Politics

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
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
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
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
A man enters a hospital where a special ward has been set up for COVID-19 patients in Mumbai.
18 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
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
A member of the medical team in protective gear sprays disinfectant liquid at a taxi station in Tehran.
Coronavirus: Free to read

Coronavirus: Week of Mar. 1 to Mar. 7, confirmed cases top 100,000 worldwide

South Korea to suspend visa waivers for Japan; Hubei, excluding Wuhan, reports no new cases

7 March 2020
The UAE's Barakah nuclear facility will likely push other Arab nations to invest more in their own nuclear ambitions. (Photo courtesy of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation)
International relations

UAE's nuclear plant fuels fears of Middle East arms race

World's largest reactor seen as a threat to stability in highly charged region

6 March 2020
Indonesians, who were scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia for an umrah pilgrimage, walk after being turned away from flights at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Feb. 27.
Coronavirus

Saudi pilgrim ban hits Indonesian tour operators and airlines

Extension through hajj season in July would be risk for Saudi tourism sector

4 March 2020
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the White House South Lawn on Tuesday.
Coronavirus

Trump weighs adding Japan to coronavirus travel restrictions

India, Thailand and cities in China announce measures to limit travelers

4 March 2020
A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, New York.
29 February 2020
People wait at a crosswalk along the Dongseong-ro shopping street in Daegu, South Korea. The country reported 142 new coronavirus cases on Saturday.
Coronavirus: Free to read

Coronavirus: Week of Feb. 16 to Feb. 22, South Korea cases soar again, to 433

US confirms 34 additional infections and expects more from cruise ship

22 February 2020
A staff member wearing a face mask stands in front of a restaurant on Valentine's Day in Beijing.
15 February 2020
Demonstrators in Tehran on Jan. 3 hold pictures of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a protest against the killing of Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force.
Iran tensions

Hotels empty as tourists shun Iran over geopolitical tensions

Industry hit by protests, plane shootdown and threat of war with US

30 January 2020
From left: U.S. President Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Source photos by Reuters/AP)
Comment

US-Iran crisis spells opportunity for China and North Korea

Latest clash in Middle East again stalls America's military pivot to Asia

19 January 2020
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif slams Trump on Jan. 15 at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, which gathers foreign policy makers and strategic analysts from countries. (Nikkei Montage/ Source photos by Reuters and AP) 
Iran tensions

Iranian foreign minister slams US for 'ignorance and arrogance'

Zarif says war against Islamic State hampered by Soleimani killing

15 January 2020