Asia

According to an internal memo seen by?on Monday, the managing director of Air India Express'?low-cost division will step down after five years on March 19, 2019. MD?Aloke?Singh said in the memorandum that the carrier had grown to become India’s third largest narrow-body operator with more than 100 planes and around 8,300 employees. Singh did not announce a successor, but said that Captain Hamish Maxiwell, who previously served as an advisor to him, would take over?as Accountable manager, a regulatory position responsible for ensuring safety oversight and operational standards. Air India Express has not responded to the request for comment immediately....

The U.S. and Israeli military attack on Iran could push inflation up, and stifle the already weak economic growth in Europe. The attacks disrupted the commercial shipping in Gulf, which is a major source of fuels and petroleum products to Europe. The interruption of energy supplies immediately increased the price on financial markets. Fuel prices will likely rise and the Bank of England and European Central Bank's outlook may be clouded, causing them to delay any rate cuts until they clear the fog of war. What you need to know about the economic impact on Europe of the Iran Conflict:...

Yvette Cooper, British Foreign Minister, said that her team was examining 'all options', including evacuating, to assist hundreds of thousands UK citizens who are fleeing Gulf countries, which have been targeted by Iran. Since the attacks on Saturday, 102,000 people in the Gulf region have registered with the UK government to show that they are present. Cooper was asked if she planned to evacuate from these countries. She replied that officials were putting in place "support systems". Sky News reported that she was "working on all possible options." "We must also acknowledge the scale of the situation and the fact...

Shanghai stocks closed Monday at a record high, defying regional weakness in the aftermath of the Iran conflict, as investors snapped up shares in energy, gold, and defence. The expectation that Beijing would intervene to calm the markets in advance of a parliamentary meeting later this week boosted sentiment on the mainland. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell more than 2 percent to a 2-month low. U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran killed the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and escalated geopolitical tensions. Global economic uncertainty was also heightened. The Shanghai Composite Index closed the session at 4,182.6, up 0.5%, its highest level since...

China's equity benchmarks remained unchanged on Monday, as the Iran conflict prompted a surge in gold and energy stocks. This was offset by a decline in tourism and airline shares. The Mainland's sentiment was boosted by the expectation that Beijing would step in and stabilize?markets?ahead of an upcoming parliamentary meeting. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by about 2%, but it is more sensitive to volatility on the global markets. U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran killed the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei over the weekend. This heightened geopolitical tensions, and exacerbated global economic uncertainty. The Shanghai Composite Index and China's CSI300 Index...

Global Airlines has cancelled flights in the Middle East following the United States' and Israel's strikes on Iran, which plunged the region into another conflict. The global air travel industry remained in turmoil Monday, as the war in Iran caused the closure of major Middle Eastern hubs, including Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi, for a third consecutive day. This left tens of thousand of passengers stranded worldwide, and disrupted thousands of flights. The following is a list of the most recent flights by alphabetical order. AEGEAN AIRLINES The largest airline in Greece has suspended flights between Tel Aviv, Israel and...

Australia announced on Monday that it would not participate?in any military operation in Iran and would not send troops to the Middle East should the conflict escalate. Israel launched fresh strikes against?Tehran, while Iran responded by launching more'missile attacks. Iran's Supreme leader Ali Khamenei died in an attack Saturday. The United States also reported its first casualties as President Donald Trump suggested that the conflict could continue for another four weeks. Penny Wong, Australian Foreign Minister, said Canberra "would not get into it". "Australia is not at the center of the Middle East's issues." Wong said on Channel Nine that...

The shares of Australia's national carrier, Qantas Airlines, fell more than 10% to their lowest level in ten months after U.S. and Israel launched massive strikes against Iran over the weekend. This sent oil prices soaring. When the Australian stock market opened on the Monday, shares of the firm fell by as much as 10.4%, to A$8.92 each, their lowest level since May 2, 2o25. They then pared some losses, trading at a loss of 5.8% as late as 2345 GMT. On Sunday, global air travel was in turmoil as the war in Iran forced key Middle Eastern hubs such...

