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Middle East

Middle East
Middle East
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Middle East. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
A man holds a flag of Somaliland in front of the Hargeisa War Memorial monument in Hargeisa. Somaliland’s president on Friday welcomed Israel’s announcement that it was recognising its statehood. Photo: AFP
Israel

Israel is first country to formally recognise Somaliland as independent state

PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the declaration ‘is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, signed at the initiative of President Trump’.

War and conflict

Blast in Syria kills 8 at mosque targeting Alawite minority in Homs

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India

Indian rice could become costlier for US amid Trump’s tariff threat

Israel

Israel’s rising air defence sales become its ‘most potent’ foreign policy weapon

With more countries increasingly turning to Israel for their air defence systems, they cannot afford to isolate the Middle East power.

Flags flutter in front of the Arrow 3 air defence system in Annaburg, Germany. Photo: Reuters
Electric & new energy vehicles

Chinese SUV maker Jetour pushes localised offerings to hasten go-global drive

Jetour is already present in more than 100 countries and regions after seven years in operation.

Israel-Gaza war

Bethlehem celebrates first festive Christmas since Gaza war

After two years of cancelled festivities, the ‘City of the Nativity’ revives its iconic parades and tree lighting as a fragile truce holds in Gaza.

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India

India’s gem exports defy US tariffs as Asia, Middle East demand grows

Shipments rose 19.64 per cent year on year to US$2.51 billion in November, reflecting a successful diversification push, analysts say.

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A salesman checks the quality of a diamond necklace through a magnifier at a jewellery store in Chennai. India is the world’s largest exporter of diamonds due to its dominance in gem cutting and polishing. Photo: AFP
Crime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong customs arrests 5 in suspected HK$8.9 billion ‘phantom trading’ racket

Suspects laundered crime proceeds over four-year period in first ‘phantom trading’ fraud involving fake shipping websites uncovered by authorities.

Benjamin Netanyahu

Iran and Gaza plan to top agenda for Netanyahu-Trump meeting

The Israeli prime minister is set to visit Washington to discuss the next phase of Trump’s Gaza plan with his key US ally.

Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong world’s No 1 IPO venue as fundraising crosses US$35 billion: HKEX

Four companies that raised funds in Hong Kong, including CATL, featured in the world’s top 10 IPOs this year.

HKEX CEO Bonnie Chan Yiting with the senior management of Ningbo Joyson Electronic, Pony AI, Vigonvita Life Sciences and WeRide during these companies’ listing ceremony on November 6 this year. Photo: Nora Tam
Australia

Australian PM Albanese booed as Bondi Beach attack victims honoured

Tens of thousands attended Sunday’s memorial. The Sydney event was heavily guarded by police, including snipers on rooftops and police boats.

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Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his wife are booed as they arrive at the Light Over Darkness vigil in Sydney, Australia on Sunday. Photo: Reuters
Israel

Jews worldwide urged to ‘come home’ to Israel after Bondi massacre

Gideon Saar says ‘Jews are being hunted across the world’ following the December 14 Isis-inspired shooting at a Hanukkah event in Australia.

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France

Macron announces new aircraft carrier for France

Replacing the Charles de Gaulle by 2038, the nuclear-powered vessel will be far larger than the current flagship.

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India

Why India to Europe trade corridor is stalling even as talks continue

A key hurdle hampering the progress of the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor is the lingering uncertainty over Gaza.

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Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi (left) and then US President Joe Biden attend the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment and India-Europe-Middle East Corridor meeting on September 9, 2023. Photo: Indian Press Information Bureau/EPA-EFE
Israel-Gaza war

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices in Bethlehem as peace returns to Gaza

Palestinians are flocking again to Manger Square, bringing much-needed revenue to the city after two years of fighting.

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Women pose for a picture in Manger Square in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Tuesday. Photo: AP
Israel-Iran conflict

Man executed in Iran for spying for Israel tortured to confess: rights group

The 27-year-old, arrested while taking pictures of a military headquarters, was accused of executing over 200 similar assignments for Mossad.

Syria

US strikes at Isis fighters in Syria after 3 Americans killed

At least five Isis members were killed in a ‘large-scale’ strike hitting 70 Isis targets across central Syria.

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US-China relations

Rubio swaps hawk for diplomat in year-end pivot on China

Top US envoy eschews ‘pacing threat’ label, stressing cooperation and Western hemisphere priorities for 2026.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his end-of-year press conference at the State Department on Friday. Photo: Reuters
Israel-Gaza war

UN declares Gaza famine over, but ‘situation remains critical’

Meanwhile, Oxfam says hunger in Gaza remains ‘appalling and preventable’, accusing Israel of blocking aid from humanitarian agencies.

Tourism

See dreamlike dunes and meet modern nomads in world’s biggest sand desert

In the Omani part of Rub’ al Khali, tourists can explore a constantly changing landscape with all the comforts of the present.

War and conflict

War-torn Sudan tops global humanitarian crisis watch list for third year

International Rescue Committee highlights a stark concentration of human suffering in a small number of countries in latest rankings.

A Sudanese refugee girl who fled from El-Fashir city, Sudan, at a transit camp in eastern Chad. Photo: Reuters
European Union

Opinion | As Doha Forum made clear, Europe is losing its seat at the table

Consumed by Ukraine, the EU has effectively retreated from global engagement. An urgent foreign policy recalibration is needed.

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani speaks on the first day of the 23rd edition of the annual Doha Forum in Qatar on December 6. Photo: Reuters
Style Edit

Style Edit: Audemars Piguet’s innovation at Dubai Watch Week

The luxury Swiss horology brand has been creating coveted perpetual calendars since 1948 – and just launched a new technology.

Australia

Isis-inspired Bondi gunmen visited Philippines before shooting: police

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Sajid Akram and his son Naveed had been radicalised by an ‘ideology of hate’.

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Tourism

How Saudi Arabia’s mountains offer authentic delights rarely found elsewhere

Far from Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 development projects, the hills of Asir province and its capital Abha offer a place to ‘clear the mind’.

A view of Rijal Almaa village, located west of Abha in Saudi Arabia’s Asir province. This part of the country offers an arguably more authentic experience – and certainly a cooler one – than in the kingdom’s desert areas, where many of its elaborate Vision 2023 projects aim to draw tourists. Photo: Xinhua via Zum Wire/TNS
Iran

No contact with Iran Nobel winner laureate arrest, supporters say

Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Peace Prize laureate, was detained on Friday alongside dozens of activists and may face national security charges.

Nobel Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who was arrested in Iran. Photo: Narges Mohammad Foundation via AFP
Australia

World leaders express horror at Bondi Beach attack as vigils held for victims

Israel’s Herzog condemned the ‘cruel attack on Jews’ by ‘terrorists’; Trump branded the shooting that killed 15 people ‘purely antisemitic’.

Benjamin Netanyahu

Netanyahu accuses Australia’s PM of inaction in tackling antisemitism

After the Bondi Beach shooting, the Israeli PM said he warned Albanese months ago that Australia’s policy was ‘encouraging antisemitism’.

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