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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

Former Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien speaks at the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US in Gander, Newfoundland, on Friday. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP

Canada

Ex-Canada PM Chretien tells US: ‘never mistake our generosity for weakness’

His pointed message was issued in Gander, the Canadian town that sheltered thousands of stranded Americans after the September 11 attacks.

12 Sep 2026 - 2:27PM

United States

Americans mark 25 years since 9/11 attacks amid enduring grief, reflection

12 Sep 2026 - 1:30AM

Italy

Emma Bonino, Italy’s activist politician, dies aged 78

11 Sep 2026 - 5:30PM

United States

On This Day | America faces ‘darkest hour’ as 9/11 attacks unfold in 2001 – SCMP archive

Two hijacked planes destroyed the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, leaving thousands dead and a nation in shock.

11 Sep 2026 - 10:30AM

A second hijacked plane approaches the World Trade Centre towers shortly before crashing into the skyscraper on September 11, 2001. Photo: AFP

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

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s 25th anniversary summit expected to offer clues to China’s ambitions for a more multipolar Asia, analysts say.

31 Aug 2026 - 2:57PMvideocam

Japan

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

Tokyo has to tread ‘extremely lightly’ on the issue to avoid jeopardising the US security umbrella on which it relies, analysts say.

21 Aug 2026 - 8:00AM

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has described the sanctions on ICC president Tomoko Akane as “deeply regrettable”. Photo: Kyodo

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

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

Jill Wagner plays Bobby, a CIA special activities division operative, in Taylor Sheridan’s spy thriller Lioness. Photo: Getty Images/AFP

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

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

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview in The Hague, Netherlands in January 2025. Photo: Reuters

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

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Afghanistan

Ex-Canada PM Chretien tells US: ‘never mistake our generosity for weakness’

His pointed message was issued in Gander, the Canadian town that sheltered thousands of stranded Americans after the September 11 attacks.

Americans mark 25 years since 9/11 attacks amid enduring grief, reflection

Emma Bonino, Italy’s activist politician, dies aged 78

.css-1f6sr3w{color:#727272;}On This Day | America faces ‘darkest hour’ as 9/11 attacks unfold in 2001 – SCMP archive

Two hijacked planes destroyed the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, leaving thousands dead and a nation in shock.

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

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s 25th anniversary summit expected to offer clues to China’s ambitions for a more multipolar Asia, analysts say.

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

Tokyo has to tread ‘extremely lightly’ on the issue to avoid jeopardising the US security umbrella on which it relies, analysts say.

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.

On This Day | America faces ‘darkest hour’ as 9/11 attacks unfold in 2001 – SCMP archive

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