Middle East

The European Union’s?aviation regulator on Thursday?recommended that the bloc’s airlines?stay out?of?Iran’s airspace?until?March 31?, saying it was extending a previous warning. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a bulletin that stated: "The presence of and the possible use of an array of weapons and air defence systems, coupled with unpredictable state responses... creates a 'high hazard to civil flight operations at all levels and altitudes." A breakdown in the negotiations between Iran and United States could spark a conflict which could spread to the rest of the oil-producing region. Iran has vowed to respond harshly to any attack and warned...

AirAsia X will 'place a large order for small aircraft as it expands its routes and services for 'Asia’s earliest travellers. It has also cancelled the order for 15 Airbus A330neo larger planes. Tony Fernandes said that the choice of regional Airbus or Embraer models will be announced in less than a month, and it is larger than originally reported. Sources in the industry said that it was supposed to be announced by the end of last month. However, they claimed that this order had been 'held up' while budget carrier finished talks about financing or outside investments. Fernandes said,...

AirAsia X, Malaysia's budget airline, announced a new route on Wednesday that connects Kuala Lumpur with?Bahrain before continuing to London's Gatwick 'airport'. This is the latest step of the airline's global expansion. In a press release, the company stated that the service would begin in June and will be Bahrain AirAsia X’s first hub outside Asia. It will use its location to link Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Europe. Last month, Asia's largest low cost carrier completed the acquisition of the short-haul business from parent Capital A. This unifies the group's 7 airlines under one banner. The return of non-stop...

The company, along with Spain's transport minister, announced on Sunday that Saudi Arabia had ordered 20 high-speed trains. Talgo announced in a?statement that the deal added 1.33 billion euro ($1.57 billion), bringing its backlog to nearly?6billion euros, which is a record. The contract also covers maintenance of the trains. The agreement will 'boost the reputation of Spanish rail, which suffered a heavy blow after a fatal train crash near Cordoba in last month. The accident raised concerns about whether the investment in maintaining the network keeps pace with a soaring passenger demand. In a X.com post, Transport Minister Oscar Puente...

Israel's Competition Authority announced on Sunday that it would levy a fine on El Al Israel Airlines of 121 million shekels (about $39 mln) for setting unfair and excessive airfares during Israel’s Gaza War. The maximum fine allowed by law is the fine. The antitrust agency said that it had reviewed the period between October 7, 2023 and May 20, 2024, and found El Al to be a monopoly operator on 38 of its 53 routes, including New York, London and Paris as well as Bangkok and other destinations in the United States and Europe. The report found that the...

Algeria is in the process of cancelling the air'services agreement' it signed with the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi, in May 2013. Algerian media outlets, however, have been harshly critical of the UAE over the past few months. They accuse them of trying to sow discord in the region. The?North African nation's state-owned radio reported that "Algeria initiated procedures to halt the air services contract with the United Arab Emirates signed in Abu Dhabi on the 13th of May 2013, and ratified through a...presidential order dated the 30th December 2014". According to Article 22 of this agreement, the Emiratis...

Tim Clark, Emirates' president, said that the airline would consider ordering a bigger version of the A350 if Airbus?moved forward with a new wide-body model. He reiterated calls for manufacturers and aircraft makers to make larger planes. Airbus announced in November that it was studying a so-called A350 2000 after Boeing agreed to examine a larger version its largest aircraft in production, the 777X as part of an agreement to secure?65 in new orders for the delayed plane. A larger A350 could potentially overtake the A350-1000 – currently the largest model Airbus’ portfolio – which Emirates has refused to purchase...

Saudi Arabia is investing in a private Syrian airline, as part of a multi-billion dollar investment package that will be announced this Saturday. This reflects Riyadh’s?deepening? ties with Damascus. The announcement of the latest investments is the biggest since the United States lifted tough sanctions against Syria in December. The sanctions were a major obstacle to the economic recovery of Syria after a 14 year civil war which caused extensive damage in many parts of the country, and forced millions of people from their homes. Talal Al Hilali, the head of the Investment Authority, said that Saudi Arabia would invest...

