https://www.scmp.com/rss/519136/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Thirty-four European states plus Australia, Costa Rica and the EU said on Friday they would join a future special tribunal for Ukraine to prosecute Russia over its invasion of the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed an accord with the Council of Europe last year to create a legal body to prosecute the “crime of aggression” in the invasion Russia launched in February 2022. The Council of Ministers, comprising foreign ministers from the organisation’s 46-member states, in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3353763/ukraine-war-36-nations-approve-tribunal-creation-prosecute-russia-over-invasion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3353763/ukraine-war-36-nations-approve-tribunal-creation-prosecute-russia-over-invasion?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 May 2026 13:44:54 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela As ceasefires fail, peace talks stall and the Strait of Hormuz remains under a blockade, the deepening Middle East crisis has exposed the structural limitations of global security frameworks. The US-Israel war on Iran since February has strained United Nations bodies and left Nato reeling over US President Donald Trump’s threats to leave the transatlantic security alliance. With the risk of a protracted war looming, there is an often overlooked security grouping – whose member states include... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3352508/asian-alternative-nato-how-cica-rethinking-middle-east-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3352508/asian-alternative-nato-how-cica-rethinking-middle-east-security?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 02:00:06 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Middle Eastern governments are dusting off decades-old proposals for overland oil and gas pipelines, and urgently drawing up plans for new rail-sea transport corridors in a belated response to the wartime disruption of major maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. With the threats to these key shipping lanes and economic infrastructure set to linger after the multifront conflict between the US-Israel alliance and the Iran-led Axis of Resistance draws to a close, other... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352166/middle-east-states-eye-transport-resilience-new-logistics-corridor-bypass-hormuz?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3352166/middle-east-states-eye-transport-resilience-new-logistics-corridor-bypass-hormuz?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 May 2026 02:30:08 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Amid the rubble of the US-Israel war on Iran, a new Middle East appears to be taking shape as a constellation of regional powers jockey for a seat at the table. Led by Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the grouping stretches from the Gulf across the Caucasus to Central and South Asia, binding together countries with overlapping interests, interlocking partnerships and a shared conviction: that the post-war order should not be dictated exclusively by the US-Israel alliance or Iran and its battered but... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3351335/middle-easts-new-power-brokers-pakistan-turkey-saudi-arabia-egypt-unite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3351335/middle-easts-new-power-brokers-pakistan-turkey-saudi-arabia-egypt-unite?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2026 05:30:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has thrown the global economic system into turmoil, yet Israel, which launched attacks on Tehran alongside the United States, has emerged as a rare exception. Since Israel and its US ally started the Middle East war on February 28, economies from Asia to Europe and the US have come under pressure from surging oil and natural gas prices that have driven up fuel and electricity costs. Israel, however, has remained largely insulated from the shock. Central... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348629/how-israel-dodged-hormuz-energy-crisis-while-others-reel-blow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348629/how-israel-dodged-hormuz-energy-crisis-while-others-reel-blow?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 06:43:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Wars, including a widening conflict in the Middle East, are heightening risks for aviation as flight corridors are squeezed and drones become more widespread, Europe’s top aviation safety regulator has said. The month-old Iran war is reshaping airspace across the Middle East and increasing disruption to flights, including clogging routes between Asia and Europe that previously transited or ‌flew over the region. On top of the prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict and fighting between Pakistan and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348364/iran-war-rogue-drones-force-european-aviation-safety-rethink?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348364/iran-war-rogue-drones-force-european-aviation-safety-rethink?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 06:28:23 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Azerbaijan on Monday sentenced a Frenchman to 10 years in prison in an espionage case launched during a period of diplomatic tensions between Paris and Baku that have now eased. Martin Ryan was arrested in December 2023 and went on trial in January last year, when relations between Azerbaijan and France had deteriorated to new lows over Paris’ support for Armenia, Baku’s long-time rival. The court found him guilty of spying against Azerbaijan and sentenced him to 10 years. Prosecutors had sought... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3346788/frenchman-jailed-10-years-azerbaijan-im-not-spy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3346788/frenchman-jailed-10-years-azerbaijan-im-not-spy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 12:54:18 +0000 Cao Jiaxuan Cao Jiaxuan Central Asian governments are leveraging the diplomatic fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran to assert their autonomy and reinforce their long-standing strategy of balancing major powers, according to analysts. For decades, the five former Soviet republics have been seen as Russia’s “backyard”. However, as the conflict in Iran deepens, these nations are moving to recalibrate their geopolitical ties, signalling a shift away from their role as a passive buffer zone for great powers. The shift... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346611/beyond-buffer-zone-how-iran-war-recalibrating-central-asian-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346611/beyond-buffer-zone-how-iran-war-recalibrating-central-asian-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 06:00:14 +0000 The Star The Star Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday that his government would do whatever it took to keep RON95 petrol at 1.99 ringgit (50 US cents) per litre – even as the US-Israel war on Iran pushed global crude prices past US$100 a barrel. “We will do our best to ensure the price of RON95 remains at 1.99 ringgit so that the rakyat (common people) are not burdened,” he said at the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry’s monthly assembly in Kuala Lumpur. The pledge comes as the Middle... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3345932/malaysia-vows-hold-petrol-prices-oil-nears-us100-barrel-amid-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3345932/malaysia-vows-hold-petrol-prices-oil-nears-us100-barrel-amid-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 05:34:00 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse President Emmanuel Macron will visit Cyprus on Monday, his office said, as France deploys warships to the Mediterranean following a drone attack on the island EU member days ago. Macron will meet his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paphos to show “solidarity” and detail moves to “strengthen security around Cyprus and in the eastern Mediterranean”, the Elysee said on Sunday. The visit will take place as the war pitting the US and Israel... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3345905/macron-visit-cyprus-france-deploys-warships-mediterranean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3345905/macron-visit-cyprus-france-deploys-warships-mediterranean?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2026 16:54:36 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain What began as a US-Israeli assault on Iran is rapidly evolving into a conflict with the potential to spread far beyond the Middle East. Iranian missiles and drones have already struck or reached Turkey and Azerbaijan, while European powers are rushing additional warships, fighter jets and air defences to the eastern Mediterranean and Gulf to contain the fallout. Analysts warn the longer the war continues, the greater the risk that long-simmering regional fault lines – from Kurdish militancy to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345689/how-far-could-war-iran-spread-beyond-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345689/how-far-could-war-iran-spread-beyond-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 07:00:09 +0000 Reuters Reuters Azerbaijan warned on Thursday that it was preparing unspecified response measures after a pair of Iranian drones flew across its border and injured four people in the Nakhchivan exclave, raising concern about further spillover of the ‌conflict in the Middle East. “These attacks will not remain unanswered,” the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said in a statement. It added that it was investigating the types of drones used in the attack, and “preparing the necessary response measures to protect the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3345600/azerbaijan-vows-respond-after-iranian-drones-injure-4?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3345600/azerbaijan-vows-respond-after-iranian-drones-injure-4?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 11:46:57 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings Air freight costs for China-reliant shippers may rise by up to 30 per cent due to the suspension of Middle East air routes triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran, a Hong Kong-based logistics association said. The Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding & Logistics made the estimate based on “market feedback” since the strikes began on Saturday, the trade group told the South China Morning Post in an emailed statement. Most of the group’s 303 corporate members operate in mainland... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3345461/air-freight-costs-china-shippers-tipped-rise-30-middle-east-airspace-shuts-down?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3345461/air-freight-costs-china-shippers-tipped-rise-30-middle-east-airspace-shuts-down?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 12:54:38 +0000 Oscar Liu Oscar Liu The escalating conflict in the Middle East is set to drive up travel costs for Hong Kong passengers as many are forced to opt for more expensive direct routes to Europe, according to analysts. They said on Monday that the suspension of major transit hubs in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Doha in Qatar had left travellers scrambling for seats on direct flights or “conflict-free” paths to Europe, with surging demand set to trigger a spike in airfares. A check of Hong Kong flag carrier... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3345146/middle-east-conflict-drive-airfares-hong-kong-travellers-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3345146/middle-east-conflict-drive-airfares-hong-kong-travellers-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 12:00:15 +0000 Emily Hung Emily Hung Hong Kong’s public airmail services to 24 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia have been affected after a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran forced flight cancellations to two Gulf states and disrupted transit journeys. A Hongkong Post spokesman said on Sunday evening that the department’s airmail services to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were suspended with immediate effect until further notice. “Airmail services transiting through these locations will also be... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3345053/hongkong-posts-airmail-services-24-countries-affected-strikes-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3345053/hongkong-posts-airmail-services-24-countries-affected-strikes-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 15:45:39 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain US President Donald Trump declared the war in Gaza “over” at his inaugural “Board of Peace” meeting on Thursday, even as regional analysts warned that Israeli military operations could resume within weeks. At the gathering in Washington, attended by senior officials from more than 20 countries, promises of reconstruction and a “bright future” for Gaza were coupled with blunt US warnings that the alternative to disarmament would be a return to war. Outside the meeting, Israeli officials... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344087/trump-says-gaza-war-over-analysts-warn-fighting-could-resume-within-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344087/trump-says-gaza-war-over-analysts-warn-fighting-could-resume-within-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 05:33:08 +0000 Natalie Wong Natalie Wong Hong Kong will not pursue carbon-based taxation in its decarbonisation efforts, as maintaining a low and simple tax framework is central to the city’s competitive advantage, the financial chief has told a panel at the World Economic Forum. Speaking at the “How to Finance Decarbonization?” panel in Davos, Switzerland, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said that a key strategy by Hong Kong authorities was collaborating with the private sector to develop robust business cases for sustainable... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3340903/hong-kong-wont-pursue-carbon-based-taxes-under-bid-go-green-paul-chan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3340903/hong-kong-wont-pursue-carbon-based-taxes-under-bid-go-green-paul-chan?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 16:32:15 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump on Thursday inaugurated his “Board of Peace” to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas, insisting that “everyone wants to be a part” of the body that could eventually rival the United Nations – despite many US allies opting not to participate. In a speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump sought to create momentum for a project to map out a future for the war-torn Gaza Strip that has been overshadowed this week, first by his threats to seize... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340873/world-trump-launches-his-board-peace-some-see-rivalling-un?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340873/world-trump-launches-his-board-peace-some-see-rivalling-un?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 11:43:33 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Pakistan is increasingly confident of making billion-dollar arms sales, headlined by the JF-17 fighters its co-produces with China, as up to six Muslim-majority countries look to upgrade their air forces amid growing geopolitical turbulence and civil wars. A preliminary deal worth US$4 billion was struck last month with the Libyan National Army for an unspecified number of JF-17s and other training aircraft manufactured by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Reuters reported, citing Aamir Masood, an... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3339961/pakistans-arms-deals-cleared-take-jf-17-orders-soar-muslim-countries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3339961/pakistans-arms-deals-cleared-take-jf-17-orders-soar-muslim-countries?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jan 2026 04:52:11 +0000 Reuters Reuters Turkey on Wednesday said 20 of its soldiers were killed when a military transport plane crashed in Georgia a day earlier, marking the Nato member’s deadliest military incident since 2020. The C-130 cargo aircraft left Azerbaijan for Turkey and crashed in Georgia on Tuesday, leaving chunks of twisted metal strewn across a grassy knoll. Ankara has not provided a reason for the crash, but said Turkish and Georgian authorities have started inspections at the site, located in the Sighnaghu... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332396/turkish-military-plane-crashes-georgia-least-20-board?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332396/turkish-military-plane-crashes-georgia-least-20-board?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2025 16:48:10 +0000 Reuters Reuters France and Britain, in coordination with the United States, were working to finalise a UN Security Council resolution in the coming days that would lay the foundation for a future international force in Gaza, France said on Thursday. With a shaky US-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas holding, planning has begun for an international force to stabilise security in the Palestinian enclave, two senior US advisers said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters in Paris, French Foreign Ministry... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3329370/fragile-gaza-ceasefire-holds-world-powers-plan-stabilisation-force?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3329370/fragile-gaza-ceasefire-holds-world-powers-plan-stabilisation-force?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Oct 2025 06:40:51 +0000 Reuters Reuters Russian President Vladimir Putin told Azerbaijan’s leader that two Russian missiles had detonated beside an Azerbaijan Airlines plane last year after Ukrainian drones entered Russian airspace, and promised compensation to those affected. Flight J2-8243, en route from Baku to the Chechen capital Grozny, crash-landed on December 25, near Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia, where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several targets. At least 38 people were... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3328417/putin-admits-russian-missiles-downed-azerbaijan-airlines-flight-last-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3328417/putin-admits-russian-missiles-downed-azerbaijan-airlines-flight-last-year?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 13:12:09 +0000 Abishur Prakash Abishur Prakash Earlier this month, Anthropic, the American artificial intelligence company, entered the US-China fight. It barred companies from using its AI services if they were more than 50 per cent owned by Chinese entities. This was a double punch – China’s access to American technology hit another obstacle, and the global business world was prodded again to reject Chinese investment. Just a few months ago, Anthropic’s move would have knocked the wind out of China. But the recent Shanghai Cooperation... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3325174/chinas-moment-rewire-world-arriving-what-will-it-do?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3325174/chinas-moment-rewire-world-arriving-what-will-it-do?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Sep 2025 22:30:08 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Two years ago, it was unveiled with much fanfare as a grand riposte to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Today, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor is being steadily eclipsed by regional hostilities and global disinterest. The architects of the US-backed IMEC, envisaged as a bridge linking India to Europe via the Gulf and Israel, have found themselves mired in deepening discord. Instead of capitalising on the corridor’s transformative economic potential, analysts say its stakeholders... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3325366/end-imec-us-backed-answer-chinas-belt-and-road-falters-amid-mideast-strife?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3325366/end-imec-us-backed-answer-chinas-belt-and-road-falters-amid-mideast-strife?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Sep 2025 08:00:19 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump’s obsession with winning the Nobel Peace Prize next month may have hit a hitch - the stubborn independence of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which insisted that it cannot be swayed. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has made it clear he wants the prestigious accolade, which his Democratic rival Barack Obama won to the surprise of many shortly after taking office in 2009. The 79-year-old billionaire has taken every opportunity to say he “deserves it”,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3325300/trumps-push-nobel-peace-prize-wont-sway-us-says-committee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3325300/trumps-push-nobel-peace-prize-wont-sway-us-says-committee?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Sep 2025 06:02:20 +0000 Edith Mao Edith Mao US President Donald Trump’s methods for mediating international conflicts may backfire and lead to more confrontation, experts in China have warned. Trump’s mediation tactics revealed a power politics approach and constituted ill-advised interference in the long term, Zhang Luwei, a research associate at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said in an article published on the institute’s social media account last week. She said Trump was known for taking a high profile... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3322166/trump-being-put-forward-nobel-peace-prize-so-he-must-be-top-mediator-right?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3322166/trump-being-put-forward-nobel-peace-prize-so-he-must-be-top-mediator-right?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Aug 2025 14:00:08 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain The shortest Silk Route between China and Europe is set to reopen for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, following last Friday’s agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan to end the conflict that had been blocking the way. Ironically, the obstacle was cleared by China’s nemesis, United States President Donald Trump: his administration’s involvement was key to pushing the framework peace deal across the finishing line. Shoehorned last minute into negotiations by Azerbaijan’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3321800/revived-silk-route-allows-us-steam-ahead-china-russia-south-caucasus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3321800/revived-silk-route-allows-us-steam-ahead-china-russia-south-caucasus?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Aug 2025 04:12:37 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The streets were almost deserted in Yerevan on Saturday because of the summer heat, but at shaded parks and fountains, Armenians struggled to make sense of what the accord signed a day earlier in Washington means for them. The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, two countries in the Caucasus involved in a territorial conflict since the fall of the Soviet Union, met on Friday and signed a peace treaty under the watch of US President Donald Trump. In Yerevan, however, few people were... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3321348/armenians-call-trump-brokered-azerbaijan-peace-deal-surrender-document?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3321348/armenians-call-trump-brokered-azerbaijan-peace-deal-surrender-document?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Aug 2025 04:52:12 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Armenia and Azerbaijan had committed to a lasting peace after decades of conflict, as he hosted the leaders of the South Caucasus rivals at a signing event in the White House. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s long-time President Ilham Aliyev were in Washington for what Trump had touted as a “historic peace summit”. “Armenia and Azerbaijan are committing to stop all fighting forever, open up commerce, travel and diplomatic... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3321288/armenia-and-azerbaijan-sign-trump-route-peace-deal-white-house?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3321288/armenia-and-azerbaijan-sign-trump-route-peace-deal-white-house?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Aug 2025 21:42:57 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump announced he will host the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Friday for what he called a “Historic Peace Summit” aimed at ending a decades-long conflict between two former Soviet republics. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan “will join me at the White House for an official Peace Signing Ceremony”, Trump posted Thursday on social media. Baku and Yerevan, sworn enemies for decades, went to war twice over the disputed... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3321153/trump-host-armenia-and-azerbaijan-historic-peace-signing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3321153/trump-host-armenia-and-azerbaijan-historic-peace-signing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Aug 2025 00:00:45 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Once bound by history to Iran and Russia, Azerbaijan has been actively reconfiguring relationships with its neighbours in a bid to stake a claim as a major player in Eurasia – even at the cost of ratcheting up diplomatic friction with its former colonial rulers. Emboldened by the decisive seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia in 2023, Baku has drawn on a web of diverse strategic partnerships to assert its autonomy. No longer content to be a subordinate neighbour, Azerbaijan is pushing back... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317921/how-azerbaijan-defies-russia-and-iran-eurasias-new-order?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317921/how-azerbaijan-defies-russia-and-iran-eurasias-new-order?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Jul 2025 09:00:07 +0000 Raymond Ma,Neil Denslow Raymond Ma,Neil Denslow US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese counterpart Wang Yi met on the sidelines of a Southeast Asia conference after sparring for influence in a region under threat from President Donald Trump’s tariffs (See Trump 2.0 Tariffs Tracker). The first-ever meeting between the two officials took place in Kuala Lumpur, where they are attending an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) gathering. Rubio earlier told reporters he could push for Chinese help to end Russia’s war in Ukraine... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3317818/rubio-wang-meet-china-gdp-nvidia-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3317818/rubio-wang-meet-china-gdp-nvidia-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Jul 2025 09:30:21 +0000 Laura Zhou Laura Zhou Armenia is looking to deepen ties with China with no limits, its foreign minister said, as the South Caucasus republic intensifies efforts to diversify its foreign policy away from Russia following the Nagorno-Karabakh war five years ago. “Not only is there no impediment and any obstacle on the way of deepening our relations, but also there is openness and readiness to deepen these relations without any limitations,” Armenia’s top diplomat Ararat Mirzoyan told the South China Morning Post in an... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3316682/armenia-looks-deepen-ties-china-while-eyeing-foreign-relations-beyond-russia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3316682/armenia-looks-deepen-ties-china-while-eyeing-foreign-relations-beyond-russia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Jul 2025 03:11:43 +0000 Thomas O. Falk Thomas O. Falk The recent war between Iran and Israel has laid bare a truth long obscured by Kremlin bluster: Russia is no longer a superpower. Moscow’s muted response to Tehran’s plight is not an anomaly but the latest – and perhaps most telling – chapter in a pattern of strategic neglect that stretches from the Middle East to the Levant and South Caucasus. Driven by President Vladimir Putin’s neo-imperialist fantasies, Russia plunged into Ukraine to find itself in a quagmire that has bled its military,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3316114/attacks-iran-show-russia-can-now-do-very-little-its-allies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3316114/attacks-iran-show-russia-can-now-do-very-little-its-allies?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Jun 2025 02:30:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Governments around the world are evacuating thousands of their nationals caught up in the rapidly spiralling Israel-Iran conflict, organising buses and planes and in some cases assisting people crossing borders on foot. Foreigners have rushed to leave both countries after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign last Friday targeting Iran’s nuclear and military facilities, sparking retaliation from Tehran. The evacuations gained new urgency as US President Donald Trump announced on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3315152/air-land-and-sea-nations-race-evacuate-citizens-israel-and-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3315152/air-land-and-sea-nations-race-evacuate-citizens-israel-and-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Jun 2025 03:34:07 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India is reportedly accelerating arms sales to Armenia in what analysts view as part of a broader effort to counter the growing strategic alignment between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan – a trilateral partnership that has challenged New Delhi’s regional interests and openly backed Islamabad in the wake of their recent cross-border flare-up. Defence ties between Delhi and Armenia’s government in Yerevan have grown steadily since 2020, fuelled by shared strategic interests and the West Asian... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3311090/why-india-boosting-arms-sales-armenia-amid-pakistan-turkey-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3311090/why-india-boosting-arms-sales-armenia-amid-pakistan-turkey-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 May 2025 03:00:13 +0000 Junaid Kathju Junaid Kathju Calls to boycott Turkish and Azerbaijani products and travel have intensified across India, with experts describing the push as an emerging form of consumer-led diplomacy in response to the two countries’ support for Pakistan during recent cross-border hostilities. While analysts said the economic fallout for either side might be limited, they suggested the backlash reflected deeper shifts in Indian public opinion – and the country’s evolving use of economic tools to signal foreign policy... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3310592/india-boycott-calls-against-turkey-azerbaijan-reflect-growing-consumer-led-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3310592/india-boycott-calls-against-turkey-azerbaijan-reflect-growing-consumer-led-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 May 2025 10:00:28 +0000 More than two weeks since Jeju Air Flight 2216 crashed at South Korea’s Muan International Airport, grieving families of the 179 people killed in the disaster face another hurdle – online hate. Since the December 29 crash, social media and online communities had been filled with hateful comments and disinformation about the victims and their families, The Korea Herald reported. Comments included how families were “delighted” about receiving compensation from the government, with a man in his... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3294696/south-koreas-jeju-air-crash-victims-families-face-hate-disinformation-online?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3294696/south-koreas-jeju-air-crash-victims-families-face-hate-disinformation-online?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Jan 2025 11:07:05 +0000 Commercial aviation has suffered its deadliest year since 2018 after the Jeju Air Co. disaster in South Korea and last week’s downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane. Fatalities on board passenger aircraft jumped to 318 this year with the two recent accidents, data compiled by Cirium shows. That is by far the highest death toll since more than 500 people died in 2018, a year marked by the first of two Boeing Co. 737 Max crashes. This year started and ended with tragedies in Japan and South Korea... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3292822/south-koreas-jeju-air-azerbaijani-jet-crashes-mark-deadliest-year-aviation-2018?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3292822/south-koreas-jeju-air-azerbaijani-jet-crashes-mark-deadliest-year-aviation-2018?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:57:28 +0000 Two passengers and one crew member on the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan said that they heard at least one loud bang as it approached its original destination of Grozny in southern Russia. Flight J2-8243 crashed on Wednesday in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from an area of southern Russia where Moscow has repeatedly used air defence systems against Ukrainian attack drones. At least 38 people were killed while 29 survived. “After the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3292560/survivors-recall-moment-azerbaijani-jet-crash-i-thought-plane-was-going-fall-apart?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3292560/survivors-recall-moment-azerbaijani-jet-crash-i-thought-plane-was-going-fall-apart?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Dec 2024 01:20:32 +0000 Russian air defence systems may have brought down an Azerbaijani airliner this week, a US official said on Friday after an Azerbaijani minister also suggested the plane was hit by a weapon, citing expert analysis and survivor accounts. Friday’s assessments by Rashan Nabiyev and White House National Security spokesman John Kirby echoed those made by outside aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russian air defence systems responding to a Ukrainian attack. These statements raised pressure on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3292558/azerbaijani-and-us-officials-suggest-plane-crashed-may-have-been-hit-weapons-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3292558/azerbaijani-and-us-officials-suggest-plane-crashed-may-have-been-hit-weapons-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Dec 2024 23:41:04 +0000 Azerbaijan Airlines said on Friday that the preliminary results of an investigation into the plane that crashed in Kazakhstan pointed to “physical and technical external interference”, amid growing speculation it was hit by a Russian air defence system. Announcing the suspension of flights to 10 Russian airports, Azerbaijan Airlines said the decision was “based on the preliminary results of the investigation into the crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft operating the Baku-Grozny flight J2-8243 of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3292524/least-1-loud-bang-plane-went-down-passenger-crashed-azerbaijan-airliner-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3292524/least-1-loud-bang-plane-went-down-passenger-crashed-azerbaijan-airliner-says?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:38:56 +0000 The president of Azerbaijan Airlines praised the pilots of flight J2-8243 after the plane, carrying 67 people, crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. Although both pilots were among the 38 fatalities reported by Kazakh authorities, nearly half the passengers – 29 people – survived. Samir Rzayev, who heads up the airline, also known as AZAL, told reporters on Wednesday that the two pilots’ “heroism will never be forgotten”. “While this tragic accident brought a significant loss to our nation, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3292428/azerbaijan-airlines-hails-heroism-dead-pilots-saving-29-lives-kazakhstan-jet-crash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3292428/azerbaijan-airlines-hails-heroism-dead-pilots-saving-29-lives-kazakhstan-jet-crash?