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Central Asia

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Central Asia
Central Asia
News from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.
Smoke and flames rise at the site of air strikes on an oil depot in Tehran, capital of Iran, on March 7. Photo: TNS
US, Israel war on Iran

How long will US-Israel war on Iran last? Chinese analysts offer clues

Iran’s drones gaining edge as opponents burn through costly missiles, analysts note, as one labels the war a ‘serious mistake’ by US.

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Pakistan

Pakistan announces 5-day pause on Afghan strikes for Eid

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Afghanistan

‘People were burning’: 400 dead after Pakistan strikes hit Kabul hospital

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Mainland China

Beyond a ‘buffer zone’: how the Iran war is recalibrating Central Asian ties

The former Soviet republics are leveraging diplomatic fallout from conflict to assert autonomy and balance major powers, observers say.

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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has mobilised the army and recalled diplomats from Tehran following Iranian drone strikes that hit an airport in his country. Photo: AFP
China trade

As Iran war hits trade hubs, China’s logistics firms rush for alternatives

Disrupted Middle East transit routes squeeze sector, pushing freight costs higher and pressuring supply chains.

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Food and Drinks

Why horse meat and nomadic tea rituals anchor this new eatery in Central

For the Kazakh founders of Yurt, opening the new Central Asian restaurant was written in the stars.

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Iran

How far could the war with Iran spread beyond the Middle East?

From Turkey and the Caucasus to South Asia, analysts warn the war could ignite new flashpoints along regional fault lines.

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The sun sets behind a plume of smoke from a US-Israeli military strike in Tehran, Iran, on Tuesday. Photo: AP
US, Israel war on Iran

Azerbaijan vows to respond after Iranian drones injure 4

Azerbaijan and Iran already have tense ⁠relations over Baku’s growing economic, energy and military ties to Turkey and Israel.

War and conflict

Opinion | Pakistan’s forever war and the politics of exhaustion

What Pakistan needs is not war with Afghanistan but urgent efforts to fix its economy, security and divided society after disruptive decades.

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US, Israel war on Iran

China caught between Iran and Gulf states as Tehran strikes across Middle East

In 2023, China mediated a peace deal between Riyadh and Tehran, but the ties are being tested as Iran targets sites in Saudi Arabia.

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China has deep economic relations with GCC states – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. UAE capital Abu Dhabi is pictured. Photo: AFP
China energy security

Why the Iran war will accelerate China’s push to become an ‘energy powerhouse’

The conflict does not pose an immediate threat to China’s oil supply, but will spur on the country’s energy security drive, analysts say.

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Smoke plumes rise above Tehran following missile strikes on March 1. The growing conflict in the Middle East is likely to accelerate China’s energy security drive, analysts say. Photo: AFP
India

Friend to all, foe to none: Iran war tests India’s Middle East balancing act

New Delhi has long prided itself on being friends with everyone in the Middle East. The killing of Khamenei just made that much harder.

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Hong Kong transport

Hongkong Post’s airmail services to 24 countries affected by strikes in Middle East

Public postal service suspends airmail to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, affecting ‘services transiting through these locations’.

Pakistan

‘Managed escalation’: Pakistan-Taliban stand-off enters dangerous new phase

With positions entrenched, mediation efforts by regional powers are unlikely to deliver a swift breakthrough, observers say.

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A Taliban fighter holds his weapon beside a Humvee after exchanges of fire between Pakistani and Afghan forces in Momand Dara district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters
Russia

Trains through the Taliban: Central Asia’s plan to bypass Russia and Iran

The Soviet Union severed Central Asia’s ancient trade routes to the Indian subcontinent. The region’s modern-day leaders want them back.

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A Taliban guard walks along railway tracks near a TAPI pipeline construction site at the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan border in 2024. Photo: AFP
Pakistan

Pakistan declares ‘open war’ with Afghan Taliban, attacks Kabul, Kandahar

The air strikes came hours after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops in what the Taliban government said was retaliation.

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China airliners

China’s C909 jet gets international uplift with funding for adoptive airline

Chengdu Airlines, an affiliate of C909 manufacturer Comac, has received a capital injection to help widen the jet’s international coverage.

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Pakistan

Pakistan claim of killing 80 militants ‘false’, Taliban security source says

The Afghan Defence Ministry said ‘various civilian areas’ in eastern Afghanistan were hit, including a religious madrasa and multiple homes.

Taliban security staff stand guard next to the debris of houses destroyed during an overnight Pakistani air strike at Balish village in Urgun district, Paktika Province, Afghanistan on Sunday. Photo: AFP
China trade

As high-speed railways saturate China, how far can their global reach extend?

As Chinese giants eye Eurasia for new infrastructure, analysts speculate on what it will take to keep overseas projects from going off the rails in different host nations.

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Pakistan

11 soldiers, 1 child killed in Pakistan after suicide bomber hits security post

Seven other civilians were injured in the blast, which damaged part of the compound and nearby homes.

United Nations

Opinion | More than funding, the UN needs restructuring

The UN’s financial strain is a chance to rethink its structure, cut inefficiencies and empower local work that delivers more impact.

Internally displaced Palestinians walk among the ruins of the Al Tuffah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City on February 11. The UN human rights office has maintained a presence in Gaza despite the challenges. Photo: EPA
China-Russia relations

As Central Asia builds ‘smart cities’ with China, is it moving away from Russia?

Lack of Russian involvement in the mega-projects is seen as part of a broader structural shift as the region moves ‘closer to the world’.

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Alatau in Kazakhstan is among the new future city projects in Central Asia that aim to tackle population growth and ageing infrastructure. Photo: Handout
India

‘Structural reality’: why US tariff deal cannot sever India-Russia defence ties

While the pact demands a halt to Russian oil imports, analysts say New Delhi’s military dependence on Moscow is non-negotiable.

Climate change

Opinion | Why China and Europe should care about Central Asia’s water crisis

Central Asian rivers shape Eurasian trade flows, affect global food markets and contribute to geopolitical instability across the region.

Hong Kong politics

Hong Kong to formulate first 5-year plan to align with national blueprint

Task force led by Chief Executive John Lee will formulate plan, which one expert says signals greater government role in city’s development.

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Hong Kong will formulate its first five-year plan to align with the national development blueprint. Photo: May Tse
What to do in Hong Kong

5 of the best things to do in Hong Kong this weekend, January 30-February 1

Indulge in an excess of tea, browse Hong Kong’s independent fashion brands, immerse yourself in Central Asian culture and more this weekend.

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PMQ’s Tea Round 2026 festival is one of five things we recommend checking out this weekend in Hong Kong. Photo: Tea Round, PMQ
Afghanistan

Why are Afghan-Tajikistan border tensions such a headache for China?

A suicide bombing at a restaurant in Kabul is just the latest sign of how Chinese citizens can become caught up in the region’s instability.

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India

Unrest in Iran complicates India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy

India views the current Iranian government as a ‘predictable counterweight’ against Pakistan’s influence, an analyst says.

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