Singapore hosted Asia's largest aviation conference on Tuesday, as the industry aims to achieve ambitious regional growth goals despite widespread supply shortages which have delayed many aircraft delivery. The 10th edition?Singapore Airshow? will feature more than 1,000 companies, including industry giants Airbus and Boeing as well as local champion ST Engineering. There is also a new generation of drone-focused defence firms such Asuril Industries and Shield AI. Singapore announced on Monday that it will launch its own space agency at the accompanying space summit. China and India are driving the Asia-Pacific region's rapid growth in air travel. By 2026, passenger...

Qantas Airways announced?on?Tuesday that it would sell a stake in low-cost carrier Jetstar Japan so as to 'focus on its core domestic offerings, given the softer corporate demand for Qantas and increased fuel costs. Qantas, the Australian airline, has announced that it will sell its minority 33.32% stake in Jetstar Japan. Japan Airlines and Tokyo Century Corp. will retain their respective voting rights of 50% and 16.7%, and the Development Bank of Japan plans to become a shareholder. The decision to sell the stakes comes after Jetstar Asia, based in Singapore, closed in July. This will allow Qantas Australia to...

AMSTERDAM, 1 February - Airline KLM has resumed flights to Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. It announced this late on Saturday after announcing that it would not fly over many parts of the Middle East because of 'rising tensions in the region. We have adjusted our schedule to resume flights on February 2, 3 and 4. KLM announced that flights to Dubai will be operated from February 1 to 6, with a modified schedule. KLM, Dutch arm of Air France KLM, has announced that it has already resumed flights in other destinations, including Riyadh, and Dammam. The?airline...

EasyJet, a British budget airline, said that summer bookings are increasing, despite the fact that it reported an increased first-quarter loss, mainly due to expansion costs and lower winter prices. The company stated that the "traditionally busy January booking period" saw record numbers in terms of both revenue and volume, as bookings for summer 2026 continue to build. Winter is usually the slowest time for airlines. They rely on the spring and summer season to boost their earnings. EasyJet has reported an operating loss of 76 millions pounds ($105million) for the three-month period ending December 31 compared to a 40...

Trafigura has won its London case against Indian businessman Prateek?Gupta regarding fake nickel cargoes on Friday. The High Court of London ruled in favor of the commodities 'trader. Trafigura, a Geneva-based company, claimed that Gupta and his companies were the masterminds of a fraudulent Ponzi scheme??in which they agreed to deliver high-quality nickel 99.8% but instead delivered low-value materials or even worthless ones. Gupta acknowledged he didn't deliver high-grade Nickel cargoes, but claims Trafigura staff designed the scheme. Former Trafigura head nickel trader Sokratis Oikonomou had denied this in his testimony given in November. Judge Pushpinder Saini ruled Trafigura had...

Ziad El Chaar, CEO of Saudi real estate developer Dar Global, announced on Sunday that two Trump-branded luxury projects will be launched in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and Jeddah (Jordan). Chaar said that the projects include the Trump National Golf Course in Riyadh and the Trump International Hotel at Diriyah. This is a massive project located on the western edge of the Saudi capital. Chaar said that a mixed-use development called Trump Plaza is planned for Jeddah. Chaar stated that the projects were in line with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which aims to diversify its economy and move away from oil....

Senalia, a grain export terminal operator, expects volumes to double in 2025/26 compared to last year due to a rebound in French harvest production and a brisk barley demand. Rouen, on the Seine River in Normandy, is France's main grain export hub. Rain-stricken 2024 reduced its export surplus, and port terminals were idle for part the season. Senalia, the cooperative-owned cereal exporter, has forecast that Senalia will load 3.8 millions metric tons in the current July-June period, up from just 1.8 million in 2020/25. This is exactly what it did two years ago. He said that 1.7 million tonnes of...

The Turkish distributor of China's Dongfeng Motor said that the company is in discussions with an investor to produce passenger cars in Turkey. Turkey is a large market with an annual sales volume of 1.4m vehicles. It also has a customs-free trade agreement with the EU. Chinese imports of cars to Turkey are subject to additional taxes, and Chinese automakers including Chery are seeking to set up production in Turkey with local partners. In a LinkedIn statement, Yavuz Cirak said, "We're working hard to begin production this year." Cirak is the CEO of Dongfeng’s local distributor,?Marcar, and was a part...

