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Middle East

Middle East

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

last updated:

28 August, 2024

US soldiers and US Bradley Fighting Vehicles in northeastern Syria in 2012. File photo: AFP

War and conflict

US says it doubled number of its troops in Syria before Assad’s fall

Washington has for years said it has some 900 military personnel in Syria as part of international efforts against Isis.

38 minutes agovideocam

Putin says Russia is ready to compromise with Trump on Ukraine war

19 Dec 2024 - 8:48PM

Israeli strikes hit Yemen’s capital and port city after Houthi missile intercepted

19 Dec 2024 - 4:56PMvideocam

War and conflict

CNN’s gripping Syria report unravels: freed prisoner was really an intelligence officer

CNN reporter says ‘very difficult to verify information in real time’ after prisoner turned out to be an ex-intelligence officer, not a civilian.

19 Dec 2024 - 10:58AM

Reporter Clarissa Ward and a man who was freed after she and a Syrian rebel guard discovered him locked in a Damascus prison. Photo: CNN via AP

Opinion | China should seize the moment to promote peace on Korean peninsula

The weakening of the Russia-North Korea alliance, political change in South Korea and Trump’s return create a conducive environment for denuclearisation talks.

19 Dec 2024 - 6:00AMvideocam

China-Middle East relations

China warns leaders in Syria not to threaten security elsewhere

Chinese envoy addresses UN briefing days after Turkestan Islamic Party publishes video encouraging Xinjiang Muslims to wage jihad.

19 Dec 2024 - 1:05PMvideocam

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Priyanka Gandhi’s Palestinian bag sparks political firestorm in India

Her gesture has ignited a debate about India’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, drawing criticism from the ruling BJP for allegedly appeasing Muslims.

18 Dec 2024 - 6:07PMvideocam

Priyanka Gandhi’s Palestinian bag has sparked a political firestorm in India. Photo: X/@iAnkurSingh

War and conflict

Mass graves in Syria reveal horrifying state-run ‘machinery of death’

After Assad’s fall, the task of unearthing the dead from Syria’s mass graves is just beginning.

18 Dec 2024 - 8:20PMvideocam

War and conflict

Israel plans an extended occupation of Syrian buffer zone

Benjamin Netanyahu entered the buffer zone on Tuesday, making him the first sitting Israeli leader to set foot this far into Syria.

18 Dec 2024 - 3:19PM

Israel-Gaza war

Israel optimistic on Gaza ceasefire, while Hamas says deal is possible

The Palestinian militant group says a long--awaited agreement to free all hostage could be reached if Israel stops adding new conditions.

18 Dec 2024 - 4:15AM

A doll lies among clothes and debris in the aftermath of an Israeli air strike at the Muwassi camp near Khan Younis in Gaza on December 5. Photo: AP

Opinion | Why a Trump economic boom is much less likely this time around

Trump is once again inheriting a strong US economy but the world is more volatile, and US debt and interest rates are much higher.

17 Dec 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

Illustration: Craig Stephens

The groups vying for control in Syria

The most powerful group in Syria that spearheaded the rebels' advance is the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

17 Dec 2024 - 8:00PM

Banking & finance

Hong Kong set to host global heavyweights at Asian Financial Forum

The event on January 13 and 14 will bring together 100 global policymakers, business leaders, investors and experts.

17 Dec 2024 - 6:30PM

War and conflict

Syria’s Golani says rebel factions will be ‘disbanded’, fighters to join army

HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani says ‘Syria must remain united’ following Assad’s ouster.

17 Dec 2024 - 7:40PMvideocam

A rebel fighter poses in front of an abandoned tank in the town of Adra on the northeast outskirts of Damascus. Photo: AFP

War and conflict

At least 100,000 bodies in Syria mass grave, US advocacy group says

Victims were people tortured and killed by the now-overthrown Assad government.

17 Dec 2024 - 1:31PMvideocam

People search for human remains at a trench believed to be used as a mass grave on the outskirts of Damascus. Photo: AFP

Banking & finance

Exclusive | China-UAE ties evolve as Gulf nation acts as global ‘superconnector’

China’s growing heft in innovative industries is driving partnerships with the UAE, HSBC’s country head says.

17 Dec 2024 - 8:38AM

Israel-Gaza war

Israeli team in Qatar for talks on potential Gaza ceasefire deal, official says

Israel’s defence minister says have ‘not been this close to a deal’ on hostages in Gaza.

17 Dec 2024 - 10:56AM

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No US government group in Syria to search for journalist Austin Tice

US not ruling out sending people to Damascus to find the missing journalist, who was captured in 2012.

17 Dec 2024 - 3:41PMvideocam

US journalist Austin Tice went missing in Syria in 2012 and has not been heard from since. File photo: Fort Worth Star-Telegram / TNS

Syria’s ousted leader Assad says he wanted to keep fighting but Russians evacuated him

Syria’s Bashar al-Assad issued his first statement since being toppled from power.

17 Dec 2024 - 12:17PMvideocam

Syrian conflict

Nations work to build ties with Syria’s post-Assad rulers

Qatar and Turkey reopen embassies and Western powers engage with rebel group as Russia withdraws some diplomatic staff.

16 Dec 2024 - 4:08PM

Syrian conflict

Life of Syria’s Assad revealed in private photos found in abandoned mansions

Candid photos reveal a stark contrast to the ousted Syrian leader’s public image.

16 Dec 2024 - 6:26PMvideocam

An undated personal photo of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with an unidentified woman. Photo: X via AP

Syria rebel leader meets with visiting UN envoy

Pair discussed need to focus on Syrian territorial unity, reconstruction and achieving economic development, rebel statement says.

16 Dec 2024 - 10:32AM

HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani meeting with UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen: Photo: Syrian Interim Government via AFP

UK says it will provide US$63 million in humanitarian aid for Syrians

Foreign Minister David Lammy said Britain will also work ‘diplomatically to help secure better governance in Syria’s future’.

16 Dec 2024 - 6:11AM

Israel-Gaza war

Israel to close embassy in Ireland over Gaza tensions as war death toll mounts

Israel cites Dublin’s ‘extreme anti-Israeli policies’, further straining tense relations between the two nations.

16 Dec 2024 - 2:26PM

Israel plans to double population on occupied Golan Heights, citing threats from Syria

Israel captured most of the strategic plateau from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, annexing it in 1981.

16 Dec 2024 - 11:13AM

Israeli soldiers cross the security fence moving towards the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights from Syria. Photo: AP

War and conflict

Gunmen clash in Libya as fires erupt at a nearby oil refinery, officials say

Residents were trapped in western Libya between Shurafaa tribe gunmen and the warlord Mohamed Kushalf.

15 Dec 2024 - 9:38PM

Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. Photo: AP

Turkey will offer military training to Syria if new administration requests

Nato member Turkey backed the Syrian rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad last weekend, ending a 13-year civil war.

15 Dec 2024 - 5:48PM

India loses a key Kashmir ally with fall of Syria’s Assad

Analysts say New Delhi also fears extremists exploiting the collapse of Assad’s regime to rally support for Islamic militancy.

15 Dec 2024 - 5:00PM

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