Politics

China launched a bank settlement network as an alternative to SWIFT in 2015.
Currencies

China and Russia step up bid to challenge U.S. dollar's dominance

Moscow pushes BRICS reserve currency plan while Beijing expands yuan network

17 August 2022
Methods of spreading disinformation are evolving as more people use chat apps on smartphones. (Source photos by Reuters and Ken Kobayashi)
Society

Abe's assassination shows fake news is still very much a threat

Disinformation is crossing borders, seeping into chat apps: BBC editor

14 August 2022
The M/V Riva Wind is shown departing from a Ukrainian port near Odesa carrying 50,000 tons of grain on Aug. 7. (Photo courtesy of Harvest Commodities)
Agriculture

Indonesia's Arsari ships grain from Ukraine, Russia

Cooperation with U.S.-Swiss company among first since U.N. deal

9 August 2022
The yuan is increasingly being seen as an alternative currency as Russian companies seek to cut their dependence on the U.S. dollar as Western sanctions put a squeeze on their operations.
Caixin

Yuan bonds debut in Russia as challenge to dollar dominance builds

Firms increasing use of Chinese currency to side-step Ukraine war-related sanctions

9 August 2022
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, with Naledi Pandor, South Africa's minister of international relations and cooperation, in Pretoria on Aug. 8.
International relations

U.S. takes aim at Chinese and Russian influence in Africa strategy

Document discusses human rights sanctions, food and climate change aid

9 August 2022
The Russian Aleksin corvette fires missiles during a parade in Baltiysk in the Kaliningrad region of Russia on July 31.
Ukraine war

Russian military relies on Western, Asian tech components: study

Microelectronics from U.S., Japan, Taiwan, South Korea found in weapons systems

8 August 2022
Daniil, 16, stands in front of what's left of his school. He had one year to go before finishing his studies. He now dreams of moving somewhere stable.  (Photo by Eiji Furukawa)
Ukraine war

All my friends are gone: A young Ukrainian in Kharkiv

Many of those left in the city hole up in bombed-out carcasses of buildings

8 August 2022
The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). OPEC+, which includes Russia and other producers, announced on Wednesday an output hike of 100,000 barrels a day to start next month.
Commodities

Russia looms large behind OPEC+ output hike decision

Experts see country's role affecting group's bid to prevent sharp fall in prices

6 August 2022
People observe a moment of silence near the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima on Aug. 6.
Society

Kishida warns nuclear threat a 'real issue' at Hiroshima ceremony

U.N. chief Guterres cites Ukraine war; says 'humanity is playing with a loaded gun'

6 August 2022
A tanker loads LNG from the Sakhalin-2 project in October 2021. President Vladimir Putin has handed control of the energy project partly owned by Japanese companies to a Russian company.
Energy

Russia's latest move on Sakhalin-2 energy project: 4 things to know

As 1-month countdown ticks off, concerns mount over Japan's LNG supply

4 August 2022
North Korea and Russia have grown closer since the onset of the Ukraine war. Moscow has raised the possibility of having North Koreans work to help build the devastated Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. (Source photos by KCNA/Reuters, Reuters and AFP/Jiji) 
N Korea at crossroads

Russia grows closer to North Korea amid international isolation

Moscow floats idea of using workers provided by Pyongyang to rebuild Donbas

3 August 2022
An employee of Sakhalin Energy stands at the Sakhalin-2 project's liquefaction gas plant in Prigorodnoye.
Energy

Mitsui, Mitsubishi slash value of Sakhalin-2 stakes by $1.66bn

As uncertainty spreads, Japanese trading houses shoulder the burden

2 August 2022
Top diplomats set to meet for ASEAN talks. From left: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. (Source photos by AP and Reuters)
International relations

ASEAN to host ministerial talks amid Myanmar crisis, Ukraine war

Meetings to include U.S., China as Pelosi's possible Taiwan visit raises tensions

2 August 2022
A firefighter works to douse a fire in a building, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Mykolaiv, in this handout picture released on July 31. 
Ukraine war: Free to read

Ukraine from July 8 to Aug. 1: Russian strikes kill Ukrainian grain tycoon

Grain ship leaves port of Odesa, Ukrainian minister says; Gazprom cuts gas to Latvia

1 August 2022
An oil platform at the Kravtsovskoye oilfield in the Baltic Sea, Russia, in September 2021: China and India helped prevent a major squeeze on global supplies and took some heat out of price pressures.
Opinion

China and India should reject West's Russia oil-price cap plan

Latest sanction effort likely to backfire and cause market turmoil

1 August 2022
Japan imports 10% of its LNG yearly from the Sakhalin-2 project in Russia's Far East. An LNG port at Sakhalin-2 is shown here.
Energy

Japan's Sakhalin-2 LNG buyers told to pay bank inside Russia

Russian-owned operator apparently aims to shield funds from Western sanctions

30 July 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin; President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo of Indonesia, this year's Group of 20 president; and U.S. President Joe Biden. Divisions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine could doom a joint communique at the G-20 summit in November, observers say. (Source photos by AP and Reuters) 
International relations

Ukraine war casts long shadow over G-20's economic cooperation

Meeting host Indonesia tries to paper over dysfunction by issuing chair's summary

24 July 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin called former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe an "outstanding statesman" in a condolence message.
Shinzo Abe

Japan to bar Putin from attending Shinzo Abe state funeral

Tokyo to convey schedule to Taiwan and others that sent condolences

22 July 2022
South Africa's Koeberg plant, near Cape Town, is currently Africa's only nuclear power station.
Energy

Russia and China throw weight behind Africa's nuclear power drive

Continent's growing energy needs tie into tug of war for regional influence

22 July 2022
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, right, shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, on July 18. (Official website of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan/Handout via Reuters) 
Energy

Azerbaijan eager to supply more gas to Europe in Russia's stead

Deal to double exports offers much-needed relief to South Europe and Balkans

19 July 2022
Myanmar military chief Min Aung Hlaing, second left, meets with Rosatom executives on July 11. (Photo courtesy of Myanmar's Ministry of Information)
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar seeks Russian assistance in push for nuclear energy

Min Aung Hlaing meets key business leaders and defense officials in latest trip

19 July 2022
U.S. military personnel board a transport plane for deployment to Eastern Europe amid escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia on Feb. 3.
Comment

Can U.S. allies in Europe, Asia avert infighting in two-front war?

Peacetime partners could turn wartime rivals in seeking American military aid

18 July 2022
Imports of Russian palladium have plunged as more companies look for other suppliers.
Ukraine war

Battery makers seek price hikes on lack of Russia rare metals

Ukraine war disruption pushes lithium, titanium, palladium to new highs

18 July 2022
Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati delivers a speech during the G-20 Finance Ministers' Meeting in Bali on July 15.
International relations

G-20 finance chiefs fail to reach consensus on global inflation

Indonesia gives up on wringing out joint communique from premier economic bloc

16 July 2022
A tanker is loaded with liquefied natural gas at the Sakhalin-2 project in Russia. The project supplies roughly 10% of Japan's LNG imports.
Energy

Japan tells Mitsui, Mitsubishi to hang on to Sakhalin-2 stakes

Putin move on key LNG project threatens G-7 unity on Ukraine sanctions

16 July 2022