Economy

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seen on a screen as he gestures during a video call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel, in Brussels on March 19. 
Economy

Turkish lira falls 16% after Erdogan sacks central bank chief

President's opposition to high rates and interference in policy spooks market

22 March 2021
A woman receives a vaccination in Tel Aviv on Feb. 18: Israel's vaccine program is the envy of the world.
Opinion

Israel's vaccination rollout shows the world how it is done

COVID-19 will accelerate the digitalization of Asian health care

16 March 2021
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's abhorrence of high interest rates resulted in close to 15% inflation in 2020.
Asia Insight

Erdogan swallows 'bitter pills' as inflation again rocks Turkey

Architect of past growth blasts president for letting currency slide and cash flee

16 March 2021
Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and Prime Minister Imran Khan. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are finding more areas of common interest, like Arabian Sea security.
International relations

Pakistan efforts to mend fences with Saudi-led bloc bear fruit

Islamabad also maintains strong ties with counter-alliance of Turkey and Iran

22 February 2021
A South Korean-flagged tanker that was seized by Iran is seen in the Persian Gulf off the Iranian coast on Jan. 4.
Iran tensions

South Korea and Iran remain split over tanker seizure issue

Seoul caught between pressures from Washington and Tehran

6 February 2021
Pakistan's rickety old rail network, much of it dating from British colonial times, is one of the stumbling blocks to better rail connections between West and East Asia. 
Belt and Road

Turkey, Iran, Pakistan rail link to China's Belt and Road

Oriental express service for the 21st century connecting West Asia to China

29 December 2020
Ali Kooli, Tunisia's minister of economy, finance and investment, said medium-income countries also need help from creditors. (Photo by Takeshi Kumon)
Interview

Tunisia finance minister urges G-20 countries to ease loan terms

Ali Kooli looks to China-led AIIB to help promote relations with Asia

16 December 2020
Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan speaks during a media conference in Riyadh in February.
16 November 2020
A flame at the production facility of Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oilfield: only around 10% of global emissions from fossil fuels is released during extraction, processing and transportation.
Opinion

Going green should not mean eradicating fossil fuels

Greenhouse gas emissions need to be tackled at the consumer end

13 November 2020
Shoppers at an outdoor vegetable and fruit market in Ahmedabad on Sept. 7: India's consumer price index for vegetables jumped 11% in August. 
Economy

Rising food prices take rate cuts off table for emerging economies

Pandemic induces inflation even as India, Turkey and Brazil battle downturn

5 October 2020
Israeli flag carrier El Al's plane is seen after landing at Abu Dhabi on Aug. 31. Saudi Arabia's decision to grant overflight permission could make it easier for Israelis to do business in Asia.
International relations

UAE-Israel deal's reverberations extend to Asia ahead of signing

Investors abuzz over tech, trade and travel as China watches closely

10 September 2020
Prime Minister Imran Khan meets with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in September 2019, a time when Saudi Arabia was seen as something of a white knight in Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of Pakistan's Press Information Department)
International relations

Saudi Arabia pulls support for Pakistan as Kashmir tiff widens

As Riyadh takes India's side, China comes through with $1bn for Islamabad

10 August 2020
Japan's H2A rocket carrying the UAE's Hope probe takes off on July 20: the Emiratis are basking in their status as the Arab world's space leader.
Opinion

India and Elon Musk show Asia the way in discount race to Mars

US caps record month for Red Planet missions with launch of $2.7bn Perseverance rover

31 July 2020
Turkey has emerged as the world's largest buyer of gold for central-bank reserves this year.
Commodities

Turkey scrambles for gold, overtaking Russia as top buyer

Ankara's frictions with Washington fuel mad dash for the dollar alternative

21 July 2020
Huangzeshan oil storage and transportation base, pictured on May 12: China does not seem likely to share details of its strategic stockpiles.
Opinion

Asia should prepare for the next energy crisis

Continent-wide stockpile would prevent oil shortage when geopolitics cut off supply

13 July 2020
Migrant workers, mostly from Bangladesh, line up to collect free masks and have their temperatures taken in Singapore in February.
Economy

Bangladesh weighs paying for infrastructure with remittances

Migrant workers build record foreign reserves, but IMF urges caution

13 July 2020
Foreign workers queue outside a corner store in the Al Quoz industrial district of Dubai in April. The region is now on the verge of an exodus of migrant labor.
Economy

Over 1m migrants flee Middle East, hitting Asian economies

Host countries lose cheap labor as home countries miss remittances

1 July 2020
The Turkish lira lost around 10% of its value against the dollar since January. (Nikkei montage/Reuters)
Datawatch

Coronavirus triggers dollar drain in big emerging markets

Plunging foreign reserves in Turkey, Indonesia threaten global crisis

28 June 2020
Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba and pray at the Grand Mosque in August 2019: most problematic will be tawaf, when pilgrims walk around the Kaaba.
Opinion

Indonesia is smart to stop citizens going on hajj pilgrimage

Saudi Arabia is considering canceling whole event because of coronavirus risk

17 June 2020
Brazil has eased restrictions aimed at curbing the coronavirus despite an upswing in new cases.
Coronavirus

Emerging world becomes virus epicenter with 80% of new cases

Outbreaks gain steam in Latin America and Middle East as economies reopen

12 June 2020
A boy receives polio vaccine drops at a Karachi train station in 2016.
Politics

Coronavirus threatens to upend Pakistan's long war against polio

39 nations at risk as public funds are diverted to fight COVID-19

3 June 2020
Shoppers in Istanbul: The Turkish government lifted most restrictions on economic activity June 1, while putting in place social distancing measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Coronavirus

Turkey reopens economy as daily new COVID-19 cases fall

Government keen to restart tourism industry, but some experts call move premature

2 June 2020
Indians wait to board a repatriation flight from Kuwait International Airport in Kuwait City, on May 9: There are reports that more than 400,000 Indians worldwide are trying to return home. © AFP/Jiji
Coronavirus

Coronavirus wrecks South Asian migrant livelihoods in Middle East

Some 900,000 stranded workers to test health care systems and economies

20 May 2020
A man attempts to fend-off a swarm of desert locusts in Kenya on Feb. 21: it is the worst outbreak to strike the country in 70 years.
Opinion

World must protect India and Pakistan from threat of locust swarms

Insects wipe out crops and pastures, damaging food supply and livelihoods

13 May 2020
The spread of the coronavirus lead to the collapse in the oil market.
Datawatch

Global crude inventories to max out in 2 months amid coronavirus

Plunging demand leads to a strain on storage facilities

27 April 2020