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Afghanistan

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.

Capital

Kabul

Head of state

Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada

Head of government

Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada

National Guard members patrol near the Washington Monument on November 28, 2025, two days after two troops were shot near the White House. Photo: AP

United States

US judge approves order to force-feed suspect who attacked troops

Accused gunman Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been hospitalised since July after refusing food.

1 Sep 2026 - 12:52PM

SCO

What to expect as China’s Xi Jinping attends SCO summit in Bishkek

31 Aug 2026 - 2:57PMvideocam

Japan

Why Japan is walking on eggshells over US sanctions on ICC judge

21 Aug 2026 - 8:00AM

Cambodia

Declining aid threatens landmine clearing efforts in Southeast Asia

Aid cuts and shifting geopolitical priorities leave Cambodian and regional demining groups struggling to remove deadly wartime relics.

19 Aug 2026 - 12:35PM

A deminer uses a metal detector to clear a landmine field in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in July. Photo: AP

United States

US sanctions International Criminal Court chief Tomoko Akane

Senior ICC lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, who was on the prosecution team that sought an arrest warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu, was also targeted.

19 Aug 2026 - 3:13PM

Hollywood

Meet Jill Wagner, who plays Bobby in Taylor Sheridan’s Lioness

The actress studied acting under the Yellowstone creator years before she helped create the spy thriller, which also stars Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman.

18 Aug 2026 - 6:17PM

Pakistan

Pakistan border sees 724 humanitarian trucks enter Afghanistan

Nearly 14 million Afghans are facing acute hunger after deadly earthquakes last year, several climate-related disasters this year and the return of millions of refugees.

16 Aug 2026 - 8:03PM

Afghan refugees receive food rations donated by Saudi Arabia, in Kabul on July 30. Photo: EPA-EFE

China-Middle East relations

Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan Mecca pact ‘far from’ Nato-style defence alliance

Observers say diverging strategic interests and a weak mutual security capacity will be the main challenges facing the agreement.

13 Aug 2026 - 6:55PMvideocam

Taliban

2.4 million Afghan girls banned from schools 5 years after Taliban takeover: UN

The United Nations is urging an end to the ‘discriminatory’ Taliban policy that prevents girls from studying beyond primary school.

12 Aug 2026 - 4:02PMvideocam

India-Pakistan tensions

Maldives’ plea to restart South Asian bloc hits India-Pakistan brick wall

Calls for reviving Saarc are likely to fall on deaf ears as long as the two neighbours are at loggerheads, analysts say.

9 Aug 2026 - 2:00PMvideocam

Pakistani hardline organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa supporters burn a poster of then Indian home minister Rajnath Singh as he arrives in Lahore for a Saarc summit in Lahore on August 3, 2016. Photo: AFP

Germany

Germany jails man for life over deadly Munich car-ramming

Prosecutors said during the trial that Farhad N., an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, acted out of ‘religious motivation’.

6 Aug 2026 - 6:32PM

Members of the emergency services work at the scene where a car drove into a crowd in the southern German city of Munich on February 13, 2025 leaving several people injured, police said. Photo: AFP

Crime

Greek police arrest suspect after body of British woman found in suitcase

Afghan national in custody weeks after victim was discovered inside a derelict building in Athens.

3 Aug 2026 - 10:43AM

Pakistan

At least 14 dead in suicide bomb attack at anti-militant rally in Pakistan

No group claimed responsibility for the attack in the northwestern town of Kabal but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban.

3 Aug 2026 - 10:48AM

United States

As I see it | Despite immense power, the US delivers neither butter nor bullets

While Americans know they can’t get the welfare benefits they need, their leaders must realise their military can’t give them world domination.

31 Jul 2026 - 8:30PMvideocam

US Army soldiers cross a floating bridge on the Imjin River during a joint river-crossing exercise with South Korea as a part of the Freedom Shield military exercise in Yeoncheon, South Korea, on March 20, 2025. Photo: AP

United States

As I see it | America declares international law for thee but not for me

While the US is seeking to dismantle the International Criminal Court, it has signed a statement upholding the Hague tribunal’s South China Sea ruling.

