TAIPEI/HO CHI MINH CITY -- Buyers of Apple's new iPhone 13 are facing longer-than-expected delivery times due to the COVID wave in Vietnam and the U.S. tech giant's deployment of a new camera feature, Nikkei Asia has learned.

The disruption is mainly associated with constrained supplies of camera modules for the four iPhone 13 models because a significant number of its component parts are assembled in Vietnam, according to people familiar with the matter.

Supply chain sources had expected this

OTTAWA -- Relief and joy in Canada over the release of two citizens imprisoned in China for nearly three years is being tempered by concerns about rewarding "hostage diplomacy" and questions of how to deal with Beijing in the future.

China freed diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor on Saturday, Asia time, immediately after Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was granted release from house arrest in Vancouver. The move followed the U.S. dropping a request for Meng's extradition, and came despite Beijing's

DALIAN, China -- A 2,200 meter rail bridge across the Amur River, between China and Russia, was completed in August this year, part of a push to deepen economic ties between the two countries facing U.S. sanctions.

The new bridge is a boon for companies that move goods across the China-Russia border.

"We'll be able to slash shipping times once the rail bridge opens up," said an employee at one trading company based in China's northeastern Heilongjiang

TOKYO -- Honda Motor has launched a new business that sells data generated by smart vehicles, joining a crush of rivals in a new industry destined to be worth as much as $400 billion a year.

So-called connected cars are equipped with cameras, lasers and electrical control units that turn the vehicles into moving sensors. A whole range of data can be collected, from driving distances and speeds all the way to the entertainment content played by the vehicle occupants.

"For the automotive industry competing in the

TOKYO -- Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund has decided not to include yuan-denominated Chinese government bonds in its portfolio, Nikkei has learned.

The move came after British index provider FTSE Russell decided to include Chinese government bonds in its benchmark FTSE World Government Bond Index (WGBI) in March. The move by the WGBI will be phased in over a three-year period starting at the end of October.

The GPIF -- one of the world's largest institutional investors -- uses the index.

After

HONG KONG -- Embattled property developer China Evergrande Group has raised $1.5 billion in its first asset sale since revealing last month that it was in danger of a default.

However, the proceeds may not shore up its depleted liquidity, as they are expected to go toward settling bank debts, according to a statement on Wednesday from the developer.

The company, which has missed payments to banks, offshore bondholders, suppliers and retail debt investors, said it has raised 10 billion yuan ($1.5

HANOI -- Vietnam's gross domestic product dropped 6.17% on the year for the July-September period, as stringent lockdowns in key areas including the economic engine of Ho Chi Minh City led to the first decline since 2000 on a quarterly basis.

The economy slid into negative territory during the third quarter after 6.61% growth in the previous three months, the country's General Statistics Office said Wednesday. Vietnam's economy grew 2.69% in the

NEW YORK -- Fuel prices from crude to coal continue to surge across the globe, fueling concerns that the world is headed into energy-driven inflation and driving investors to seek out safe havens.

North Sea Brent crude, an international benchmark for crude oil prices, temporarily topped $80 a barrel for the first time since October 2018 in London on Tuesday. Back in New York, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also hit its highest price since July.

This uncertainty rattled investors Tuesday.

NEW YORK -- Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking U.S. military officer, told Congress on Tuesday that the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan has harmed America's standing with its allies.

"I think that our credibility with allies and partners around the world and with adversaries is being intensely reviewed by them to see which way this is going to go," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "And I think that 'damage' is one word