Asia

Local police reported that a "system failure" was responsible for a robotaxi service outage in central China's Wuhan. This re-ignited safety concerns over the rapidly-growing service. According to an official announcement, the police received reports late on Tuesday that numerous Apollo Go cars were stuck in the middle roads of Wuhan. The police reported that passengers were able exit their vehicles safely, and no injuries were reported. Investigations are still ongoing to determine the cause of this incident. A traffic police officer told The Paper, a Shanghai-based media outlet, that at least '100 Apollo Go cars were affected. Although the...

Chinese broadcaster CCTV, citing officials, reported that an alleged key?member of Chinese businessman Chen Zhi’s online scam & money laundering operation -?Li Xiong - was extradited from Cambodia to China. Chen founded the Prince Group - a Cambodian conglomerate that has fingers in real estate, banking, airlines, and cryptocurrency investment schemes. According to U.S. prosecutors these schemes have allegedly stolen billions of dollars worldwide from their victims. In a press release, the Cambodian government confirmed that he had been extradited to China. CCTV reported that Li was the former chairman of the Huione Group. Huione Group?allegedly laundered?at least $4 billion...

IndiGo shares gained 4.4% Wednesday, after the Indian budget airline named Willie Walsh as its new chief executive officer. This comes just weeks after Pieter Elbers' departure. Jefferies described this appointment as "remarkably quick" for an airline with the scale and complexity of IndiGo, and that it would likely minimize any leadership vacuums and ensure continuity in implementation. Jefferies stated that Walsh will be able to guide IndiGo through its current growth phase as well as operational stabilisation, international expansion and the company's future expansion. Walsh's tenure as the?head the International Air Transport Association ends on July 31. He is...

The escalation of the Middle East conflict has led to an employee meeting, reported the Spiegel newspaper on Tuesday. The Handelsblatt had initially reported that the airline group considered 'grounding 20 planes earlier on Tuesday. It also cited a'meeting of employees. Spiegel reported that this was a?part of two crisis management packages. Spiegel reported that in the event of further escalation of the conflict, a second package of possible measures would be to ground 40 aircraft. This would amount to a?loss of capacity of around 5%. Spohr told Spiegel that no decision has been taken yet but admitted the 4%...

China Southern Airlines reported on Monday a 'net profit' of 857 million Yuan ($124.01?million) for 2020, returning to a positive net profit for the first since 2019. This was due to operational improvements and tighter control over costs. The Guangzhou carrier's full-year profit fell within the range set by the company in January, which was 800 million to 1 billion yuan. This compares with a loss of 1.7 billion yuan for 2024. In 2025, it was the only one of China's?Big 3? state-owned airlines that reported a net profit for a full year. In its earnings guidance the airline stated...

According to Chinese state-run media and tour operators, 'China's Flag carrier' resumed flights on Monday between Beijing, the capital, and Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. However, it has stopped taking new bookings for the route. Chinese state media reported that Air China resumed weekly flights in North Korea for the first since the COVID-19 outbreak. The information was based on the tour operator Young Pioneer Tours. Rowan Beard, from Young Pioneer Tours, said that Air China had stopped accepting new bookings and future flights were not confirmed. He cited his company's communication with Air China. The airline did not respond...

Capital A Berhad, a Malaysian company, named a senior 'banker' as its deputy CEO on Monday. The group is looking to'scale up their?core business after separating its aviation division to its affiliate AirAsia X. Tony Fernandes, the founder and CEO of Capital A, said that Effendy, a former chief executive officer at Malaysia's CIMB Group who was previously in charge of consumer and digital banks, would help to spearhead Capital A's growth. This will include exploring a plan for listing?the company in Hong Kong before mid-year. He told a media conference that "we've appointed banks and this could possibly happen...

The sudden rise in oil prices has forced global airlines to increase fares and reduce capacity. However, the industry's ability remain profitable depends on whether consumers decide to cut back on their flying because gasoline costs are threatening household budgets. The airline industry forecast'record profits' of $41 billion by 2026 before the U.S. - Israel conflict with Iran started last month. However, a doubling of jet?fuel costs has put that in doubt and forced carriers to rethink networks and strategies. United Airlines, Air New Zealand, and Scandinavian SAS all announced fare increases and capacity reductions. Others imposed fuel surcharges. Rigas...

