, condemned the “despicable” attacks, saying: “These acts... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/article/3367002/25-years-ago-america-faces-darkest-hour-9/11-terror-attacks-unfold-scmp-archive https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/article/3367002/25-years-ago-america-faces-darkest-hour-9/11-terror-attacks-unfold-scmp-archive Fri, 11 Sep 2026 02:30:06 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A man refusing to eat food while jailed on charges he shot two National Guard troops near the White House, killing one of them, can be fed against his will under a judge’s emergency order. US District Judge Amit Mehta agreed on Saturday to order “non-consensual” nutrition and medical treatment for Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who was rushed to a hospital in July after he stopped eating. Mehta said Federal Bureau of Prisons medical staff can feed Lakanwal intravenously or through a medical tube to save... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3365898/judge-authorises-involuntary-feeding-jailed-suspect-deadly-national-guard-shooting https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3365898/judge-authorises-involuntary-feeding-jailed-suspect-deadly-national-guard-shooting Mon, 31 Aug 2026 20:38:01 +0000 Shi Jiangtao Shi Jiangtao As Washington’s strategic focus shifts and energy and grain supply disruptions continue to unsettle the Middle East, Beijing’s expanding presence across Central Asia is expected to be in focus as Kyrgyzstan hosts the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit this week. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s presence in Bishkek is expected to put the spotlight on whether the increasingly diverse grouping can move beyond diplomatic signalling, according to analysts. The SCO’s 25th anniversary summit... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3365768/xi-bishkek-sco-summit-how-does-bloc-fit-chinas-eurasian-strategy-25-years https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3365768/xi-bishkek-sco-summit-how-does-bloc-fit-chinas-eurasian-strategy-25-years Mon, 31 Aug 2026 04:00:13 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan has spent years casting the International Criminal Court as a pillar of the rules-based order. This week, its closest ally sanctioned the Japanese judge who leads it. The move has left Tokyo in an uncomfortable bind: defend Tomoko Akane, the Japanese president of The Hague-based court, and risk antagonising US leader Donald Trump, or temper its criticism and appear weak in the face of an attack on an institution central to Japan’s rule-of-law diplomacy. Washington’s sanctions, announced on... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3364741/japan-faces-nightmare-scenario-it-struggles-defend-icc-judge https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3364741/japan-faces-nightmare-scenario-it-struggles-defend-icc-judge Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:38 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press En Poy was minding cattle in a former Khmer Rouge stronghold in Cambodia when he set off his first landmine. The blast from the rusty relic he picked up cost him an arm and an eye. It also inspired his career with non-profit organisation Cambodian Self Help Demining, which clears landmines and unexploded ordnance across the country, deadly remnants of wars from the last century. Groups like Poy’s that rely on foreign aid are struggling as donors shift funding for humanitarian demining towards... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3364510/southeast-asias-landmine-clearers-face-closure-global-aid-shifts-new-wars https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3364510/southeast-asias-landmine-clearers-face-closure-global-aid-shifts-new-wars Wed, 19 Aug 2026 04:35:04 +0000 Reuters Reuters The United States imposed sanctions on Tuesday on the International Criminal Court’s president and a senior trial lawyer at the court, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. The move is the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign against The Hague-based court, which was established ‌in 2002 by the international community to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. The US is not a member of the court. Rubio said in a statement that he was imposing sanctions on... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3364483/us-sanctions-international-criminal-court-chief-tomoko-akane https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3364483/us-sanctions-international-criminal-court-chief-tomoko-akane Tue, 18 Aug 2026 19:48:44 +0000 Alexa Vernice Pacis Alexa Vernice Pacis Season 3 of Oscar-nominated screenwriter Taylor Sheridan’s espionage thriller, Lioness, premiered on Paramount+ on August 2. In the first week of streaming, the show hit 7.1 million views, outperforming the second season’s premiere. Lioness, starring Hollywood stars Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman, follows an undercover programme that enlists female operatives to carry out dangerous missions. Jill Wagner, also an executive producer on the show, plays Bobby, a CIA special activities... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3364416/meet-jill-wagner-who-plays-bobby-taylor-sheridans-lioness https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3364416/meet-jill-wagner-who-plays-bobby-taylor-sheridans-lioness Tue, 18 Aug 2026 10:17:53 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse More than 700 trucks carrying international humanitarian aid arrived in Afghanistan via Pakistan despite a near-total closure of the land border between the two countries following clashes in October, the United Nations said on Sunday. The convoy was carrying “food and other critical humanitarian items,” Olga Cherevko, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Afghanistan, told reporters. United Nations Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3364199/pakistan-border-sees-724-humanitarian-trucks-enter-afghanistan https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3364199/pakistan-border-sees-724-humanitarian-trucks-enter-afghanistan Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:03:54 +0000 Fan Chen Fan Chen The security pact signed on Friday by three of the world’s most powerful Muslim nations with a vow to enhance collective deterrence remains far from what many are calling an Islamic Nato, according to experts. