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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.
French President Emmanuel Macron addresses French troops during a ceremony at the 5th Cuirassier Regiment’s base in Zayed Military City, near Abu Dhabi, UAE on Sunday. Photo: AFP
Emmanuel Macron

Macron, on UAE visit, announces new French aircraft carrier

While meeting French troops, Macron gave the go-ahead to replace the Charles de Gaulle, the only nuclear-powered carrier outside the US Navy.

India

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

Israel-Gaza war

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

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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.

Israeli air defence systems intercept Iranian missiles over the Israeli city of Tel Aviv early on June 18. Photo: AFP
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-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.

Displaced Palestinians gather to collect portions of cooked food at a charity distribution in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip in May. Photo: TNS
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.

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.

Audemars Piguet’s showing at Dubai Watch Week. Photo: Handout
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’.

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’.

People hold a vigil outside the Australian High Commission in central London, Britain on Sunday following a terrorist attack on a Jewish celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Photo: PA Wire / dpa
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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Israel-Gaza war

Israel says it killed Hamas weapons chief in Gaza

PM Netanyahu said arms production head Raad Saad was ‘one of the architects’ of the October 7 attack that sparked the war.

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Syria

Trump vows retaliation after 2 US troops and a civilian killed in Syria ambush

This is the first attack on American service members to inflict casualties since the fall of Assad a year ago.

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US President Donald Trump talks to the press before boarding Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House on Saturday. Photo: AFP
Iran

Iran seizes foreign oil tanker suspected of smuggling fuel

Semi-official media cited few details but the news comes days after the US intercepted a tanker off Venezuela allegedly linked to Tehran.

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Donald Trump

Syria’s year of ‘epic’ transformation earns it Trump’s protection

Washington is lifting sanctions and has rebuked Israel for its attacks, as the US throws its weight behind Ahmed al-Sharaa’s administration.

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Israel-Gaza war

‘My future is paralysed’: Gaza amputees desperate to walk again

The World Health Organization estimates there are some 5,000 to 6,000 amputees from the Israel-Gaza war, 25 per cent of them children.

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Haneen al-Mabhouh, who lost her leg in an Israeli strike on her home, sits in a wheelchair in her family home in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, on November 6. Photo: AP
Iran

Iran detains Nobel Prize winner Narges Mohammadi in ‘brutal’ arrest

The activist’s brother says she was beaten on the legs, held by her hair and ‘dragged down’ by security forces personnel.

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Narges Mohammadi has spent much of the past decade behind bars. Photo: Narges Mohammadi Foundation via AFP
SCMP Highlights

Japan, US defence chiefs discuss China; Mexico’s tariffs: SCMP daily highlights

From Trump and Modi’s phone call to scientists addressing implant rejection with a soft brain chip, here’s a round-up from today’s coverage.

War and conflict

As I see it | Would the world be safer if the military were in charge of the US?

Capricious political leaders like Donald Trump and his defence chief may be more dangerous than responsible and battle-tested generals.

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Banking & finance

Hong Kong needs to attract global champions to broaden fundraising base: FSDC

Think tank urges the expansion of connect schemes to cover a wider range of asset classes and the promotion of digital asset trading.

“Hong Kong has every opportunity to shape, innovate and lead,” according to the FSDC. Photo: Sam Tsang
China-South Korea relations

Why South Korea poses a major challenge to China’s Middle East arms export drive

Both neighbours hope to expand exports to the region, but the Koreans may be better placed due to systems integration and political concerns.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
International Property

Hong Kong scion Adrian Cheng forms retail venture with Dubai group

Joint venture will connect ‘the consumers and rich cultural industries of the Middle East and Chinese-speaking markets’ at Dubai’s Wafi City.

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Hong Kong economy

Opinion | How Hong Kong became the trusted bridgehead for China firms going out

Firms eager to escape oversupply and involution at home are looking to leverage Hong Kong’s trusted institutional interface.

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