Middle East

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 traffic jam seen in Jakarta, Indonesia as large-scale social restrictions were put in place for the coronavirus outbreak.
Politics

New capital cities for Indonesia and Egypt take back seat

Coronavirus response drains budgets and urgency for big plans

10 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
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, has cultivated close relations with U.S. President Donald Trump, but his country's ties with Xi Jinping's China are creating complications. (Source photos by Reuters)
International relations

Israel's blossoming China ties become thorny issue with US

Port and other infrastructure deals draw scrutiny amid superpower rivalry

30 May 2020
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the opening ceremony of a hospital in Istanbul on May 21. (Anadolu Agency)
Health Care

Turkey opens Japan-funded hospital as virus spreads

Erdogan says latest facility 'will play a critical role' in coronavirus battle

24 May 2020
Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn and his wife, Carole Ghosn, pose for a picture in Beirut on Jan. 14.
Nissan's Ghosn crisis

US arrests ex-Green Beret and son accused of aiding Ghosn's escape

Two men suspected of smuggling former Nissan chairman out of Japan in box

21 May 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
Swvl's use of shared minibuses makes it cheaper than ride-hailing apps that employ cars.
Startups

Egypt-born minibus-share Swvl to debut in Southeast Asia

Startup takes on Grab and Gojek in Indonesia, Philippines and Bangladesh

12 May 2020
COVID-19 cases are rapidly rising in countries such as Brazil and Russia, even as they contemplate loosening restrictions on private business activity. (Reuters and AP)
Datawatch

Russia and Brazil becoming new epicenters of coronavirus

Outbreaks in heavily indebted countries pose risk to global economy

11 May 2020
Hosts often greet guests by sprinkling kolonya on outstretched hands.
Business trends

Turkish cologne takes on scent as hand sanitizer of choice

Producers struggle to keep up as pandemic whiffs up demand

2 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
A crude oil pump jack and flare burning excess gas in Texas. A key U.S. oil price contract turned negative for the first time on Monday.
Commodities

Four things to know about the historic oil price plunge

Crude treated like 'garbage' shows turmoil in world's largest commodity market

22 April 2020
A man enters a hospital where a special ward has been set up for COVID-19 patients in Mumbai.
18 April 2020
A drilling site in the Eagle Ford Shale area in Texas: shale producers are slashing spending and production targets.
Opinion

OPEC's efforts to mop up global oil oversupply are good for Asia

Industry's growth is crucial for long-term energy security

17 April 2020
Hyundai Motor looks to restart its assembly plant in Turkey next week.
Automobiles

Hyundai restarts car plants in Russia and Czech Republic

US and Indian sites will remain idle for automaker amid pandemic

16 April 2020
Despite doubts about China's transparency, analysts give it credit for its aggressive pandemic response, including in Wuhan where the outbreak started.
Coronavirus

South Korea and China earn high marks in pandemic safety ranking

Israel leads while Philippines and Indonesia lag on venture fund's list

14 April 2020
Jewish and Muslim paramedics with Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service pray together during the coronavirus outbreak.
Coronavirus

Israel, ranked 'safest' place in pandemic, draws on Asia's lessons

Top doctor urges coronavirus testing and says wearing masks 'makes sense'

6 April 2020
Firefighters spray disinfectant to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease in Jakarta.
4 April 2020
Congress gave final approval to the largest economic package in U.S. history. 
Coronavirus: Free to read

Coronavirus: Week of Mar. 22 to Mar. 28, US House passes a $2.2tn stimulus

Hong Kong bans gatherings of over 4 people; Trump tweets he is working with Xi

28 March 2020
A freeway sits almost empty in downtown Los Angeles, after California's Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an unprecedented statewide "stay at home order" directing the state's 40 million residents to hunker down in their homes for the foreseeable future during the global outbreak of coronavirus disease, in California, U.S., on March 20, 2020.
Coronavirus: Free to read

Coronavirus: Week of Mar. 15 to Mar. 21, New York orders millions to stay indoors

Mainland China reports zero new local cases for 3rd day; worldwide total surges

21 March 2020
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump at a 2019 G-7 Summit in France. Macron said the leaders will hold a virtual meeting on Monday to discuss the medical and economic responses to the virus outbreak..
14 March 2020
A crude oil import terminal in Qingdao, China, pictured in August 2019: the combination of easy money and cheap oil could worsen deflationary pressures.
Opinion

Oil price crash will not offer help that Asian economies need

Long-term uncertainty has grown, overturning budgets and demanding cool heads

12 March 2020
The Nikkei stock index fell 5% to close at 19,698.76 yen on March 9. (Photo by Kento Awashima) 
Markets

Asian stocks plunge, as yen and bonds surge after oil plummets

Saudi Arabia poised to pump more crude even as coronavirus spooks global economy

9 March 2020