China's state-owned COSCO Shipping announced the halt of its services in some Middle Eastern countries, including UAE, Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain, citing the escalating conflict in the region as the reason.  The Shanghai-based shipping giant has issued a service advisory, saying that the ongoing escalation of conflict in the region and the corresponding restrictions on maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz for its suspension of business. "In order to maximize the safety of cargo transportation and the stability of overall shipping operations,  the company has decided to suspend the acceptance of new bookings for relevant routes effective immediately, with the resumption date to be announced later," says the company. The scope of the affected business is as follows: 1. suspension of all new booking services from anywhere to the United Arab Emirates (excluding Fujairah and Khor Fakkan), Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (excluding Jeddah), and Kuwait. 2. suspension of all new booking services from the United Arab Emirates (excluding Fujairah and Khor Fakkan), Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (excluding Jeddah), and Kuwait to the rest of the world.