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COMMENT: Can Ukraine avoid a macroeconomic collapse? - Shevchenko

“As Ukraine enters autumn 2025, its economy teeters on the brink of a new macroeconomic shock, with its recovery potential exhausted,” Kyrylo Shevchenko, the former head of the National Bank of Ukraine said in an opinion piece on September 18.

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Serbia stages one of its largest military parades in decades

Fighter jets roared over the capital in a spectacle designed to showcase the power of the Serbian Armed Forces at a time of political tensions at home and increasing instability across the Western Balkans.

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South Sudan officials diverted $2.2bn from Oil for Roads scheme, UN report finds, citing “systemic” corruption

A UN inquiry on South Sudan finds systemic corruption and fiscal mismanagement – and falling oil output – are driving hunger, economic collapse, and a worsening human rights crisis.

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Trump eyes Bagram return, with China in his sights

In the years it was operational, 14 nations operated at, or through Bagram. In addition to the US, these included UK forces and elements from France, Germany, South Korea and more.

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$23bn windfall for Kazakhstan as Beijing shifts up a gear on New Silk Road

Resource-rich Central Asian country emerges as a standout destination for Chinese investment.

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Estonia’s foreign minister summons Russia’s chargé d’affaires over 12-minute incursion in Estonia’s airspace

Estonia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 19 summoned the chargé d’affaires of the Russian Federation in Estonia to lodge a protest for an "unprecedentedly brazen" violation of Estonia’s airspace after three MiGs entered its airspace.

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EU passes nineteenth sanctions package, accelerates LNG phase out

The European Commission has published proposals for a 19th sanctions package against Russia that would tighten curbs on energy trade and payments, with new measures aimed at oil refineries, oil traders and petrochemical companies in third countries.

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COMMENT: Billionaire Ivanishvili’s shadow rule pushes Georgia toward autocracy

Georgia, once celebrated as a post-Soviet democratic success story, has quietly slipped into authoritarianism under the stewardship of its elusive puppet master, Bidzina Ivanishvili, says a Central Asia-Caucasus Institute report.

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North Korean leader oversees test of AI-powered attack drones

Explosion kills five at Afghan-Pakistan border migrant camp

China rejects US "bullying" over Latin American partnerships

North Korean leader oversees test of AI-powered attack drones

Pyongyang unveiled its first attack drones last year, a move that experts warned was closely linked to its growing military partnership with Russia, and may also be linked to Chinese agencies supplying Pyongyang with technical support.

Explosion kills five at Afghan-Pakistan border migrant camp

The blast struck on the evening of September 18 evening in Chaman, a Pakistani border town, at a taxi stand where Afghan migrants and local residents had assembled.

China rejects US "bullying" over Latin American partnerships

China has once again rejected American efforts to pressure Latin American nations into reducing ties with Beijing, with a foreign ministry spokesperson asserting the region's right to choose its own development partners independently.

News

Taiwan central bank maintains rates as growth momentum strengthens

Officials at the Central Bank of the Republic of China cited robust economic performance and subdued price pressures as reasons to hold steady.

Trump mistakes Armenia for Albania for the third time at UK press conference

US president says he brought peace to “Aberbaijan” and Albania as he touts his peacemaker credentials during UK state visit.

Iran conducts evening ballistic missile test at Semnan facility

Iran conducts evening ballistic missile test at Semnan range with Sejjil-class system, residents report dramatic launch amid heightened security around military facility.

Pakistan gives Saudi Arabia a landmark Article 5 collective security guarantee

In what is likely to be a game-changing decision, Pakistan, a nuclear power, has given Saudi Arabia an Article 5-like collective security guarantee.

Latin America's development gains under threat as one in four live in poverty, UN report finds

UNDP warns of stagnation and rising vulnerability across the region amid "overlapping crises".

Taiwan central bank maintains rates as growth momentum strengthens

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News

Officials at the Central Bank of the Republic of China cited robust economic performance and subdued price pressures as reasons to hold steady.

US president says he brought peace to “Aberbaijan” and Albania as he touts his peacemaker credentials during UK state visit.

Iran conducts evening ballistic missile test at Semnan range with Sejjil-class system, residents report dramatic launch amid heightened security around military facility.

In what is likely to be a game-changing decision, Pakistan, a nuclear power, has given Saudi Arabia an Article 5-like collective security guarantee.

UNDP warns of stagnation and rising vulnerability across the region amid "overlapping crises".

Tech

Reports from northern Afghanistan indicated severe difficulties in processing financial transactions after WiFi services were suspended in a number of provinces, including Balkh. In Mazar-i-Sharif, banking operations were reportedly brought to a halt

Numbers highlight Turkish consumers’ growing appetite for low‑cost overseas platforms such as China's online marketplace Temu and e-commerce fast fashion giant Shein.

