Israel

As Iran war hits six-month mark, Trump says he’s ‘not in a hurry’

29 Aug 2026 - 1:26AM

Iran endures 6 months of US strikes as Trump’s policy hits ‘Desperation Day’

‘I don’t think the administration is any closer to finding a way out of this,’ an ex-diplomat says, as Tehran bets time is on its side.

27 Aug 2026 - 7:53PMvideocam

Iranians take part in a demonstration against the United States in Tehran on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

Crime

Colombia mulls locking up dangerous criminals on prison ships

Humanitarian watchdogs warn that this form of incarceration breaches human rights.

27 Aug 2026 - 8:20AM

US starts returning staff to some Middle East missions after war evacuations

US move signals lower risk of immediate regional escalation, though select missions will cap capacity at 75 to 85 per cent.

26 Aug 2026 - 8:59AM

United States

US Secret Service says it is aware of Iranian video threat to Barron Trump

Iranian state TV airs video claiming tracking of US president’s 20-year-old son and offering US$10 million bounty for his killing.

26 Aug 2026 - 9:11AM

Barron Trump, son of US President Donald Trump. Photo: AP

Opinion | Could Mecca defence pact be first step to new Middle East order?

As security deal shakes up calculations for the US, China and Russia, a regional order shaped by regional states is no longer unthinkable.

25 Aug 2026 - 8:30PM

Israel’s strikes push Syria towards joining Mecca defence pact

Air strikes intended to curb Turkish expansion risk triggering the very encirclement Israel fears, analysts say.

25 Aug 2026 - 4:19PM

‘Children were in pieces’: memories still raw 6 months after Iran school strike

Families grieve at least 155 killed in US-linked Tomahawk missile attack on Minab school during opening hours of war.

25 Aug 2026 - 3:09PM

Rubble and portraits of children line the site of the destroyed Shajareh Tayebeh school in Minab, Iran. Photo: AFP

China-Middle East relations

Netanyahu says Iran tried to kill one of his sons

Israeli leader gives no details on which son was targeted, though elder son Yair has lived under state protection in Miami.

25 Aug 2026 - 9:57AM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: AFP

China and Jordan call for Strait of Hormuz to get back to normal

The two sides also criticised Israel’s ‘dangerous escalatory actions’ following King Abdullah’s meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing.

24 Aug 2026 - 10:33PMvideocam

Malaysia

‘I hate Americans’: Malaysian politician’s anti-US rant draws backlash

Former PM Mahathir Mohamad’s son Mukhriz defended his anti-US rant, claiming ordinary citizens share blame for Washington’s foreign policy.

24 Aug 2026 - 3:47PM

East African troops prepare for Gaza peacekeeping role in US-backed plan

Delegations from Burundi and Uganda visited Israel to discuss joining Donald Trump’s International Stabilisation Force.

24 Aug 2026 - 2:22PM

Military vehicles at a logistical support and staging facility to support the International Stabilisation Force under the direction of Trump's "Board of Peace", near the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel, in August. Photo: Reuters

Syria holds talks with Israel addressing de-escalation, Israel-Turkey tensions

A Syrian government source said Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani met the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, Roman Gofman.

24 Aug 2026 - 3:13PM

An Israeli tank drives along the ceasefire line between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

US envoy walks back comments on Golan Heights that contradicted Trump’s position

Tom Barrack had said Israel ‘still’ occupies the territory but on Sunday said that was a description of the Golan Heights’ historical status.

24 Aug 2026 - 3:44AM

Hong Kong society

How Hong Kong beauty retail tactics echo global Dead Sea sales scams

WikiLeaks files reveal pushy sales operations for Dead Sea beauty products have been problematic in several countries for decades.

23 Aug 2026 - 11:25PM

Iran condemns US plans to announce new sanctions

Warning that nations joining the US ‘economic war’ would be deemed enemies, Iran said the move could affect trading partners including China.

23 Aug 2026 - 6:10AM

The Iranian newspaper Jame-Jam with a cartoon of US President Donald Trump, the title reading in Persian “Duplicated Sanctions version”, outside a kiosk in Tehran, Iran on Saturday. Photo: EPA

Syria

Israel targets ‘terrorist’ in southern Syria; Damascus condemns attack

Tensions between Israel and Syria flared this week after Israel bombed an airbase, a move ‌US special envoy Tom Barrack called ‘unnecessary’.

23 Aug 2026 - 3:31AM

United States

Israel and Turkey edge towards a dangerous miscalculation over Syria

Unannounced Israeli jets near the Turkish border could easily have triggered a clash, in a high-stakes ‘warning’ to Ankara.

22 Aug 2026 - 6:00PM

Iran president says time to end war while Tehran is in position of strength

The comments come after US Treasury chief Bessent vowed Washington would ‘collapse’ the Iranian regime with sanctions.

22 Aug 2026 - 4:50AMvideocam

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian attends press conference in Tehran, on August 8, 2026. Photo: AFP

China-Latin America relations

Turkey issues ‘genocide’ warrant for Israel’s Netanyahu over Gaza flotilla

Israel’s interception of the flotilla carrying some 430 activists in May sparked an international outcry.

22 Aug 2026 - 3:12AMvideocam

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Berlin in March 2023. Photo: dpa

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

Beijing rejects US tariff report as Mexico plans new China trade curbs

He Yadong says US levies threaten supply chains, while Mexico considers new duties on Chinese steel and textiles.

21 Aug 2026 - 4:45AMvideocam

Turkey

Netanyahu casts Turkey as Israel’s new villain amid tough re-election fight

The Israeli PM has escalated tensions with Turkish President Erdogan over Syria in a bid to ‘unify’ his voter base around him.

20 Aug 2026 - 9:36AM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s election campaign team has put up billboards with images of several leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Tel Aviv. Photo: Reuters

US-China trade war

Editorial | ‘Transshipment scam’ is not a global conspiracy but a warning to the US

The White House’s accusation that over 40 nations are involved in a shadow network that harms the US betrays a misunderstanding of how trade works.

20 Aug 2026 - 7:15AM

Containers at the Port of Long Beach in the US on May 20. Photo: Los Angeles Times/TNS