Russia & Caucasus

Palladium and copper prices both hit all-time highs on Monday. (Source photos by Reuters)
Commodities

Palladium, copper and nickel hit historic highs on Russia sanctions

Manufacturers scramble for supplies of crucial metals in cars, batteries

8 March 2022
A crude oil tanker at Qingdao Port. Crude is one of China's key imports from Russia.
Trade

Chinese trade with Russia jumps 38% in January-February

Beijing seen extending economic hand to Moscow before Ukraine invasion

8 March 2022
Oil prices touched $130 a barrel on Monday for the first time since 2008.
Ukraine war

Oil soars over question of who can replace Russia

OPEC sticks to gradual output increase while U.S. shale hardly moves

8 March 2022
Uniqlo does not plan to shut its 50 locations in Russia for now. 
Ukraine war

Uniqlo to continue selling clothes in Russia

'Clothing is a necessity,' says Yanai, CEO of parent Fast Retailing

8 March 2022
The guided-missile destroyer USS Carney transits the Bosporus Strait in August 2018. Warships of outside countries like the U.S. cannot stay more than 21 days in the Black Sea. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy)
Ukraine war

Why can Turkey block the Bosporus? 5 things to know

1936 Montreux Convention and geography give it leverage over Russia

7 March 2022
Migrant workers from Uzbekistan collect potatoes at a agrarian field in Beryozovka near Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk: their remittances to their families back home are a crucial source of income.
Opinion

Central Asia braces for economic catastrophe

Sanctions aimed at Russia will have serious knock-on effects

7 March 2022
Major economies are looking to ensure cryptocurrencies are not used as a tool for dodging financial sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine war

Russia sanctions put spotlight on crypto: 5 things to know

Authorities, industry consider ways to limit use in dodging financial sanctions

7 March 2022
Brent was quoted $12.73 higher at $130.84, while U.S. crude rose $9.92 to $125.60.
Markets

Brent crude hits $130 a barrel; Nikkei plunges

U.S., Europe ban on Russian products and delayed Iran nuclear talks spark fears

7 March 2022
Nearly 300,000 people have joined Ukraine's IT army, according to Alex Bornyakov, deputy minister for digital transformation. (Image from online interview)
Ukraine war

Ukraine urges 70 tech firms to help in digital fight against Russia

'More and more' companies joining besieged country daily, deputy minister says

7 March 2022
A well head and drilling rig in the Yarakta oilfield in the Irkutsk region, Russia, pictured in March 2019: nowhere is the transformation in national fortunes more dramatic than in Russia.
Opinion

Ukraine war divides global markets

Commodity producers and more self-reliant nations will do better

7 March 2022
One Southeast Asia scholar says China may take advantage of a U.S. distracted by events in Ukraine to cement its grip on the South China Sea. (Source photos by Rie Ishii, AP and Reuters) 
Ukraine war

Ukraine crisis leaves ASEAN jittery over South China Sea

Russian, Chinese moves seen as unilateral attempts to change status quo

6 March 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of their meeting in New Delhi on Dec. 6, 2021.
Comment

Ukraine war exposes limit of India's strategic independence

Timid response from New Delhi threatens its delicate balancing act

6 March 2022
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Russia's Vladimir Putin meet in Moscow on Feb. 10, two weeks before the invasion of Ukraine. 
International relations

Ukraine war casts Kazakhstan's reliance on Russia in harsher light

Tokayev struggles to avoid angering 'unpredictable' ally -- and his own people

6 March 2022
An Ocean Network Express container vessel. The Japanese shipper has stopped taking orders to ship goods to Russian ports such as St. Petersburg. (Photo by Kazuto Shimada)
6 March 2022
Demonstrators hold a giant European Union flag as they attend an anti-war rally, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in the Czech Republic capital of in Prague.
6 March 2022
Singapore has announced details of its sanctions on Russia -- aligning itself with many other countries.
Ukraine war

Singapore sanctions 4 Russian banks, blocks crypto loophole

Asia financial hub calls Ukraine invasion 'clear violation of international law'

5 March 2022
Komatsu will stop shipping its products to Russia.
Ukraine war

Komatsu and Hitachi Construction halt shipments to Russia

Duo join Panasonic in ceasing operations, citing supply chain issues

5 March 2022
Units of the Russian armed forces enter Kyiv region on Mar. 3: this time, it is China's partner Russia that has gone to war, not its rival, America.
Opinion

Was China duped on Ukraine?

Beijing is now in damage control mode

5 March 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin, an ex-KGB agent, has long been a "hard target" for Western espionage.
Ukraine war

What is Putin thinking? Spy agencies size up Ukraine moves

Sanctions said to enrage isolated Russian leader with finger on nuclear button

5 March 2022
Business at the Tigre de Cristal casino near Vladivostok, seen here on its opening day in 2015, has been hit hard by COVID.
Ukraine war

Cambodian casino group NagaCorp halts Russian project

Ukraine war provides chance to escape problematic commitment, analysts say

4 March 2022
An employee is seen in the control center of one of the halted reactors at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, in March 2021. 
Ukraine war

Nuclear plant fire conjures Chernobyl nightmare

Russian forces take control of Zaporizhzhia site after dangerous fight

4 March 2022
U.S. trade restrictions covering products made with American technology could create pitfalls for Asian companies. (Source photo by AP and Ken Kobayashi)
Ukraine war

From Samsung to Sony, Asia tech grapples with Russia sanctions

Complying with U.S. clampdown now could invite China repercussions later

4 March 2022
The international hacker group Anonymous has vowed to take certain Russian websites offline. 
Ukraine war

Russia walls off government websites from nonfriendly countries

Moscow likely setting up defenses against Anonymous cyberattacks

4 March 2022
A cryptocurrency exchange point in Kyiv, pictured on Jan. 24: if the crypto world fails Ukraine, there may not be any future for crypto. 
Opinion

Ukraine war is crypto's biggest test yet

Essential for individuals to accept that freedom comes with accountability

4 March 2022
China is the largest shareholder of the multilateral development lender.
Ukraine war

China-backed AIIB freezes lending to Russia and Belarus

Development bank vows to 'safeguard financial integrity' as sanctions mount

4 March 2022