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Middle East

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Middle East. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Palestinian scout bands parade at Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Israel-Gaza war

Bethlehem celebrates first festive Christmas since Gaza war

The city where Christians believe Jesus was born had cancelled celebrations for the past two years.

25 Dec 2025 - 1:03AM

India’s gem exports defy US tariffs as Asia, Middle East demand grows

24 Dec 2025 - 4:00PMvideocam

Crime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong customs arrests 5 in suspected HK$8.9 billion ‘phantom trading’ racket

23 Dec 2025 - 9:14PM

Benjamin Netanyahu

Iran and Gaza plan to top agenda for Netanyahu-Trump meeting

The Israeli prime minister is set to visit Washington to discuss the next phase of Trump’s Gaza plan with his key US ally.

23 Dec 2025 - 1:18PM

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem in October. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong world’s No 1 IPO venue as fundraising crosses US$35 billion: HKEX

Four companies that raised funds in Hong Kong, including CATL, featured in the world’s top 10 IPOs this year.

22 Dec 2025 - 7:15PM

Australian PM Albanese booed as Bondi Beach attack victims honoured

Tens of thousands attended Sunday’s memorial. The Sydney event was heavily guarded by police, including snipers on rooftops and police boats.

22 Dec 2025 - 12:25PMvideocam

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Jews worldwide urged to ‘come home’ to Israel after Bondi massacre

Gideon Saar says ‘Jews are being hunted across the world’ following the December 14 Isis-inspired shooting at a Hanukkah event in Australia.

22 Dec 2025 - 10:40AM

A person with Israel’s flag and other people attend a ceremony to mark the National Day of Reflection for victims and survivors, at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday. Photo: AP

Macron announces new aircraft carrier for France

Replacing the Charles de Gaulle by 2038, the nuclear-powered vessel will be far larger than the current flagship.

22 Dec 2025 - 1:44PMvideocam

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

A key hurdle hampering the progress of the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor is the lingering uncertainty over Gaza.

21 Dec 2025 - 5:00PM

Israel-Gaza war

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

Palestinians are flocking again to Manger Square, bringing much-needed revenue to the city after two years of fighting.

20 Dec 2025 - 3:33PMvideocam

Women pose for a picture in Manger Square in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Tuesday. Photo: AP

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.

20 Dec 2025 - 2:57PM

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

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.

20 Dec 2025 - 6:46PM

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.

20 Dec 2025 - 6:53AMvideocam

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.

19 Dec 2025 - 10:36PM

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

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.

19 Dec 2025 - 7:15PM

Dunes can rise up to 300 metres high in the Omani part of Rub’ al Khali, the world’s largest expanse of sand. Photo: Andreas Drouve/dpa-tmn

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.

17 Dec 2025 - 1:42PM

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.

17 Dec 2025 - 5:30AM

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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.

16 Dec 2025 - 10:00AM

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

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’.

16 Dec 2025 - 2:30PMvideocam

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’.

15 Dec 2025 - 12:15PM

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.

15 Dec 2025 - 10:06AM

Nobel Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who was arrested in Iran. Photo: Narges Mohammad Foundation via AFP

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’.

15 Dec 2025 - 6:28AM

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’.

15 Dec 2025 - 2:41AM

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.

14 Dec 2025 - 11:03AM

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.

14 Dec 2025 - 3:41AMvideocam

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 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.

13 Dec 2025 - 9:03PMvideocam

A gasoline refinery in Asalouyeh, Iran. File photo: AP

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.

13 Dec 2025 - 4:00PMvideocam

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.

13 Dec 2025 - 3:08PMvideocam

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