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:13:57 +0000 The Kremlin on Thursday cautioned against “hypotheses” over the crash of an Azerbaijani plane heading for Russia, killing 38 people, which Azerbaijan officials reportedly believe was caused by a Russian surface-to-air missile. The Azerbaijan Airlines jet crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau, an oil and gas hub, on Wednesday after going off course for undetermined reasons. Thirty-eight of the 67 people on board died. The Embraer 190 aircraft was supposed to fly northwest from the Azerbaijani... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3292364/azerbaijan-airliner-was-downed-russian-air-defence-system-four-sources-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3292364/azerbaijan-airliner-was-downed-russian-air-defence-system-four-sources-say?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Dec 2024 14:21:08 +0000 An Embraer passenger plane crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people, after diverting from an area of Russia that Moscow has recently defended against Ukrainian drone attacks. Twenty-nine survivors received hospital treatment. Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 had flown hundreds of kilometres off its scheduled route from Azerbaijan to Russia to crash on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea, after what Russia’s aviation watchdog said was an emergency that may... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3292244/azerbaijan-airlines-plane-crashes-kazakhstan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3292244/azerbaijan-airlines-plane-crashes-kazakhstan?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:53:58 +0000 As world leaders gather in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the UN climate change conference Cop29, an opportunity has arisen to align climate action with economic initiatives, in particular the Belt and Road Initiative. One of the largest infrastructure programmes in history, the Chinese initiative was launched in 2013 to enhance global connectivity and economic integration across Asia, Europe and Africa. Recognising the environmental challenges, China is focusing on a green transformation of the Belt and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3286810/cop29-can-work-belt-and-road-initiative-greener-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3286810/cop29-can-work-belt-and-road-initiative-greener-future?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Nov 2024 08:30:09 +0000 Host Azerbaijan tried to bring down the diplomatic temperature in Baku on Thursday after a French minister cancelled her trip to the UN climate talks and Argentina withdrew its delegation. While negotiators work behind closed doors at the Cop29 talks to thrash out a climate finance deal, the spotlight has been largely stolen by diplomatic turmoil. France’s Environment Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said on Wednesday she would not travel to Baku after Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev accused... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3286627/cop29-host-tries-calm-waters-after-diplomatic-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3286627/cop29-host-tries-calm-waters-after-diplomatic-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Nov 2024 17:18:27 +0000 The president of Azerbaijan, host of this year’s UN climate summit, lashed out at Western critics of his country’s oil and gas industry on Tuesday. In his keynote address at the Cop29 climate summit, where nearly 200 nations are negotiating global action on climate change, President Ilham Aliyev described his country as a victim of a “well-orchestrated campaign of slander and blackmail”. Within moments, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres took to the stage to say that doubling down on fossil... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3286301/cop29-host-azerbaijan-hits-out-west-defence-oil-and-gas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3286301/cop29-host-azerbaijan-hits-out-west-defence-oil-and-gas?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:30:38 +0000 State-level and other subnational officials from the US and China are expected to meet in Azerbaijan next week at a key multinational forum to address climate change amid concerns that Donald Trump’s re-election could jeopardise global inroads on the issue. Senior officials from several American states including California, Maryland and Washington will join their mainland counterparts at the US-China Subnational Climate Leaders Dialogue on the sidelines of the annual United Nations climate... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3285663/china-us-officials-set-discuss-climate-change-amid-fears-over-donald-trumps-policies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3285663/china-us-officials-set-discuss-climate-change-amid-fears-over-donald-trumps-policies?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Nov 2024 22:55:19 +0000 Cop29, the UN climate change conference, convenes in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, from November 11-22. Compared to Cop28 host, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), less is known about Azerbaijan – but that is about to change. The South Caucasus country bridging Eastern Europe and Western Asia is poised to be a middle power in a multipolar world. Cop29 will focus on the funds needed to limit global warming to the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels. The contentious... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3284353/cop29-azerbaijans-moment-step-global-sunshine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3284353/cop29-azerbaijans-moment-step-global-sunshine?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Nov 2024 21:30:08 +0000