The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, which has pushed up jet fuel prices, has shook the global aviation industry. Airlines have been forced to increase fares and revise their financial forecasts. In recent weeks, jet fuel prices have increased from $85-$90 per barrel up to $150-$200 per barrel. This is a major financial blow to an industry that relies on fuel for a quarter or more of its operating costs. Here is an alphabetical list of the ways airlines are responding to this issue: AEGEAN AIRLINES The Greek airline is expecting a significant impact on its first quarter results...

Air China reported a loss of $1.77 billion ($256.17 millions) on Thursday, reversing signs that the carrier was recovering. The?country's flag carrier?was hurt by market competition. The company estimated a loss for the full year of 1.3 to 1.9 billion yuan, but it was significantly higher than its 2024 net loss of 233 millions yuan under IFRS standards. The airline posted a profit of 3,64 billion yuan during the 'fourth quarter, after a profitable third quarter fueled by the 'peak summer season. Air China's annual report stated that it will be focusing on efficiency and profitability this year. It also...

The global air travel industry is still severely affected by the Iran War. Many people are unable to travel to their destinations as planned after major Middle Eastern hubs such as Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi were closed. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES The largest Greek?carrier cancelled flights from Tel Aviv to Beirut, Amman and Erbil until April 22. Baghdad and Erbil were also canceled until May 24. Dubai flights have been canceled until April 19, and Riyadh flights until April 18. AIRBALTIC All flights to Tel Aviv have been cancelled by Latvia's AirBaltic until...

The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran has rattled businesses around the world, driving up energy costs, squeezing the supply of vital raw materials, and raising concerns about the reliability of the trade routes that are critical to the flow from goods such as food to car parts. Here are the major disruptions that have occurred so far: TRAVEL CHAOS Tens of thousands flight cancellations have been reported worldwide. Schedule changes and reroutings are also common. The Middle East has had its airspace closed due to threats from drones and missiles. The global aviation industry is experiencing its worst disruptions...

Calculations showed that the average daily natural gas supply to Europe by Russian energy giant Gazprom via 'the TurkStream' undersea pipe rose 22% compared to a year ago to 55 million cubic meters in March. The Strait of Hormuz was closed to most shipping because of the Iran War, leaving the energy markets exposed to danger. After Ukraine decided?not extend a five year deal with Moscow, which?expired on January?2025, the Turkey is now the only route to Europe for Russian gas. According to calculations based on data provided by the European Gas Transmission Group Entsog, total Russian gas supplied to...

According to the Coffee Trading Academy, green coffee stocks in Japan, Europe, and the United States, the two largest coffee-consuming regions in the world, were near historic lows in February, despite the recent weakness of coffee prices. Japan's stock was 2.21 million 60 kg bags. This is a little different from January, and also from last year. It is still far below the 5-year average of 2.75 millions bags for this time of the year. CTA cited data from the European Coffee Federation to say that green coffee stocks in Europe were 6.8 million bags at the end of February....

On Tuesday, the European Union's top diplomatic representative Kaja 'Kallas' and a number of EU foreign ministers visited Bucha to mark the fourth anniversary since a massacre. They expressed their support for Ukraine in its demand for Russian accountability for the atrocities that were 'committed' there. Ukrainian officials claim that Russian forces killed hundreds of people in Bucha soon after the beginning of the 2022 invasion. Kallas, along with around a dozen EU Foreign Ministers and other senior European Officials made the trip to Bucha amid tensions in the EU over EU Aid for Ukraine. Kallas, who returned to Kyiv...

Naftogaz, the Ukrainian energy company, said on Monday that Ukraine is interested in increasing LNG supplies via Greek terminals and pipelines along the Vertical Corridor System. The Vertical Corridor allows Ukraine to receive U.S. LNG via Greece, but the share of imports is still small. In 2016, Greece, Bulgaria Romania and Hungary signed an agreement to build the infrastructure for the Vertical Gas Corridor, which will allow gas to be transported between the countries. After the meeting, Serhiy koretskyi, Naftogaz's CEO, said that "special attention was paid to the possibility of increasing the gas supply volumes for both Ukraine and...