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement between Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf’s top oil exporter, Nato member Turkey and Pakistan, a nuclear-armed South Asian state, would be challenged by diverging strategic interests and weak mutual defence capacity, they said. The Mecca pact’s statement that... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3363871/saudi-turkey-pakistan-mecca-pact-falls-short-nato-style-defence-alliance https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3363871/saudi-turkey-pakistan-mecca-pact-falls-short-nato-style-defence-alliance Thu, 13 Aug 2026 10:22:23 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Around 2.4 million girls in Afghanistan have been denied access to secondary education since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, the United Nations said on Tuesday, urging an end to such “discrimination”. The Taliban administration, recognised solely by Russia, has imposed a series of restrictions on women that the UN has characterised as “gender apartheid”. Girls cannot study beyond primary school, a policy the Taliban authorities justify based on their interpretation of Islamic law. The... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/3363701/24-million-afghan-girls-banned-schools-5-years-after-taliban-takeover-un-says https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/3363701/24-million-afghan-girls-banned-schools-5-years-after-taliban-takeover-un-says Tue, 11 Aug 2026 17:33:36 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow The Maldives recently called to revive a South Asian grouping, which has been suspended for over a decade. But given the tensions between two of the most influential countries in that region – India and Pakistan – that request is likely to go unheeded, according to observers. Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu said on July 26 that his country was ready to help resume the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) meetings. The last one was held 12 years ago. Describing the bloc as... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3363295/maldives-plea-restart-south-asian-bloc-hits-india-pakistan-brick-wall https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3363295/maldives-plea-restart-south-asian-bloc-hits-india-pakistan-brick-wall Sun, 09 Aug 2026 06:00:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A German court on Thursday handed an Afghan man a life sentence for a car-ramming attack in Munich last year which killed a two-year-old girl and her mother and left dozens injured. The court in Munich found the man, named only as Farhad N., guilty of two counts of murder, 23 of attempted murder, and 22 counts of bodily harm, 19 of them serious. The court found that the offences carried a “particular gravity of guilt” – a designation that makes it much less likely that 25-year-old Farhad N. will... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3363194/germany-jails-man-life-over-deadly-munich-car-ramming https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3363194/germany-jails-man-life-over-deadly-munich-car-ramming Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:32:15 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Greek police on Sunday said they had arrested a suspect in their investigation into the death of a British woman whose body was found in a suitcase in Athens last month. The police in a statement said they had arrested a 26-year-old man, identified in media reports as an Afghan national, adding that he had “confessed his actions”. “Officers of the Directorate for Combating Organised Crime have solved the homicide of a 38-year-old UK national, whose body was found inside a suitcase in an... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3362728/greek-police-arrest-suspect-over-british-womans-body-found-suitcase https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3362728/greek-police-arrest-suspect-over-british-womans-body-found-suitcase Sun, 02 Aug 2026 18:00:47 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A suicide bomber targeted protesters at an anti-militant rally in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least 14 people, including police officers, and wounding more than two dozen others, officials said. The attack happened in Kabal, a town in Swat Valley in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where demonstrators had gathered near a police station, chanting anti-militant slogans and demanding peace, district police chief Omar Khan said. According to witnesses, shortly before the attack,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3362726/least-14-dead-suicide-bomb-attack-anti-militant-rally-pakistan https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3362726/least-14-dead-suicide-bomb-attack-anti-militant-rally-pakistan Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:31:28 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo In America today, many low-income workers and households can’t get adequate healthcare or pay for food. Depending on who you ask, medical costs are the number one cause or at least among the top causes of bankruptcy for families. This is despite the United States spending more on healthcare per capita than any developed economy within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and having the most advanced medical science and technology in the world. Healthcare is one good... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3362331/despite-immense-power-us-delivers-neither-butter-nor-bullets https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3362331/despite-immense-power-us-delivers-neither-butter-nor-bullets Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo In Orwellian totalitarianism, two plus two can equal five. But with American hegemony, things can be A and not A at the same time. Earlier this month, Washington declared war on the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose very existence, it claims, poses an “intolerable” challenge to America’s sovereignty. But, citing an international maritime law, it also led a coalition of 14 mainly Western countries in issuing a joint statement in support of a 10-year-old South China Sea arbitration ruling... