Philippine drivers stage strike over plan to phase out jeepneys, ageing public transport vehicles

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MANILA: Philippine transport groups launched a nationwide strike on Monday (Mar 6) to protest a government programme drivers fear would phase out traditional jeepneys, which have become a cultural icon, and other ageing public transport vehicles. Officials, however, braced with contingencies, including the deployment of government vehicles to take strandedContinue Reading

Multilateralism vs ‘Turkmenistan First’

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Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov aims to position his country as a major Eurasian hub for trade in goods and services. Although it once seemed far-fetched, the goal now appears increasingly to be within grasp. Aiding his ambition is Turkmenistan’s location on the shores of the strategically vital Caspian Sea and its possession of the world’s fifth-largest proven gas […]Continue Reading

Biden’s diplomacy without deadlines erodes US-Gulf alliance

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Qatari troops take part in a joint naval exercise with US troops in the Persian Gulf on June 16, 2017. Photo: Reuters/Naseem Zeitoon

As US and Gulf Cooperation Council officials huddled in mid-February to discuss military coordination that could counter Iran’s destabilizing activity in the region, an explosive Iranian drone slammed into an Israeli-owned tanker in the Arabian Sea.  Though committed to GCC security and the freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf – a waterway through which a quarter […]Continue Reading