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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.
Police officers inspect a charity for Palestinian civilians in Milan on Saturday. Photo: LaPresse/AP
Italy

Italy arrests 9 suspected of funding Hamas via charities

Among those arrested was the president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, who reportedly funnelled funds to Hamas’ military wing.

Israel

Israel’s recognition of Somaliland enrages Somalia, African Union

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

Experts warn of wider repercussions, including efforts by importers to divert shipments and renewed strain in US-India trade talks.

A worker gathers rice grain with a broom in a grain market at Mansa in the northern state of Punjab, India, in November. Photo: Reuters
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.

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.

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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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People celebrate in Manger Square in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on December 24. Photo: AFP
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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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.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem in October. Photo: AFP
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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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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A Rafale fighter aircraft takes off from the French aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in 2015. Photo: AFP
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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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.

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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.

US President Donald Trump salutes as a US Army carry team moves a flagged-draped transfer case containing the remains of Ayad Mansoor Sakat, a US civilian working as an interpreter, at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
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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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.

Dunes can rise up to 300 metres high in the Omani part of Rub’ al Khali, the world’s largest expanse of sand. Photo: Andreas Drouve/dpa-tmn
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.

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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Mourners place flowers at a makeshift memorial at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Tuesday. Photo: EPA
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.

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’.

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