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3361944/america-declares-international-law-thee-not-me https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3361944/america-declares-international-law-thee-not-me Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Shi Jiangtao Shi Jiangtao Beijing is doubling down on overland trade routes across Central Asia as continued disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider region expose the vulnerability of global shipping chokepoints. A new link to Afghanistan via Uzbekistan offers a practical example of this long-term diversification push. However, observers caution that security concerns and capacity constraints could make a meaningful shift away from sea freight difficult. Officially launched in May with pilot shipments, the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3361638/china-tests-central-asian-land-corridors-bypass-maritime-chokepoints https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3361638/china-tests-central-asian-land-corridors-bypass-maritime-chokepoints Fri, 24 Jul 2026 22:00:12 +0000 Reuters Reuters Member states of the International Criminal Court voted to dismiss prosecutor Karim Khan for serious misconduct, the ICC said on Friday. Diplomats running ‌the executive bureau of the court’s governing body said last month the British barrister had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a junior ICC lawyer and should be fired, documents seen by Reuters showed. On Friday, a large majority of the ICC’s 125 member states voted to follow that recommendation. “The assembly decided by a majority of... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/3361809/international-criminal-court-members-dismiss-prosecutor-karim-khan-insiders-say https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/3361809/international-criminal-court-members-dismiss-prosecutor-karim-khan-insiders-say Fri, 24 Jul 2026 18:17:54 +0000 Zhou Bo Zhou Bo Why haven’t Ukraine’s drone and missile attacks on Russia triggered Moscow’s use of tactical nuclear weapons, as it has threatened? When Russia is attacked time and again, one wonders what purpose it serves to have the world’s largest nuclear arsenal. The Ukraine war is at a stalemate. Though roughly 90 per cent of the territory in East Donbas is under Russian control, its ground advances have slowed to less than 100 metres a day, according to a July 1 report by the Centre for Strategic... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3361013/russias-grinding-war-ukraine-shows-impotence-nuclear-weapons https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3361013/russias-grinding-war-ukraine-shows-impotence-nuclear-weapons Wed, 22 Jul 2026 12:30:07 +0000 Nargiza Umarova Nargiza Umarova Over the past year, China’s Belt and Road Initiative has seen rapid development in Central Asia. This has been evidenced by the launch of several railway and road routes connecting China’s industrial and economic centres to logistics hubs in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. China’s improved transport to the region reflects two interrelated trends: growing trade momentum and Central Asia’s strengthening position in continental logistics. Last year, China became the largest trading partner... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3360836/why-china-rapidly-expanding-its-land-trade-routes-central-asia https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3360836/why-china-rapidly-expanding-its-land-trade-routes-central-asia Tue, 21 Jul 2026 21:30:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Members of Afghan settlements in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa border province hurriedly packed up belongings this week while others hid at home as police launched a “large-scale crackdown” on undocumented residents. Authorities in the northern province carried out housing demolitions, roadside identity checks and told Afghans to leave as part of a broader government pushback, community members and officials said. Residents of Mattani, a short drive from the provincial capital Peshawar, said... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3360949/mini-kabul-falls-silent-pakistan-targets-undocumented-afghans-border-province https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3360949/mini-kabul-falls-silent-pakistan-targets-undocumented-afghans-border-province Fri, 17 Jul 2026 09:15:19 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan has voiced concern about the United States’ campaign against the International Criminal Court (ICC), exposing a diplomatic bind for Tokyo as it seeks to defend a tribunal it has long championed without provoking its most important security ally. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday that Japan “places great importance on the eradication and prevention of serious crimes, as well as the upholding of the rule of law”. He added that Japan, the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3360681/japan-treads-diplomatic-fine-line-over-us-campaign-end-icc-threat https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3360681/japan-treads-diplomatic-fine-line-over-us-campaign-end-icc-threat Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:11 +0000 Shi Jiangtao Shi Jiangtao Five months and at least two ceasefires into the US-Israeli war on Iran, hostilities have intensified again, with US President Donald Trump reimposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports and American forces trading fresh strikes with Tehran. The renewed cycle is testing both Tehran’s resilience and Washington’s appetite for a prolonged conflict, prompting some analysts to draw uncomfortable parallels with the political tolls that past US presidents faced in drawn-out wars such as in Vietnam and... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3360711/us-iran-war-trump-falling-vietnam-quagmire https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3360711/us-iran-war-trump-falling-vietnam-quagmire Wed, 15 Jul 2026 15:00:07 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings The strength of a Chinese passport has risen steadily in recent years based on people’s mobility, investments and quality of life, a London-based immigration consultancy said. The passport climbed to 104th this year from 117th in 2021, in a ranking of 197 countries and territories by the investment migration and relocation consultancy Global Citizen Solutions. While its status had risen from a “low base” and Chinese travellers still faced more closed borders than open ones, Global Citizen... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/global-economy/article/3359291/chinas-passport-climbs-global-rankings-economic-influence-grows-index-finds https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/global-economy/article/3359291/chinas-passport-climbs-global-rankings-economic-influence-grows-index-finds Fri, 03 Jul 2026 08:00:11 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Giant portraits of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s late supreme leader killed in US-Israeli air strikes, have been hung from Tehran’s Grand Mosalla as workers raced to prepare for his grand funeral ceremony. His funeral, initially delayed at the height of the Middle East war, will take place as Iran and the United States observe a fragile ceasefire after signing a preliminary deal to halt the conflict. Khamenei, a spiritual figure for many Shias, was killed aged 86 at his compound in the centre... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3359013/iran-prepares-grand-funeral-late-supreme-leader-killed-wars-first-day https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3359013/iran-prepares-grand-funeral-late-supreme-leader-killed-wars-first-day Wed, 01 Jul 2026 06:48:02 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Overnight ground operations and strikes by Pakistani forces have killed at least 36 civilians and injured more than 160 others, Afghan officials said on Monday, as tensions between the neighbours further escalated. One official said the attacks would be met with retaliation. Pakistani security forces carried out a ground operation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border late on Sunday, followed by strikes against militant hideouts and safe havens, killing 29 fighters, Pakistan’s Information... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3358764/36-afghan-civilians-die-pakistan-air-strikes-160-injured-officials https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3358764/36-afghan-civilians-die-pakistan-air-strikes-160-injured-officials Mon, 29 Jun 2026 09:57:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The US Supreme Court on Thursday backed a Trump administration move to strip deportation protections from some 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians living in the United States. The 6-3 ruling by the conservative-dominated court could have implications for more than one million beneficiaries of so-called Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from more than a dozen countries. Justice Samuel Alito, whose majority opinion was joined by the five other conservative justices, said the Department of Homeland... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3358409/us-supreme-court-paves-way-trumps-mass-deportation-haitians-and-syrians https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3358409/us-supreme-court-paves-way-trumps-mass-deportation-haitians-and-syrians Thu, 25 Jun 2026 23:39:59 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US Army’s commander of its forces in Europe and Africa – who was famously the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan in 2021 – is unexpectedly stepping down from his post after just 18 months in the job, the Army confirmed late on Tuesday. General Christopher Donahue, commanding general of US Army Europe and Africa and commander of Nato’s Allied Land Command, will relinquish his command on July 2, according to an Army statement. He is the latest in a line of nearly two dozen top military... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3358262/general-who-was-last-us-soldier-out-afghanistan-suddenly-steps-down https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3358262/general-who-was-last-us-soldier-out-afghanistan-suddenly-steps-down Wed, 24 Jun 2026 23:34:34 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Government workers in different parts of Afghanistan have started switching off their smartphones, following an order imposed on Wednesday that they said came from Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. A letter announcing the ban on smartphones for all government employees started circulating on social media last week under the emblem of the Supreme Court, which has not responded to requests to comment. “All the heads of departments in their respective provinces are advised to inform their... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3357466/afghan-government-workers-face-sack-jail-after-smartphone-ban-begins https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3357466/afghan-government-workers-face-sack-jail-after-smartphone-ban-begins Wed, 17 Jun 2026 13:36:29 +0000 Hao Nan Hao Nan The Russia-India-China (RIC) dialogue is back in the diplomatic conversation. It has not formally restarted, and no summit is on the horizon. But the signals are here. In 2025, Moscow again pushed for reviving the RIC format. India said any meeting would have to be arranged in a “mutually convenient manner”, a cautious but open formula. China said it was willing to maintain communication with Russia and India on trilateral cooperation. This month, Russian President Vladimir Putin again spoke... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3356827/dont-count-russia-india-china-triangle-out-just-yet https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3356827/dont-count-russia-india-china-triangle-out-just-yet Tue, 16 Jun 2026 21:30:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Afghan residents in the western city of Herat have told of witnessing multiple women detained by the Taliban government’s morality police, in a crackdown over clothing which has drawn criticism from the United Nations. The UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said Sunday it was “concerned over multiple arrests and detentions of women in Herat, Afghanistan, for alleged non-compliance with dress requirements”. Taliban authorities rule according to a strict interpretation of Islamic law, and have... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3356409/afghan-women-detained-taliban-clothing-crackdown https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3356409/afghan-women-detained-taliban-clothing-crackdown Mon, 08 Jun 2026 14:01:07 +0000