28 Jul 2026 - 8:30PM

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends the 33rd Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines, on July 23. Photo: AFP

Central Asia

China tests Central Asian land corridors to bypass maritime chokepoints

New Afghanistan link via Uzbekistan highlights diversification push, but critics ask if Taliban can ensure security for stable logistics.

25 Jul 2026 - 7:14AMvideocam

Sexual harassment and assault

ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan removed over sexual misconduct allegations

The UK barrister is accused of having a non-consensual sexual relationship with a junior lawyer working at the International Criminal Court.

25 Jul 2026 - 4:36AM

Ukraine war

Opinion | Russia’s grinding war in Ukraine shows the impotence of nuclear weapons

Having the world’s biggest nuclear arsenal has not helped Russia on the battlefield.

22 Jul 2026 - 8:30PMvideocam

China economy

Opinion | China is growing its export channels with railways through Central Asia

Beijing is seeking to diversify its export channels as geopolitical tensions destabilise maritime trade hubs.

22 Jul 2026 - 9:13AMvideocam

Pakistan

‘Mini Kabul’ falls silent as Pakistan targets undocumented Afghans in border province

About 2.3 million Afghans – some who lived in Pakistan for decades – have been sent back since the repatriation drive began in 2023.

17 Jul 2026 - 5:15PM

Japan

‘Very worried’: US campaign against ICC leaves Japan in a bind

The initiative will make Tokyo weigh its international law commitments against its dependence on the US security umbrella, analysts say.

16 Jul 2026 - 8:00AM

The International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Netherlands. Photo: AP

US, Israel war on Iran

US-Iran war: is Trump falling into a Vietnam ‘quagmire’?

Renewed strikes put Washington’s appetite for a prolonged war to a familiar historical test, analysts say.

16 Jul 2026 - 12:40AMvideocam

Screen grab from video footage released by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Sepah News website purportedly shows missiles being launched from an undisclosed location towards US targets in Bahrain and Kuwait on July 14. Photo: AFP

China travel

China’s economic clout boosts ‘passport power’, index finds

Chinese travellers are gaining easier access to destinations worldwide, even as they still require visas for more countries than they can enter freely.

3 Jul 2026 - 4:00PM

US, Israel war on Iran

Iran prepares funeral for late supreme leader killed on war’s first day

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s public funeral will begin Saturday as Iran and the US observe a fragile ceasefire.

1 Jul 2026 - 3:16PM

Pakistan

36 Afghan civilians die in Pakistan air strikes, 160 injured: officials

Amid escalating tensions, the Taliban said that when residents gathered to rescue people after an initial attack, the area was struck again.

29 Jun 2026 - 5:57PMvideocam

The rubble of a ruined building stands in the village of Mandokhel in Afghanistan’s Paktia province. Photo: dpa

United States

US Supreme Court paves way for Trump’s mass deportation of Haitians, Syrians

Top court rules that the administration can strip protections from some 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians in the US.

26 Jun 2026 - 1:07PM

Immigration activists rally against the US Supreme Court’s ruling on temporary protective status in Washington on Thursday. Photo: AFP

United States

General who was last US soldier out of Afghanistan suddenly steps down

Christopher Donahue, commanding general of US Army Europe and Africa, is the latest in nearly two dozen military leaders to depart.

25 Jun 2026 - 7:34AM

Central Asia

Afghan government workers face sack, jail after smartphone ban begins

Employees will be available only ‘via telephone calls and email’, an official says, citing an order from the supreme leader.

17 Jun 2026 - 9:36PM

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Afghanistan

US judge approves order to force-feed suspect who attacked troops

Accused gunman Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been hospitalised since July after refusing food.

What to expect as China’s Xi Jinping attends SCO summit in Bishkek

Why Japan is walking on eggshells over US sanctions on ICC judge

Declining aid threatens landmine clearing efforts in Southeast Asia

Aid cuts and shifting geopolitical priorities leave Cambodian and regional demining groups struggling to remove deadly wartime relics.