UAE's RAKEZ partners with India economic council to launch startup series supporting entrepreneurship and global expansion opportunities for both countries.

Iranian communications deputy admits filtering policies have created unsafe, polluted internet network whilst domestic messaging platforms show significant growth.

Dozens of Israeli actors fall victim to an alleged Iranian phishing campaign disguised as a film casting call, prompting security warnings over identity document theft.

Opinion

Russia and China now dominate narrative across region, Daniel N. Rosenblum tells students at Yale. If US cuts itself off from the world, “we will ultimately be less secure and less prosperous,” he warns.

Timothy Ash, senior sovereign strategist at BlueBay Asset Management in London, says European policymakers are belatedly waking up to the fact that the war in Ukraine is set to be prolonged — and that they alone may have to foot the bill.

The recent peace breakthrough between Armenia and Azerbaijan is a major diplomatic win for the United States and a setback for Russia, according to a new report published by the Atlantic Council.

Xi Jinping needs to think again before he sends so many young Chinese men and women to their deaths on Taiwan, for if the PLA does one day dare to land, they will be buried here.

“A crisis is drawing ever closer. It will break in Ukraine, but it won’t begin on the frontlines, where the country’s battle-weary brigades continue to impose a brutal cost on the Russian invader," writes Timothy Ash of BlueBay Asset Management.

Data

Consumer prices declined in 70 Russian regions in August compared with July, according to data released by the Central Bank of Russia on September 18, as annual inflation also eased in 77 of the country’s regions. (chart)

Belarus’ economy expanded by 1.6% in the period from January to August 2025, according to preliminary estimates from the National Statistical Committee, state news agency BelTA reported on 17 September.

An overwhelming majority of Ukrainians remain committed to resisting Russia’s invasion and reject Moscow’s latest peace proposals, even as many recognise that the war is unlikely to end soon, according to a new survey by the KIIS.

Real estate remains the most popular option overall but younger investors are leading a shift towards stock market investing, says survey commissioned by Revolut.

The Economist Democracy Index rates countries on the state of their governing system each year. In the latest edition, corresponding to the year 2024, only 25 countries (6.6% of the world's population) have been rated as "full democracies"

Features

US terminates Iran Chabahar port sanctions waiver from September 29, jeopardising India's strategic trade operations and regional connectivity initiatives through the key facility.

From rapid progress towards EU accession to the reconstruction of neighbouring Ukraine, factors have aligned to make Moldova an attractive FDI destination, says Invest Moldova head Natalia Bejan.

The closure of Poland’s crossings with Belarus on September 12 has rattled transport and logistics companies, which warn that a prolonged halt could drive cargo away from the country, disrupt supply chains and inflate costs for businesses,

In recent years, Indonesia has doubled down on promoting Raja Ampat, a remote archipelago in West Papua famed for its biodiversity, as a global eco-tourism icon.

The Philippines is grappling with a widespread controversy surrounding its flood control programme, with allegations of billions of pesos being siphoned off from projects meant to protect vulnerable communities.

Blogs

Turks hit back with a storm of “patriotic” response.

It’s increasingly looking like a clash of civilisations, isn’t it? In the last 24 hours there was yet another Global South summit where the collective leaders of the world’s biggest countries gathered to show unity in the face of US aggression.

The coalition of the willing Paris summit on September 4 ended in disaster. The European team has been working really hard for several weeks to thrash out a plan to save Ukraine and came together in Paris.

Milorad Dodik has been stripped of his role as president of Bosnia's Republika Srpska but he is continuing to operate as if still in power.

Kosovans are running out of patience with the political crisis that has persisted since the February general election, taking its toll on the country’s economy.

bneGREEN

The COP30 summit in Belém, Brazil, kicks off on November 10 and will be very closely watched as one of the last opportunities to avert the very worst of the Climate catastrophe. And China's speech will be watched most closely of all.

The heatwaves that swept the Continent were responsible for more than two-thirds of the 24,400 heat-related deaths estimated in Europe this summer, or 16,266 people, according to a new study conducted by scientists at Imperial College London.

Indian engineering giant Larsen & Toubro has secured a major order valued at up to $285mn from the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd for works at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu

India’s power sector has recorded an unusual dip in carbon dioxide output, with emissions falling by 1% in the first half of 2025 compared with a year earlier.

When Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin announced that Vladimir Putin had approved more than 4,500km of new high-speed rail, the tone was businesslike, almost perfunctory, but the project could be a game-changer.

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