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Central Asia
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Central Asia

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Central Asia
Central Asia
News from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.
By the middle of last month, 78 billion yuan of panda bonds had been issued this year. Photo: Shutterstock
Banking & finance

Kazakh sovereign fund issues Central Asia’s first panda bond in ‘milestone’ sale

Samruk-Kazyna chairman says issuance marks ‘an important milestone in strengthening the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and China’.

China energy security

China turns to central Asia as US blockade in Hormuz chokes global energy flows

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Science

Open Questions | What an ancient Chinese map reveals about global history: Sheng-Wei Wang

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Kazakhstan

Opinion | Why China is looking to Central Asia as Middle East grows riskier

The region’s strategic value as a corridor of resilience is becoming harder to ignore.

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An oil and gas industry worker operates a drilling rig at the Zhetybay field in Kazakhstan’s Mangystau region, on November 13, 2023. Photo: Reuters
US, Israel war on Iran

Trump faces a dilemma in the aftermath of failed US-Iran peace talks: analysts

The two countries are still far apart on the big issues, with American midterms looming and no quick way out.

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Xinjiang

Why has China mapped out a third new county in Xinjiang on its western frontier?

Cenling county, near Pakistan and Afghan borders and disputed frontier with India, follows Hean and Hekang as Beijing boosts security.

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Afghanistan

Afghan mother demands answers after son dies in Pakistani hospital bombing

Human rights groups have called for an independent investigation into the March 16 strike on a drug treatment centre that killed 411.

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Samira Muhammadi holds up a photograph of her son, Aref Khan, who was killed by a Pakistani airstrike that struck a drug rehabilitation centre on March 16.Photo: AFP
Afghanistan

Afghanistan wants US$10 billion in trade deals with Central Asia

Central Asia’s typical trade routes through Russia are hampered by heavy sanctions, while the Taliban is trying to trade with the world despite international sanctions.

Diplomacy

Opinion | Why India is quietly deepening its engagement with the Taliban

New Delhi’s courtship of Kabul is powered by realpolitik as the imperatives of security, strategy and connectivity converge.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Iran war and rogue drones force European aviation safety rethink

As the Middle East conflict clogs flight corridors between Asia and Europe, EASA chief warns of ‘hybrid warfare’ risks.

A Boeing 747 plane takes off from Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates earlier this month. Photo: EPA
Art

9 artists to look out for at this year’s Art Basel Hong Kong

From Kazakh warrior sculptures to speculative films by Andrew Thomas Huang and Ayoung Kim, these are the artworks defining this year’s programme.

The Deer of Nine Colors by Andrew Thomas Huang. Photo: Handout
Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong firms face profit squeeze as US importers cut orders amid oil crisis

City’s business leaders also say government should bolster ties with Central Asia and Asean nations to diversify market risks.

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

The temporary ceasefire comes after Monday’s hospital strike, the deadliest in an escalating conflict between the two neighbours.

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An Afghan man walks next to the site where a drug rehabilitation centre was destroyed in an air strike in Kabul on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
Afghanistan

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

Pakistan rejected the accusation, saying its air strikes on eastern Afghanistan did not hit any civilian sites.

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Firefighters work at the scene of alleged Pakistani air strikes in Kabul on Tuesday. Photo: EPA
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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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.

Yurt is championing Central Asian cuisine in Hong Kong. Photo: Jocelyn Tam
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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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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People gather around the coffin of an army soldier, killed in the border clashes between Pakistani and Afghan forces, during a funeral prayer in a village in Lakki Marwat, a district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on February 28. Photo: AP
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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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’.

Residents mail parcels at the General Post Office in Central in May 2025. Photo: Elson Li
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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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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