Iran's retaliatory attacks across the Gulf have caused the most widespread disruption of business in the region since the pandemic. They forced airport closures, stopped port operations, and sent shockwaves to financial markets. Three people were killed in the United Arab Emirates and loud bangs could be heard in Dubai and Abu Dhabi on Sunday. The attacks came in response to the joint U.S./Israeli attack against Iran. This region has built its reputation over decades as a reliable business hub. The attacks in the United Arab Emirates killed three people and there were loud bangs heard in Dubai and Abu...

Maersk, a Danish shipping company, announced on Sunday that it would halt sailings 'through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait & the Suez Canal & reroute the ships around Cape of Good Hope after U.S. & Israeli strikes against Iran plunged this region into chaos. Maersk issued a statement saying that due to the deteriorating situation in the Middle East following the escalating conflict, "we have decided...to temporarily halt future Trans-Suez crossings through the Bab El-Mandeb strait." Maersk announced on Friday that it would temporarily reroute certain sailings away from the Suez Canal and around the Cape of Good Hope. It cited...

Three metals industry sources say that physical gold flows to and from Dubai's "bullion trading center" will be drastically curtailed in the coming days, as airlines cancel flights because of U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, and Tehran's response. Dubai's trading hub is a major supplier of gold to Switzerland, Hong Kong, and India, which are major consumers. Due to its high value and weight, gold is transported by air due to insurance and security concerns. One of the sources stated that "it looks like most, if not all airlines have cancelled flights. So there won't be much?gold movement for...

Boursa Kuwait halted trading on Sunday after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran led to retaliatory attacks on U.S.-targeted cities in the Gulf, fueling fears of a prolonged period of regional instability. On Sunday, witnesses reported explosions over Doha and in the Dubai region as Iran retaliated for the U.S./Israeli attacks that killed Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei. This was one of the largest disruptions to aviation worldwide in recent years. The trading in Middle East markets can be a good indicator of the impact investors will have on their assets, from gold to safe-haven currencies. Barclays analysts raised their Brent crude estimate...

Calculations showed that the average daily natural gas supplies from Russia's energy giant Gazprom to Europe through TurkStream, an undersea pipeline, fell by 2.3% in comparison to a year ago to 54.5 millions cubic metres in February. After Ukraine decided not to renew a 'five-year agreement with Moscow, which expired in January 2025, the only remaining transit route for Russian?gas into Europe is through Turkey. The calculations based on data from the European Gas Transmission Group Entsog revealed that total Russian gas supplies to Europe via TurkStream were 1.52 billion cubic meters last month. This is down from 1.56 billion...

Three industry sources said that the Druzhba Pipeline exported some Ukrainian oil, and much larger volumes of Russian crude before it was damaged by a Russian strike a month earlier. The strike 'has caused a halt to supply', they added. Since January 27, oil shipments from Russia to Hungary and Slovakia via the pipeline they operate have been suspended. Kyiv claims that Russia attacked pumping stations in western Ukraine. This sparked a dispute within the European Union and Hungary's efforts to block any new sanctions against Russia. It was not previously known that the Druzhba Pipeline is used to export...

Three industry sources said that the Druzhba Pipeline exported some Ukrainian crude oil as well as much higher volumes of Russian crude before it was damaged by a Russian strike a month earlier. This has caused a halt in supply. Since?January 27, oil shipments from Russia to Hungary and Slovakia have been suspended. This follows what Kyiv claims was a Russian attack on pumping stations in western Ukraine. This sparked a dispute with the European Union, and led to a rift between Hungary and the EU. It was not previously known that the Druzhba Pipeline is used to export Ukrainian...

Hungary and Slovakia have agreed to establish a joint committee on Friday, to investigate damage to the Druzhba Pipeline in Ukraine. They also called on Kyiv for access to allow them to restart Russian oil flow. Hungary and Slovakia, the only European Union nations still importing Russian crude oil, were forced to stop receiving supplies via Druzhba on January 27. Both countries had to find alternative sources of supply and use state reserves. Ukraine wants Europe to stop purchasing Russian fuel. It says that a Russian drone struck the pipeline and they are making repairs as quickly as possible. Hungary...

