Middle East

The Hitachi group will supply charging infrastructure for electric buses in Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of Hitachi ABB Power Grids)
Technology

Hitachi picks Pakistan for emerging-market break in electric bus chargers

Japanese group also eyes deals in Middle East for zero-emission infrastructure

23 May 2021
People inspect the rubble of a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on May 16.
International relations

Gaza-Israel conflict shakes foundations of Middle East coexistence

Arab-Jewish ties fraying within Israel as US and China bicker over response

17 May 2021
A combination picture shows a tower building housing AP, Al Jazeera offices as it collapses after Israeli missile strikes in Gaza city, May 15, 2021.
16 May 2021
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from Gaza, as seen from the Israeli city of Ashkelon on May 11.
International relations

Worried Asia watches Israeli-Palestinian fighting escalate

Renewed violence overshadows diplomatic momentum from Abraham Accords

12 May 2021
U.S. ports are grappling with logjams due to insufficient handling capacity amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Markets

Ever Given's Suez Canal blockage still disrupting global shipping

High sea freight rates and traffic jams force exporters to try air, rail routes

2 May 2021
President Joe Biden speaks to the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, from the East Room of the White House on April 23.
International relations

Biden's Armenian genocide call nudges Turkey toward China, Russia

Moscow and Beijing keen to step into vacuum as US switches focus to human rights

28 April 2021
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attend a joint news conference in Istanbul on Apr. 10: they reaffirmed their strategic partnership.
Opinion

Erdogan and Putin battle it out for control of the Black Sea

Tussle adds to growing list of places where the veteran strongmen are squaring off

26 April 2021
Cultivating new sources of natural gas has become CNOOC's strategic imperative since President Xi Jinping openly pledged last September that the country will go carbon neutral by 2060.
Energy

CNOOC eyes $29bn Qatar LNG project to aid Xi's CO2 target

Chinese state-owned oil major 'very interested' in joining venture

22 April 2021
A vendor offering Turkish flags for sale walks past a currency exchange shop in an Istanbul market last month.
Economy

Turkey's revolving door of central bank chiefs whipsaws markets

Investors doubt Erdogan's will to fight inflation while public questions data reliability

22 April 2021
Although Southeast Asia is highly dependent on Mideast oil, some countries lack reserves that will last for more than a month.
Energy

Japan targets Vietnam for first ASEAN oil-sharing deal

Tokyo looks to secure supply chain for companies with overseas footprint

21 April 2021
The currency market trend comes as the U.S. coronavirus vaccination drive progresses. (Source photo by Reuters)
Datawatch

Dollar remains overvalued against yen and other currencies

Difference with theoretical value sows seeds of market unrest

20 April 2021
ispace is racing to be among the first private companies to reach the moon. (Photo courtesy of ispace)
Aerospace & Defense Industries

Japan startup to take UAE rover to the moon in 2022

ispace prepares self-designed lander as it joins race to develop lunar resources

14 April 2021
The containership Ever Given is pictured while it was stranded in the Suez Canal on March 26. The 400-meter-long vessel remains in Egypt even after being refloated.
Transportation

Ever Given impounded in Suez Canal

Reckoning insurance damages for Japan-owned vessel could take years

14 April 2021
A man receives a shot of the Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine as nationwide vaccination at Sancaktepe Education and Research Hospital in Istanbul on January 27.
COVID vaccines

Turkey says China's Sinovac vaccine is 'significantly effective'

Study of inoculated elderly and health workers shows halving of positive cases

13 April 2021
The MT Hankuk Chemi leaves the port in Bandar Abbas, Iran on April 9. 
9 April 2021
An Azerbaijani flag on an oil platform in the Caspian Sea: Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan reached a deal in January to jointly develop a Caspian Sea oil field.
International relations

Turkey's Central Asia tug-of-war with Russia intensifies

China and US also active in pursuing resources and regional clout

9 April 2021
The Ever Given container ship wedged in the Suez Canal on March 26. 
Transportation

Suez Canal blockage underscores a serious risk for supply chains

Container ships grow in size and become potential obstacles in trade arteries

4 April 2021
The Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, navigates the Suez Canal on March 29 after being fully floated to unblock the crucial waterway.
Transportation

Suez ship's Taiwanese operator denies liability for blockage

Evergreen chief pins responsibility on vessel's Japanese owner

2 April 2021
A tugboat pulls the giant containership Ever Given through the Suez Canal on Monday.
Transportation

Suez Canal doubles traffic to clear backlog, from cattle to crude

Waterway remains cost-competitive alternative to African route

31 March 2021
The containership Ever Given has been refloated and will be checked for damage at Great Bitter Lake. (Photo courtesy of Suez Canal Authority)
Transportation

Suez Canal reopens for traffic after cargo ship refloated

Waterway authority chief says backlog of vessels could be cleared in 3.5 days

30 March 2021
Daniel Yergin, pictured in 2018. He says China's climate push is backed by a desire to maintain its edge in the global market for electric vehicles and reducing its oil imports.
Climate Change

Daniel Yergin: China has strategic calculation on zero emissions

Beijing's concerns are climate change, urban pollution and rising oil imports

29 March 2021
Stranded container ship Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, is seen after it ran aground, in Suez Canal.
Economy

Ship blocking Suez Canal not budging, owner says

Extended clog would disrupt European energy markets, but could flood Asia supplies

28 March 2021
The satellite image shows the cargo ship MV Ever Given stuck in the Suez Canal near Suez, Egypt, on March 25.
Transportation

Owner of stranded Suez Canal ship aims to free vessel on Saturday

Companies weigh alternative routes, including the Arctic

26 March 2021
Plastic canisters filled with petrol from Iran at a roadside station on the outskirts of Quetta, Pakistan: Iranian oil has become widely available across the whole country.
Opinion

The hidden costs of Pakistan's crackdown on Iranian oil smuggling

Illicit trade highlights failure of China's economic corridor to generate employment

26 March 2021
Masked Uighur protesters gather near the Chinese consulate-general in Istanbul on Thursday. (Photo by Sinan Tavsan)
International relations

Uyghurs in Turkey protest against 'genocide' in China's Xinjiang

Hundreds gather in Istanbul as Foreign Minister Wang Yi does vaccine diplomacy in Ankara

26 March 2021