A month after jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his PKK party to end its 40-year insurgency with Turkey, the future of embattled Kurdish communities there and in neighbouring Syria and Iraq hangs in the balance, I report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

In a seven-month operation spanning 21 nations, Pakistani intelligence dismantled an Isis-K cell tied to bombings in Kabul, Moscow and Kerman, I report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

A new pan-Arab plan for the reconstruction of Gaza has failed to persuade President Trump to drop his controversial proposal for the US to occupy the strip and redevelop it into a luxury resort after forcibly evicting the embattled Palestinian population, I report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

Optimism about Syria’s future that greeted the fall of the Assad regime in December is fast waning as sustained US economic sanctions against Damascus and distrust of its transitional government threaten to tilt the country towards chaos again, I report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

The Gulf monarchies’ expanding role in mediating conflicts ranging from Gaza to Ukraine reflects a growing belief in the international community that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE have the connections and leverage needed to “get things done”: my report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

Trump's Gaza Riviera plan is seen across the Arab world, I told @scmpnews.bsky.social, as an “unrealistic ethnic-cleansing fantasy w/ profoundly disturbing potential." Here are my other quoted remarks. Fully agree w/ what wonderful experts like @giorgiocafiero.bsky.social & Barbara Slavin said too.

What would happen if Trump's plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza of Palestinians was enforced? A blood-soaked catastrophe that would bring down Arab rulers: my report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

The US and Iran are expected to engage in talks in the coming months on a “verifiable nuclear peace agreement” proposed last week by President Donald Trump, despite Tehran’s objections to negotiating under the restored “maximum pressure” sanctions regime: my report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

US officials have walked back President Donald Trump’s “idea” of America taking control of a depopulated Gaza Strip, but Arab states remain fearful and are expected to assume the worst about his call to displace Palestinians from the territory: my report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

The future of the Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank may hinge on US President Donald Trump’s determination to oversee the normalisation of relations between Israel and the Arab world: my report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

Gaza’s war-weary residents could soon receive a rare reprieve, with a phased truce agreement between Israel and Hamas expected to take effect on Sunday. But their future remains as uncertain as ever because the deal does not guarantee an end to the war: my report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

Pakistan has warned the Taliban it will bomb insurgents who have taken safe haven in Afghanistan in retaliation for any future lethal attacks against its security forces, sparking revenge threats from the neighbour, even as the two sides pursue talks: my report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

Pakistan has been blindsided by Washington’s designation of the entity overseeing the South Asian country’s ballistic missile development as a prospective threat to US national security, officials and analysts tell me. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime has raised fears that Syria could now be carved up among its neighbours, with Israeli forces seizing territory in the nation’s southwest while Turkish-backed factions push into Kurdish-held areas in the northeast: my report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

The abruptness with which Syria’s brutal 54-year rule of the Assad dynasty collapsed on Sunday has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East so dramatically that none of the region’s power players were prepared, top officials have admitted. My report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

Mining and metals giants from China, India and Australia are pumping billions of dollars of project investments into Saudi Arabia as the oil-rich kingdom seeks to accelerate its economic diversification and become a major industry player in Asia and Africa, I report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/ec...

Turkey and Israel’s "uncoordinated battle" in Syria has raised questions about Iran and Russia’s ability to rescue Assad and his regime, I report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

Looking to build on the ceasefire in Lebanon agreed this week, top officials from the Middle East, US and Europe will begin meetings on Friday to seek an end to the war in Gaza and set the tone for decisive nuclear negotiations with Iran, I report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

This word has great potential.

US-brokered negotiations over a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah are hanging in the balance amid fierce fighting for control of southern Lebanon, I report www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

Far fetched.

📢 We're hiring! The Bourse & Bazaar Foundation is looking for a policy fellow with expertise on green growth and climate adaptation as we rollout a new two-year initiative on mobilizing Gulf capital to support the green transition in the Global South. www.bourseandbazaar.com/opportunitie...

Months after a contentious general election that was marred by accusations of ballot rigging, Pakistan’s ruling coalition has bulldozed a constitutional amendment through parliament that critics fear could erode the very foundations of the country’s democracy, I report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

US president-elect Donald Trump’s picks for key national security and foreign relations cabinet positions have not gone down well with Washington’s Muslim partners in the Middle East and South Asia, I report. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

Great initiative.

How Trump's cabinet picks look to the Global South.