Latest news with #Europe-to-Asia
Express Tribune
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
French-German teenage cyclist held in Iran
Screengrab taken from an Instagram post on June 24, 2025, shows Lennart Monterlos, who was arrested in Iran. Photo AFP Iran has detained a Franco-German national on a Europe-to-Asia cycle trip who disappeared in the country on June 16, Iran's foreign minister told Le Monde newspaper on Thursday. The French foreign ministry, which has accused Iran of pursuing a deliberate policy of detaining foreigners to use as bargaining chips, had previously expressed concern over the fate of Lennart Monterlos. France and a number of other countries have urged their nationals not to go to Iran because of the risk of detention. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Le Monde that an "official notification" about Monterlos had been sent to the French embassy in Tehran. He said Monterlos "has been arrested for committing an offence". French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou urged Iran to not "persecute the innocent who are sometimes unaware of the risks they face" in an interview with broadcaster LCI. The French foreign ministry told AFP it was in contact with Iranian authorities about the case and was also speaking with the teenager's family.
India Today
10-07-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Franco-German cyclist held in Iran for ‘crime', says Foreign Minister
An 18-year-old Franco-German cyclist who vanished in Iran nearly a month ago has been arrested for committing a crime, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed in an interview with French daily Le Monde on detained cyclist, Lennart Monterlos, was on a solo Europe-to-Asia biking expedition and had last made contact on June 16.'He was arrested for committing a crime, and an official notification regarding his situation was sent to the French embassy,' Araghchi said, without providing further France's foreign ministry said it was in contact with both Iranian authorities and the family of Lennart Monterlos. Citing concerns for his safety, the ministry declined to provide further arrest threatens to further deteriorate diplomatic ties between Paris and Tehran, which have already been under pressure due to Iran's ongoing detention of two other French nationals, Jacques Paris and Ccile Kohler, who have been held for over three has previously described their treatment as being akin to torture, and has repeatedly demanded their release.- Ends
South China Morning Post
12-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
How ancient China's standardised vehicle and road ‘specs' transformed the country
Tucked away in sleepy Perlis, Malaysia's tiniest state, an ambitious infrastructure project is quietly taking shape. Advertisement The backers of the Perlis Inland Port believe that it could one day sit at the crossroads of a Europe-to-Asia trade route, a transshipment hub to which cargo from Europe could be shipped and from there transported on freight trains to Thailand, Indochina, China and beyond. Most of the Malaysians I know have never visited Perlis. The mostly agricultural state in the far north of the Malay Peninsula shares a land border with Thailand and is better known for its rice fields. Those who have visited travelled through it in passing on their way to southern Thailand. The entire state is smaller than Hong Kong in geographical size, and its population is just under 300,000. Perlis is a mostly agricultural state in the far north of the Malay Peninsula. Photo: Shutterstock The timing of the Perlis Inland Port could not be more apt, though. With traditional shipping routes endangered by ongoing wars and potential flashpoints, people are starting to look at rail again as a viable alternative for moving goods across continents. Advertisement Of course, turning that vision into reality is another matter altogether.
South China Morning Post
05-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Malaysia's rail port project targets a European trade corridor shake-up
A sprawling inland port under construction in Malaysia 's northern state of Perlis is being touted as a game-changer for global trade. Advertisement Positioned as the linchpin of a new Europe-to-Asia rail corridor, the Perlis Inland Port could offer exporters a vital alternative to disrupted shipping routes, as the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine and Gaza conflicts continues to upend trade. The project, spearheaded by Mutiara Perlis at a cost of 492 million ringgit (US$111 million), aims to transform Perlis into a key node in a burgeoning rail logistics network connecting Europe, Southeast Asia and China. For a region long reliant on shipping, rail freight could spell faster, more reliable delivery – provided the right infrastructure falls into place. Over the past two years, Malaysia has stepped up its efforts to develop a Pan-Asian rail network, a long-delayed vision that would link Singapore to Kunming in western China. The initiative, designed to boost overland freight transport, is geared towards meeting the growing demand for goods such as rubber, palm oil and halal products in landlocked parts of Asia. Workers lay railway sleepers for a branch line linking Perlis Inland Port to peninsula Malaysia's West Coast railway. Photo: Joseph Sipalan The proposed network envisions a rail artery running from Singapore through Malaysia, Thailand and Laos , before reaching China. Branching routes would extend east to Vietnam and Cambodia , and west to Myanmar and India
South China Morning Post
05-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Malaysia's rail port project targets a Europe trade corridor shake-up
A sprawling inland port under construction in Malaysia 's northern state of Perlis is being touted as a game-changer for global trade. Advertisement Positioned as the linchpin of a new Europe-to-Asia rail corridor, the Perlis Inland Port could offer exporters a vital alternative to disrupted shipping routes, as the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine and Gaza conflicts continues to upend trade. The project, spearheaded by Mutiara Perlis at a cost of 492 million ringgit (US$111 million), aims to transform Perlis into a key node in a burgeoning rail logistics network connecting Europe, Southeast Asia and China. For a region long reliant on shipping, rail freight could spell faster, more reliable delivery – provided the right infrastructure falls into place. Over the past two years, Malaysia has stepped up its efforts to develop a Pan-Asian rail network, a long-delayed vision that would link Singapore to Kunming in western China. The initiative, designed to boost overland freight transport, is geared towards meeting the growing demand for goods such as rubber, palm oil and halal products in landlocked parts of Asia. Workers lay railway sleepers for a branch line linking Perlis Inland Port to peninsula Malaysia's West Coast railway. Photo: Joseph Sipalan The proposed network envisions a rail artery running from Singapore through Malaysia, Thailand and Laos , before reaching China. Branching routes would extend east to Vietnam and Cambodia , and west to Myanmar and India
