Russia & Central Asia

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Russia's alleged election meddling

Hungarian Prime Minister addresses supporters in Kecskemet on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Hungary’s Orban to send team to Russia, expecting end of Ukraine war

The PM is anticipating a post-war landscape in which sanctions are lifted and Russia becomes reintegrated with the Western economy.

7 Dec 2025 - 5:40AMvideocam

Ukraine’s Zelensky holds ‘very substantive’ call with Trump envoys

7 Dec 2025 - 1:20AM

5 killed in latest clash at Afghanistan-Pakistan border crossing

6 Dec 2025 - 7:52PM

Why more women are embracing combat roles in Ukraine’s military

Equipment such as drones has opened up new paths for women and helped them overcome resistance in the military.

6 Dec 2025 - 5:40PM

Monka, an FPV drone operator from the third assault brigade, assembles an FPV drone in November, in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. Photo: AP

India and Russia agree to boost trade to US$100 billion by 2030

India’s Modi greeted Putin with a bear hug before announcing free electronic visas for Russian tourists.

6 Dec 2025 - 1:15PM

UK Novichok report blames Putin for ‘reckless’ poisoning of ex-Russian spy

Inquiry concluded that the assassination attempt of Sergei Skripal must have been ‘authorised at the highest level’.

5 Dec 2025 - 3:35AM

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Trump says next steps for Ukraine talks unclear after Putin meeting

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser Jared Kushner had spent hours at the Kremlin with no breakthrough on ending the war.

4 Dec 2025 - 7:53AM

A Ukrainian serviceman stands in church damaged by a Russian military strike in the frontline town of Kostiantynivka on Friday. Photo: Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces via Reuters

Afghan boy, 13, executes family’s killer in echoes of worst days of Taliban rule

The public execution, the 11th carried out since the Taliban seized power in 2021, has drawn global condemnation.

3 Dec 2025 - 1:51PM

Russia says no Ukraine compromise reached after Putin meets Trump envoys

Before the talks, the Kremlin chief warned European powers that if they wanted a war, Russia would defeat them.

3 Dec 2025 - 12:31PM

Zelensky reinforces European support as he eyes Trump talks on US deal

Ukrainian president met Macron in Paris to sound out allies on the US blueprint for peace, which was drafted without input from Kyiv or Europe.

2 Dec 2025 - 3:04PM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday. Photo: AFP

The Philippines

Why Russia is targeting the Philippines with Ukraine mercenary claims

As Moscow wages an information war far from the battlefields of Ukraine, an improbable front has opened up in Southeast Asia.

1 Dec 2025 - 4:02PM

A Filipino soldier demonstrates how to operate a missile system during a joint military exercise with the US in August last year. Photo: AFP

US sees progress after latest Ukraine talks as Trump envoy heads to Russia

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expresses optimism despite ‘delicate’ negotiations, with special envoy Steve Witkoff set to travel to Moscow.

1 Dec 2025 - 6:12PM

Kazakhstan tells Ukraine to stop Black Sea oil terminal attacks

Ukraine has mounted wave after wave of attacks on Russia’s oil refineries and crude oil terminals in an attempt to undermine the Russian war economy.

30 Nov 2025 - 5:33PM

Ukraine naval drones strike Russian oil tankers in Black Sea off Turkish coast

The Kairos and Virat are said to be part of the ‘shadow fleet’ that helps Moscow evade international sanctions.

30 Nov 2025 - 1:18AM

Footage released on Saturday shows smoke rising from a ship on fire in the Black Sea off the Turkish coast. Photo: Security Service of Ukraine via AFP

Russian strikes kill 3 in Kyiv, injure 29, as efforts to end war continue

The assault came hours before a Ukrainian team set off for the US for talks aimed at bringing peace after almost four years of war.

29 Nov 2025 - 9:49PMvideocam

Residents react on Saturday in front of a damaged apartment building following another fatal Russian attack on Kyiv. Photo: AFP

Russia’s Putin sets hardline condition for peace: Ukraine must cede land

Putin says Russia is seeking international recognition of occupied territories as the US pushes to end the nearly four-year Ukraine war.

28 Nov 2025 - 1:46PM

Pope warns ‘piecemeal’ third world war ‘threatening’ humanity

In Ankara, Pope Leo urged for global peace amid rising conflicts and geopolitical tensions during his first trip outside Italy.

27 Nov 2025 - 10:25PM

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3 Chinese citizens killed in Tajik-Afghan border clash

Tajik officials claim the workers were killed in a drone and gun attack from Afghanistan, raising tensions in Tajikistan’s volatile border region.

27 Nov 2025 - 9:47PM

Ruins of Ancient Penjikent in Tajikistan along the the Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor. Photo: Shutterstock

Chinese tourism to Russia soars as travellers pivot from under-fire Japan

Chinese travel firms have seen a surge in Russia-related bookings in recent weeks, as tourists continue to avoid Japan amid a diplomatic row.

26 Nov 2025 - 5:59PMvideocam

US-backed peace plan for Ukraine drew from Russian document: sources

Russian ‘non-paper’ was key input for the 28-point plan, which has since been revised following talks between US and Ukrainian officials.

26 Nov 2025 - 8:14PM

Zelensky ready to advance US-backed Ukraine plan as Trump softens on deadline

US president backs away from his initial November 27 peace plan deadline as he dispatches aides to see Putin and the Ukrainians.

26 Nov 2025 - 12:13PM

US President Donald Trump said he will hopefully meet with Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin when a deal is in the ‘final stages’. Photo: AFP

Ukraine and Russia exchange deadly strikes as negotiators race to refine deal

Hundreds of drones fired as negotiators thrash out changes to a US peace plan by Trump’s November 27 deadline.

25 Nov 2025 - 7:33PM

An explosion of a Russian drone in the sky over Kyiv, Ukraine on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Zelensky says ‘sensitive issues’ of Ukraine plan to be discussed with Trump

US and Ukraine are seeking to narrow differences over a peace framework after Trump’s plan was seen as favouring Russia.

26 Nov 2025 - 8:43AM

‘Issues remain’: US-Ukraine talks advance, but Europe cautious on Russia deal

Trump hails ‘big progress’ in talks, while Germany confirms US plan was modified with Nato and territorial demands removed.

25 Nov 2025 - 1:03AM

South Africa police investigate claims Zuma’s daughter in Russia recruit scheme

Men were lured with job promises, but were allegedly handed to a Russian mercenary group for Ukraine war effort.

24 Nov 2025 - 10:09AM

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma, in Durban on November 11. Photo: EPA

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