Data from the London Metal Exchange showed that, in November, the share of copper made in China among all available stocks increased. A favorable price arbitrage encouraged Chinese exports. The percentage of copper stock that is available or on a warrant The data revealed that the percentage of - of Chinese Origin in LME Warehouses had increased to 85% by the end of the last month from 82% at the beginning of October. A LME warrant is an ownership document. The absolute amount of Chinese copper stocks on the LME rose to 130,225 tonnes at the end last month from...

China Gas Holdings, a privately-controlled city gas distributor, has hired an ex-senior trader of the Chinese utility GCL Group as its head of global natural gas sales. Xiong Xin was the head of gas trading for GCL New Energy Holdings (a unit of GCL Holdings), a solar power company, until early 2024. He joined China Gas in Oct. Xiong has nearly a decade's worth of experience in trading at the state oil giant CNOOC, and privately owned Chinese gas company ENN, before he joined GCL. He now heads China Gas’ growing liquefied gas trading business, as well as liquefied petrol...

In October, the share of Russian and Indian aluminum in London Metal Exchange warehouses fell as nearly 50,000 tons from Australia, Indonesia and the Middle East entered the system. LME data released on Monday showed that the percentage of aluminium stock of Russian origin available in LME warehouses fell to 51% from 59% in September. The share of Indian origin also decreased by one percentage point, to 40%. LME has prohibited metal produced in Russia after April 13, 2024 from its warehouse system. This is to comply with U.S. & British sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine 2022. Metal produced...

The third quarter of recent history was both one of best and worst for dealmakers around the world. According to Dealogic, megadeals generated a staggering $1.26 trillion worth of global mergers and purchases during the third-quarter - an increase of 40% over the previous year. This was the second best third-quarter ever by deal value. Data show that only 8,912 transactions were completed, down 16% on last year. This is the lowest third-quarter deal volume for 20 years. Dealmakers are in a strange situation, as they had high hopes for 2025 following the election of Donald Trump. Trump's punishing Tariffs,...

The third quarter of recent history was both one of best and worst for dealmakers around the world. According to Dealogic, megadeals generated a staggering $1.26 trillion worth of global mergers and purchases during the third-quarter - an increase of 40% over the previous year. This was the second best third-quarter ever by deal value. Data show that only 8,912 transactions were completed, a drop of 16% compared to last year. This is the lowest third-quarter deal volume for 20 years. Dealmakers are in a strange situation, as they had high hopes for 2025 following the election of Donald Trump....

These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Mexico is planning to increase import tariffs on almost 1,500 products including cars, steel, textiles and appliances to protect the domestic industry and job opportunities, particularly from cheap Chinese goods. This comes amid wider trade talks with both the U.S. Oracle has signed an unprecedented $300 billion cloud computing contract with OpenAI to support massive AI expansion starting in 2027. This is one of the biggest tech contracts ever, and signals a high-stakes wager on ChatGPT’s continued...

Israel's military confirmed that a missile fired from Yemen at Israel on Thursday fell in an area open outside Israeli territory. No sirens were activated. This was the third launch of this kind within 24 hours. Yemen's Iran supported Houthis have recently increased attacks and launched missiles in response to Israeli attacks against Yemen. The Houthis launched missiles and drones towards Israel from thousands of kilometers away, calling it an act of solidarity with Palestinians. The majority of missiles or drones that were launched either missed their targets or were intercepted. Israel has responded by bombing areas in Yemen controlled...

Two sources familiar with the matter said that JD.Com's property investment arm and two other firms are planning to launch a Singapore based real estate trust (REIT), with assets valued at potentially more than $1 billion. Sources said that JD Property (the unlisted infrastructure investment platform and asset management platform for JD.Com) is creating the REIT in partnership with Partners Group, a Swiss investment firm, and EZA Hill Property which is backed up by Asian investment firm Hillhouse. Sources who refused to name themselves because the matter was private said that the REIT plan could be listed at the Singapore...