Author: Verified News Online

AdvertisementChina-Latin America relationsChinaDiplomacyWhy won’t Chile let China’s Silk Road Ark military hospital ship give medical aid?The vessel has sailed into Valparaiso’s waters as the geopolitical winds shift in the western hemisphere
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMP1Laura ZhouPublished: 6:00pm, 28 Feb 2026The Chilean government has turned down a request from a Chinese military hospital ship to treat Chilean residents on board the vessel.The decision reflects Santiago’s tilt towards Washington and US efforts to exert more influence in the western hemisphere, according to a Chinese academic.The Chilean Ministry of Health said on Friday that it had reviewed the Silk Road Ark’s request and decided not to grant it, citing a health code that restricts such services to professionals accredited ‌in the country, Reuters reported.
Advertisement“We ⁠determined that ⁠it is not appropriate to authorise this health operation to function on the ship’s facilities,” ‌the ministry s..

. Afghanistan said on Friday it carried out drone strikes on Pakistani military establishments as fighting between the two neighbours continued. Pakistan, meanwhile, said it shot down the drones using its anti-drone systems and reported no casualties.Afghanistan's military launched attacks late Thursday along the border in six provinces. It described the action as retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes carried out on Sunday in Afghan border areas, claiming “irrefutable evidence” that militants in Afghanistan were behind a recent wave of attacks and suicide bombings in Pakistan.Afghan authorities in Nangarhar province said fighting was ongoing in the Torkham border area on Friday morning.They also claimed Pakistani mortar fire hit civilian areas, including a refugee camp that had been evacuated overnight, as Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Mohammad Asif, said the country now considered itself in an “open war” with Afghanistan. Both sides gave different casualty figures. Afghanis..

Harvard University has found itself at the centre of a growing online storm after an artwork featured on its Department of South Asian Studies website drew sharp criticism and allegations of bias. The Coalition of Hindus of North America ignited the debate after calling out the university for what it described as “blatant Hinduphobia” in the visual used to represent its Elementary Sanskrit course.Taking to X, the coalition accused the university of bigotry for adding an image that feels “straight out of a horror movie,” starring a dark Hindu figure with a tilak, dangling “some sort of ghostly figurine in his hands.”The art was allocated for its course on Elementary Sanskrit, and the organisation blamed the university for introducing Sanskrit, “Hinduism’s sacred language,” in a “dark, manipulative and oppressive manner” to students, much like it introduces the religion itself.”“This is how students are introduced to Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages that has given birth to cla..

AdvertisementChina-Africa relationsChinaDiplomacyWhy Beijing’s US$4.5 billion Niger-Benin oil pipeline is being attacked by rebelsChinese nationals warned to avoid high-risk areas after infrastructure becomes a primary target for rebels seeking to halt military junta
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPJevans NyabiagePublished: 6:30pm, 27 Feb 2026China has placed its nationals on high alert following a series of rebel attacks targeting the US$4.5 billion Niger-Benin oil pipeline and an Islamic State raid on the Nigerien capital’s international airport on January 29.On Monday, the Chinese embassy in Niamey urged citizens to avoid high-risk areas and instructed firms to implement emergency response plans as insurgent groups increasingly target Chinese-managed infrastructure.The warning follows recent attacks on the pipeline and a predawn assault on Air Base 101 and Niamey International Airport by Islamic State militants, who damaged several aircraft before being repelled with ass..

AdvertisementUnited StatesWorldUnited States & CanadaVance dismisses prolonged Mideast war fears as US-Iran tensions rageThe US vice-president said Trump’s options range from military strikes ‘to ensure Iran isn’t going to get a nuclear weapon’ to dialogue
Reading Time:1 minuteWhy you can trust SCMPdpaPublished: 6:04pm, 27 Feb 2026US Vice-President J.D. Vance has said he does not believe potential military action against Iran would drag the country into a years-long war in the Middle East, according to an interview with The Washington Post published on Thursday.
Vance said he did not know how US President Donald Trump would decide on the Iran issue. Options, he said, range from military strikes “to ensure Iran isn’t going to get a nuclear weapon” to a diplomatic solution.
“The idea that we’re going to be in a Middle Eastern war for years with no end in sight – there is no chance that will happen,” Vance told the newspaper.
AdvertisementHe cited last year’s limited US strikes on Iranian..