Russia will increase its Urals crude exports to China in March to compensate for the reduction of purchases by India, which is a major buyer following a recent trade agreement with the U.S. India is expected to drastically reduce its intake of Urals cargoes next month. China is the top crude importer in the world, and suppliers are looking to China to fill the gap as Turkey, the third largest Urals buyer, lacks the processing capacity to handle more Russian barrels. Russia's main options on the current market are to either increase discounts or reduce production. One trader stated that...

The blocking of new EU sanctions against Russia, and funding for Ukraine, due to the stoppage in the last Russian oil flow into Europe via the Soviet-era Druzhba Pipeline, has caused a geopolitical conflict. What you should know What is DRUZHBA and what does it mean? Druzhba is an oil pipeline that transports crude oil via Ukraine from Russia to Eastern Europe. The Soviet-era connection was one of the'most important Russian oil arteries', transporting crude from West Siberia into Europe, including Belarus, Germany and other industrial countries such as Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Hungary, Germany. According to...

Ukraine's president?Volodymyr?Zelenskiy stated on Wednesday that despite the requests of the?European Union? and the protests from Hungary, repairs to the Druzhba Pipeline, which transports Russian oil to Eastern Europe?cannot be completed quickly. Since January 27, Ukraine has said that a Russian strike on pipeline equipment in western Ukraine was responsible for the suspension of Russian oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia. Slovakia and Hungary blame Ukraine for the extended outage. Zelenskiy, a reporter, said that the Russians had destroyed the pipeline connecting the Black Sea port Odesa to Druzhba. "This isn't their first strike. They continue to attack the energy...

Two industry sources have confirmed that the Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan is recovering more slowly than expected due to a disruption of loading at the marine terminal operated by?Caspian Pipeline Consortium near Novorossiysk (Russia) caused by bad weather conditions and 'drone alerts. Kazakhstan is experiencing a perfect storm in its oil sector, due to Ukrainian drone attacks on CPC, the company that pumps 80% of?its exports. A power outage also halted Tengiz production, which accounted for 40% of Kazakhstan’s output. Kazakhstan is restoring production in the supergiant oil fields, the deepest oil field producing oil in the world. However, the...

Two sources with knowledge of the situation on Tuesday said that Russia's monopoly oil pipeline Transneft has cut crude intake by around 250,000 barrels every day following a drone attack from Ukraine on a pumping station servicing major oil hubs and ports on Monday. This reduction in oil exports could worsen Russia's problems, as it struggles with lower shipments of its key products to India and Turkey due to stricter Western sanctions designed to force Moscow to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine. Since the end of January, Russia has also suspended its remaining oil exports to Europe. These include...

In an email response to questions, the National Bank of Hungary said that it had launched a probe to determine if certain transactions involving shares in oil group MOL violated 'rules against insider trading. The central bank is investigating whether the provisions on prohibited insider trading have been violated in connection with certain capital market transactions linked to MOL Plc. The central bank is investigating whether certain capital market transactions involving the issuer have violated the prohibitions on insider trading. The NBH added, "As the official process is still ongoing, it cannot provide any further details." MOL stated in an...

In response to the Ukrainian 'attacks' that he claimed were carried out with the assistance of Western intelligence, President Vladimir Putin tasked the FSB to increase the protection of Russia’s energy & transport infrastructure. Putin said that Russia's enemies will regret pushing Moscow too far, as he spoke on the fourth anniversary. He told a group of FSB officials that the enemy was relying on individual and mass terror. This includes sabotaging the infrastructure and attempting to assassinate government and military officials. "It is absolutely necessary to defeat Russia. They will try anything. "They will push themselves too far and...

Sources and data indicate that trading houses and buyers of Venezuelan oil chartered the very large crude carriers to export from the South American nation since the Caracas-Washington deal was signed. This is expected to increase shipments to India and speed up the process starting in March. Trading firms Vitol & Trafigura export Venezuelan crude oil & fuels since January. This is part of the $2 billion deal that the U.S. & Venezuela signed after the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. According to data on vessel movements, the 'lion's share' of exports has been made by Panamax and Aframax tanks...