US sanctions International Criminal Court chief Tomoko Akane

Senior ICC lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, who was on the prosecution team that sought an arrest warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu, was also targeted.

Meet Jill Wagner, who plays Bobby in Taylor Sheridan’s Lioness

The actress studied acting under the Yellowstone creator years before she helped create the spy thriller, which also stars Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman.

Pakistan border sees 724 humanitarian trucks enter Afghanistan

Nearly 14 million Afghans are facing acute hunger after deadly earthquakes last year, several climate-related disasters this year and the return of millions of refugees.

Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan Mecca pact ‘far from’ Nato-style defence alliance

Observers say diverging strategic interests and a weak mutual security capacity will be the main challenges facing the agreement.

2.4 million Afghan girls banned from schools 5 years after Taliban takeover: UN

The United Nations is urging an end to the ‘discriminatory’ Taliban policy that prevents girls from studying beyond primary school.

Maldives’ plea to restart South Asian bloc hits India-Pakistan brick wall

Calls for reviving Saarc are likely to fall on deaf ears as long as the two neighbours are at loggerheads, analysts say.

Germany jails man for life over deadly Munich car-ramming

Prosecutors said during the trial that Farhad N., an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, acted out of ‘religious motivation’.

Greek police arrest suspect after body of British woman found in suitcase

Afghan national in custody weeks after victim was discovered inside a derelict building in Athens.

At least 14 dead in suicide bomb attack at anti-militant rally in Pakistan

No group claimed responsibility for the attack in the northwestern town of Kabal but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}As I see it | Despite immense power, the US delivers neither butter nor bullets

While Americans know they can’t get the welfare benefits they need, their leaders must realise their military can’t give them world domination.

As I see it | America declares international law for thee but not for me

While the US is seeking to dismantle the International Criminal Court, it has signed a statement upholding the Hague tribunal’s South China Sea ruling.

China tests Central Asian land corridors to bypass maritime chokepoints

New Afghanistan link via Uzbekistan highlights diversification push, but critics ask if Taliban can ensure security for stable logistics.

ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan removed over sexual misconduct allegations

The UK barrister is accused of having a non-consensual sexual relationship with a junior lawyer working at the International Criminal Court.

Opinion | Russia’s grinding war in Ukraine shows the impotence of nuclear weapons

Having the world’s biggest nuclear arsenal has not helped Russia on the battlefield.

Opinion | China is growing its export channels with railways through Central Asia

Beijing is seeking to diversify its export channels as geopolitical tensions destabilise maritime trade hubs.

‘Mini Kabul’ falls silent as Pakistan targets undocumented Afghans in border province

About 2.3 million Afghans – some who lived in Pakistan for decades – have been sent back since the repatriation drive began in 2023.

‘Very worried’: US campaign against ICC leaves Japan in a bind

The initiative will make Tokyo weigh its international law commitments against its dependence on the US security umbrella, analysts say.

US-Iran war: is Trump falling into a Vietnam ‘quagmire’?

Renewed strikes put Washington’s appetite for a prolonged war to a familiar historical test, analysts say.

China’s economic clout boosts ‘passport power’, index finds

Chinese travellers are gaining easier access to destinations worldwide, even as they still require visas for more countries than they can enter freely.

Iran prepares funeral for late supreme leader killed on war’s first day

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s public funeral will begin Saturday as Iran and the US observe a fragile ceasefire.

36 Afghan civilians die in Pakistan air strikes, 160 injured: officials

Amid escalating tensions, the Taliban said that when residents gathered to rescue people after an initial attack, the area was struck again.

US Supreme Court paves way for Trump’s mass deportation of Haitians, Syrians

Top court rules that the administration can strip protections from some 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians in the US.

General who was last US soldier out of Afghanistan suddenly steps down

Christopher Donahue, commanding general of US Army Europe and Africa, is the latest in nearly two dozen military leaders to depart.

Afghan government workers face sack, jail after smartphone ban begins

Employees will be available only ‘via telephone calls and email’, an official says, citing an order from the supreme leader.

As I see it | Despite immense power, the US delivers neither butter nor bullets