Moldovan opposition parties demanded on Sunday an explanation from the pro-European Moldovan government regarding its imposition of a "sweeping energy state of emergency" over a damaged electricity line that took four days to repair. Last Tuesday, the Eastern European country’s?parliament?approved a 60-day energy state of an emergency to streamline decision-making. The government had blamed Russian attacks on neighbouring Ukraine after knocking out the Isaccea - Vulcanesti electricity line. Moldova's Energy Ministry announced that the line, which runs from Romania to Moldova, and crosses 40 km of Ukrainian territory, was restored Saturday. This line is responsible for 70% of the country's...

Russian officials reported that the Ust-Luga port, which is one of Russia's largest petroleum export outlets, was damaged by a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday, which ignited a fire. Ukraine intensified drone strikes on Russia's oil export infrastructure in the last month. These attacks included Novorossiysk, on the Black Sea, and?Primorsk, and Ust-Luga, on the Baltic Sea. These attacks caused severe oil supply disruptions for Russia, which is the second largest oil exporter in the world. They also hit Moscow at a time when oil prices were above $100 per barrel because of?the Iran War. The Governor of Russia's Leningrad...

Bloomberg News reported that Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, which circumvents the Strait of Hormuz and pumps?oil to its full capacity of 7 million barrels per day, according to a source familiar with the issue. Bloomberg reported that Saudi Arabia exports 5 million barrels of crude oil a day from its Yanbu port, located on the?Red Sea. The country also exports 700,000 to 900,000 barrels per day in oil products. Could not verify the report immediately. Aramco, the Saudi Arabian oil company, did not immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Aramco CEO Amin Nasser had earlier told reporters on a...

The European Commission and the natural gas grid operators of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine agreed on Friday to tariffs for the corridor that carries gas from Greece to Ukraine, in an effort to increase competition and diversify supply. The Greek gas grid operator DESFA announced in a press release that operators and EU executive have agreed on 'tariffs which will be implemented from October and are in line with EU rules. Greece, Bulgaria Romania and Hungary have agreed to develop the necessary infrastructure in order to realise the so-called Vertical gas Corridor, which would allow bidirectional gas transmission...

The Russian state-owned nuclear company Rosatom announced on Friday it had agreed to form a joint venture in logistics with the UAE-based port operator, DP 'World. Rosatom, a Russian company that builds nuclear plants in Russia and abroad, and owns transport assets there, will hold 51%, and DP World, 49%, according to DP World's spokesman. Rosatom will contribute its 92.4% share in the Russian container logistics group FESCO. DP World, on the other hand, will?provide cash based on FESCO's market value. The Federal Antimonopoly Service and the Government Commission on Foreign Assets must approve the deal. Rosatom stated that the...

Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry said on Friday that the attack on Russia’s major port in the Baltic, Ust-Luga, did not affect?Kazakhstan’s oil exports. It added?that flows were operating normally. The Ministry said that it continues to monitor the situation. Three processing units at the Ust-Luga Complex, each with a capacity of three million metric tonnes per year, refine stable condensate to light and heavy naphthas, jet fuel, ship fuel oils and gasoil. Kazakhstan exports part of its crude oil through Russian ports along the Baltic Sea. This includes Ust-Luga which was 'hit by a Ukrainian drone on March 25. Both Ust-Luga...

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson on Friday, said that Russia does not seek to undermine U.S. interests in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. He was answering a question regarding comments made by several Russian experts on state television, who suggested that Russia should stop oil deliveries via the CPC to Kazakhstan as a response to Washington sanctions against Russia. CPC, in which U.S. oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron are major shareholders, exports oil from a Russian port on the Black Sea. Peskov said in a daily press conference that "along with our American partners, we also have Kazakh partners." Despite everything, Russia...

In recent weeks, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian energy installations as peace talks failed to make progress. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said that Ukraine used long-range attacks on?energy to maintain pressure on Russia following the lifting of international oil sanctions against Moscow in the aftermath of the Iran war. Here is a summary of the attacks. KIRISHI REFINERY The ?Kirishinefteorgsintez ?oil refinery in northwest Russia, one of the largest in the country, halted processing on Thursday following Ukrainian drone attacks that caused fires in some parts of the plant, two industry sources said. SARATOV REFINERY According...