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Afghanistan

Afghanistan
Latest news and updates on Afghanistan, China relations and the Taliban's return to power after the 20-year war with the US and allies.
Capital
Kabul
Head of state
Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada
Head of government
Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada
A military surplus shop in Baghdad. Around 2,500 US troops had been stationed in Iraq in recent years. Photo: EPA
Middle East

US forces set to complete exit from Iraq after 2 decades

Departure from Iraq bases seen as a boost to Iran and its allies, even as Washington wages war against Tehran.

Pakistan

Afghanistan says 28 dead fighters came from Pakistan as Islamabad denies ties

Pakistan

Suicide bombing at police checkpoint in Pakistan kills at least 11

Pakistan

Why Pakistan’s endless war on militants fails to break the cycle

Tactical wins and retaliatory strikes have not delivered peace, even as two separate insurgencies appear to be converging.

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People gather at site of a bomb attack in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, on September 18. Photo: Xinhua
Security officers inspect the blast site following an attack on a mosque in Kohat district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on September 19. Photo: EPA
Security personnel fortify a police post with Ukraine-style mesh barriers, as a new line of defence against militant drone and aerial attacks, at Bara in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in August. Photo: AFP
Residents inspect a damaged house following an air strike in a village in Nurgal district of Kunar province, Afghanistan, on Monday. Photo: Xinhua
Donald Trump

US prepares sanctions against the ICC: sources

Trump administration readies entity-wide measures that could severely disrupt tribunal’s war crimes probes.

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Pakistan

31 dead in Pakistan after suicide bomber, gunmen attack police complex

An attacker rammed an explosives-laden car ‌into the Old Police Lines complex as officers and ⁠their families were praying in a mosque.

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Canada

Ex-Canada PM Chretien tells US: ‘never mistake our generosity for weakness’

His pointed message was issued in Gander, the Canadian town that sheltered thousands of stranded Americans after the September 11 attacks.

Former Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien speaks at the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US in Gander, Newfoundland, on Friday. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP
United States

Americans mark 25 years since 9/11 attacks amid enduring grief, reflection

Nearly 3,000 people were killed on the day that has shaped US society for decades, influencing its foreign policy and domestic politics.

Italy

Emma Bonino, Italy’s activist politician, dies aged 78

Bonino was a passionate advocate for social justice and gender equality who deliberately courted controversy to advance her many causes.

United States

On This Day | America faces ‘darkest hour’ as 9/11 attacks unfold in 2001 – SCMP archive

Two hijacked planes destroyed the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, leaving thousands dead and a nation in shock.

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A second hijacked plane approaches the World Trade Centre towers shortly before crashing into the skyscraper on September 11, 2001. Photo: AFP
United States

US judge approves order to force-feed suspect who attacked troops

Accused gunman Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been hospitalised since July after refusing food.

National Guard members patrol near the Washington Monument on November 28, 2025, two days after two troops were shot near the White House. Photo: AP
SCO

What to expect as China’s Xi Jinping attends SCO summit in Bishkek

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s 25th anniversary summit expected to offer clues to China’s ambitions for a more multipolar Asia, analysts say.

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Japan

Why Japan is walking on eggshells over US sanctions on ICC judge

Tokyo has to tread ‘extremely lightly’ on the issue to avoid jeopardising the US security umbrella on which it relies, analysts say.

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Cambodia

Declining aid threatens landmine clearing efforts in Southeast Asia

Aid cuts and shifting geopolitical priorities leave Cambodian and regional demining groups struggling to remove deadly wartime relics.

A deminer uses a metal detector to clear a landmine field in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in July. Photo: AP
United States

US sanctions International Criminal Court chief Tomoko Akane

Senior ICC lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, who was on the prosecution team that sought an arrest warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu, was also targeted.

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Japanese Judge Tomoko Akane, President of the International Criminal Court, delivers a speech at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo in June 2024. Photo: AFP
Hollywood

Meet Jill Wagner, who plays Bobby in Taylor Sheridan’s Lioness

The actress studied acting under the Yellowstone creator years before she helped create the spy thriller, which also stars Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman.

Pakistan

Pakistan border sees 724 humanitarian trucks enter Afghanistan

Nearly 14 million Afghans are facing acute hunger after deadly earthquakes last year, several climate-related disasters this year and the return of millions of refugees.

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China-Middle East relations

Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan Mecca pact ‘far from’ Nato-style defence alliance

Observers say diverging strategic interests and a weak mutual security capacity will be the main challenges facing the agreement.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left), Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Mecca on Friday. Photo: AFP
Taliban

2.4 million Afghan girls banned from schools 5 years after Taliban takeover: UN

The United Nations is urging an end to the ‘discriminatory’ Taliban policy that prevents girls from studying beyond primary school.

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India-Pakistan tensions

Maldives’ plea to restart South Asian bloc hits India-Pakistan brick wall

Calls for reviving Saarc are likely to fall on deaf ears as long as the two neighbours are at loggerheads, analysts say.

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Germany

Germany jails man for life over deadly Munich car-ramming

Prosecutors said during the trial that Farhad N., an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, acted out of ‘religious motivation’.

Members of the emergency services work at the scene where a car drove into a crowd in the southern German city of Munich on February 13, 2025 leaving several people injured, police said. Photo: AFP
Crime

Greek police arrest suspect after body of British woman found in suitcase

Afghan national in custody weeks after victim was discovered inside a derelict building in Athens.

An abandoned building where the body of Elisabeth-Jane Ross was found in a suitcase. Photo: Reuters
Pakistan

At least 14 dead in suicide bomb attack at anti-militant rally in Pakistan

No group claimed responsibility for the attack in the northwestern town of Kabal but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban.

United States

As I see it | Despite immense power, the US delivers neither butter nor bullets

While Americans know they can’t get the welfare benefits they need, their leaders must realise their military can’t give them world domination.

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United States

As I see it | America declares international law for thee but not for me

While the US is seeking to dismantle the International Criminal Court, it has signed a statement upholding the Hague tribunal’s South China Sea ruling.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends the 33rd Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines, on July 23. Photo: AFP
Central Asia

China tests Central Asian land corridors to bypass maritime chokepoints

New Afghanistan link via Uzbekistan highlights diversification push, but critics ask if Taliban can ensure security for stable logistics.

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Illustration: Brian Wang
Sexual harassment and assault

ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan removed over sexual misconduct allegations

The UK barrister is accused of having a non-consensual sexual relationship with a junior lawyer working at the International Criminal Court.

Ukraine war

Opinion | Russia’s grinding war in Ukraine shows the impotence of nuclear weapons

Having the world’s biggest nuclear arsenal has not helped Russia on the battlefield.

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