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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.
Heavy machinery operates as Israeli forces dismantle UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
Israel-Gaza war

Israel’s demolition of UN compound in East Jerusalem raises legal concerns

Israel banned UNRWA in October 2024 over alleged Hamas ties. The agency says demolition of sites that stored Gaza aid violates international law.

Syria

Syrian deal unravels as sides clash and Isis prisoners escape

Iran

Hackers target Iran state TV with exiled prince’s message to forces

Donald Trump

A ‘Trump UN’ with US$1 billion entry? Nations cautious on Board of Peace plan

US president invites 60 nations to join his ‘Board of Peace’, with permanent membership available for states that pay US$1 billion.

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US President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday. Photo: AP
Saudi Arabia

Yemen’s leaders meet in Saudi Arabia after defeat of UAE-backed group

Saudi Arabia accused the UAE of smuggling an opposing leader to Abu Dhabi through Somalia, after the Saudi-backed government charged him with treason.

Iran

Iran warns against any US strike as judiciary hints at unrest-linked executions

Iranian official signals ‘war against God’ charges as rights group reports more than 24,000 arrests in crackdown.

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Syria

Syrian government forces take Al-Omar oilfield as Kurds withdraw

Al-Omar was home to the largest US base in Syria. It had been controlled by Kurdish-led forces since 2017 after Islamic State group was pushed out.

People destroy a statue representing the PKK and Kurdish service against the Islamic State group, in Raqa after its capture by the Syrian army, on Sunday. Photo: dpa
Hong Kong society

Hong Kong blogger’s Iran trip sparks debate about solo travel safety

Online community split over whether women travelling alone to ‘dangerous’ nations is reckless or eye-opening.

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Syria

US strike in Syria kills leader tied to Isis ambush that left 3 Americans dead

Bilal Hasan al-Jasim was allegedly ‘directly connected’ to the incident, which has sparked a series of retaliatory attacks by US forces.

Israel-Gaza war

Israel objects to composition of Trump-led Gaza ‘board of peace’

PM Netanyahu says the unveiling of the board was not coordinated with Israel and contradicted his government’s policy.

Palestinian girls walk past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the war in Gaza City on Friday. Photo: Reuters
Iran

Iran’s leader says ‘thousands’ killed in protests, Trump a ‘criminal’

The comments by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are the first admission by Tehran on the death toll from the unrest.

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Protesters gather as vehicles burn, amid anti-government protests in Tehran, Iran, in this screen grab from a social media video released on January 9. Photo: Social media via Reuters
Malaysia

Malaysian police arrest reporter following controversial question at Gaza forum

Rex Tan has resigned as a Free Malaysia Today reporter and apologised for his question, which raised an uproar for its racial overtones.

Israel-Gaza war

Trump names Blair, Rubio to Gaza ‘board of peace’

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, envoy Steve Witkoff and World Bank President Ajay Banga will also be on the panel chaired by the US leader.

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Donald Trump

Trump thanks Iran for ‘cancelling’ hanging of hundreds of political prisoners

The president has suggested for days that the US might strike Iran if its government triggered mass killings in its crackdown on protesters.

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A member of the Iranian community holds a poster depicitng Iran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi and US President Donald Trump outside the US embassy in Bucharest, Romania, on Wednesday. Photo: AP
Iran

Iran cleric demands death for protesters, threatens Trump amid unrest

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami urged the execution of detained protesters, a step the Trump administration warned could spark military action.

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Iranian senior cleric Ahmad Khatami delivers his sermon during Friday prayer in Tehran in January 2018. Photo: AP
Hong Kong society

Hongkonger missing in protest-hit Iran safe and ‘in touch’ with authorities

Immigration Department says it has also advised the woman to leave Iran as soon as possible.

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Russia

Putin offers to mediate Iran-Israel tensions after Trump threat

The Russian leader spoke with Israel’s Netanyahu and Iran’s Pezeshkian on Friday, offering Moscow’s help to de-escalate tensions, the Kremlin said.

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Pakistan

Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia plan defence deal to counter chaos in Middle East

Iran’s neighbours are worried that the US’ increasingly erratic behaviour may pose a risk to regional power balance and trade, analysts say.

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A protester waves the Iranian flag outside UN headquarters in New York during a Security Council meeting on Iran on Thursday. Photo: AFP
Iran

Exiled crown prince’s plan for Iran seen as mostly aimed at Trump

Experts say Reza Pahlavi’s aspirations for a post-theocratic Iran are to win White House backing.

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Iran

US says Iran halted 800 protester executions after Trump warnings

White House cites direct pressure for the stay of executions, as Gulf allies scramble to de-escalate threats of a US military strike on Iran.

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United States

Trump admin closer to deporting pro-Palestinian activist after court ruling

The ruling, which reversed an earlier decision to release Khalil, is a win for the Trump administration’s efforts to deport the ex-student.

Mahmoud Khalil attends a “Welcome Home” rally on the steps of the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York in June. Photo: EPA
China-Middle East relations

China warns against ‘law of the jungle’ amid anti-government protests in Iran

Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi that Beijing was willing to mediate.

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The wave of protests in Iran may be the most significant since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Photo: AP
Malaysia

FMT apologises for racial query tying Malaysia’s ‘Chinese problem’ to Palestine

During a George Galloway lecture, a Free Malaysia Today reporter asked if the ‘Palestine problem’ parallels Malaysia’s ‘Chinese problem’.

South China Sea

US aircraft carrier steams from South China Sea to Mideast as Iran in turmoil

Pentagon orders USS Abraham Lincoln on new mission after live-fire drills near Scarborough Shoal.

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Banking & finance

SF Holding, J&T strike US$1 billion deal as Asian e-commerce booms

The agreement will help SF Holding expand its international businesses, according to the Shenzhen-based company.

The deal will see SF Holding acquire an 8.45 per cent stake in J&T for about HK$8.3 billion. Photo: Shutterstock Images
Pakistan

Pakistan’s arms deals cleared for take-off as orders soar for JF-17 jets

The jets, co-produced with China, proved their worth during the India-Pakistan tensions, when they destroyed an S-400 air defence system.

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A visitor takes a look at a JF-17 jet fighter during an air show in Dubai in 2017. Photo: Reuters
Electric & new energy vehicles

China’s EV makers face slowdown in export growth after doubling in 2025

Chinese carmakers sold more than 2.6 million units to overseas markets last year, up 104 per cent from a year earlier, association says.

Iran

Trump claims ‘killing in Iran is stopping’, but keeps US options open

US president says that Iran hangings are off the table, and to ‘watch it and see’ about military action.

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