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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

The International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. Photo: Reuters

Donald Trump

US prepares sanctions against the ICC: sources

Trump administration readies entity-wide measures that could severely disrupt tribunal’s war crimes probes.

21 Sep 2026 - 12:43PM

Pakistan

31 dead in Pakistan after suicide bomber, gunmen attack police complex

19 Sep 2026 - 1:45PM

Canada

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

12 Sep 2026 - 2:27PM

United States

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

Nearly 3,000 people were killed on the day that has shaped US society for decades, influencing its foreign policy and domestic politics.

12 Sep 2026 - 1:30AM

Flowers are left at the memorial during the 25th anniversary commemoration of the September 11 attacks in New York on Friday. Photo: AFP

Italy

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

Bonino was a passionate advocate for social justice and gender equality who deliberately courted controversy to advance her many causes.

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

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

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

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

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

Japanese Judge Tomoko Akane, President of the International Criminal Court, delivers a speech at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo in June 2024. Photo: AFP

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

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

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left), Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Mecca on Friday. Photo: AFP

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

Afghan girls at a primary school in Kabul. The Taliban does not permit girls to study beyond primary education. Photo: AFP

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

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

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

An abandoned building where the body of Elisabeth-Jane Ross was found in a suitcase. Photo: Reuters

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

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

Chinese workers are seen in a tunnel in Kyrgyzstan, on February 13, part of the 523km China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway currently under construction. Photo: Xinhua

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

A man collects building materials in Peshawar before his repatriation to Afghanistan on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

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

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

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Afghanistan

US prepares sanctions against the ICC: sources

Trump administration readies entity-wide measures that could severely disrupt tribunal’s war crimes probes.

31 dead in Pakistan after suicide bomber, gunmen attack police complex

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

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

Nearly 3,000 people were killed on the day that has shaped US society for decades, influencing its foreign policy and domestic politics.

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

Bonino was a passionate advocate for social justice and gender equality who deliberately courted controversy to advance her many causes.

.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.

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