Latest Updates

No Tomahawks for Ukraine, Trump to meet Putin in Hungary

The US cannot deplete its own stockpile of Tomahawk cruise missiles by supplying them to Ukraine, President Donald Trump said at a press conference on October 16 following a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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India’s retail payment revolution

India’s payments landscape has reached a pivotal stage, with digital transactions now accounting for 99.8% of all retail payments.

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Journalist beaten to death in Istanbul as security conditions in Turkey rapidly deteriorate

Publisher, meanwhile, is shot in leg. Reporters regularly experience violence, judicial harassment and media lynching.

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Trump authorises CIA covert operations in Venezuela to topple Maduro

The White House has acknowledged granting the Central Intelligence Agency sweeping powers to conduct covert operations aimed at unseating President Nicolás Maduro, the NYT reported.

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India’s finance minister to miss upcoming IMF and World Bank meetings

India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will not attend this week’s annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, as trade negotiations between New Delhi and Washington remain unresolved.

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US may double support for Argentina to $40bn conditional on policy reforms

Washington buys Argentine pesos and mulls creating a new private sector-led $20bn debt facility, which would bring total support to $40bn with the existing swap line, Treasury Secretary Bessent said.

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Agentic AI becomes South Korea’s next big tech battleground

As countries race to define their roles in the AI era, South Korea's tech giants are now embracing “agentic AI”, a next-generation form of AI that acts autonomously to complete goals, not just respond to commands.

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Syria’s al-Sharaa seeks to rebuild ties with Russia in first Kremlin talks

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time since assuming power in Syria, marking a significant moment in the political trajectory of the war-torn nation.

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Ghana’s dormant TOR refinery to restart crude operations by October-end

Kyrgyzstan says neighbours “upset” by country’s lack of water

US ambassador thanks Turkey for role in "coordinated squeeze" that forced Hamas to surrender

Ghana’s dormant TOR refinery to restart crude operations by October-end

Ghana has long struggled to translate its crude output into refined fuel security. Successive governments have pledged to revive TOR, which has faced years of debt, mismanagement, and technical breakdowns.

Latest Updates

News

Company is controlled by "Ataturk" bank Isbank, which has previously been in the crosshairs of Turkish president Erdogan.

Bangladesh’s interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has requested the country’s criminal tribunal impose the death penalty on former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

The number of young Ukrainian fleeing the war and seeking asylum in Germany has surged, following Ukraine’s decision to partially lift its travel ban for men aged 18 to 22, according to figures from the German Interior Ministry.

Under Kuala Lumpur’s proposal, all social media platforms will be required to implement mandatory identity verification systems to prevent underage users from creating accounts.

In just the past few hours, Pakistan and Afghanistan have reportedly agreed to a temporary ceasefire following several days of cross-border clashes.

Tech

Iranian startup CS12 introduces project-based computer science education for 13-15 year-olds to bridge university-job market gap and reduce brain drain, expanding from Tehran to Arak, Sari and Shiraz.

Co-founder says he's against a fast geographical expansion. Wants to win and dominate home market to demonstrate to partners fintech is capable of outperforming on other markets.

China is consolidating its dominance in the global industrial robotics market, accounting for 41% of the world’s operational robot stock and more than half of all new installations in 2024, according to the International Federation of Robots.

Artificial intelligence giant OpenAI and energy company Sur Energy have signed a letter of intent to develop a data centre hub in Argentina requiring investment of up to $25bn.

China has a devastating tool in its escalating trade war with the US: rare earth metals (REMs). Last week, Beijing announced new restrictive export controls on the export of anything with even a smidgen of Chinese-produced REMs.

Opinion

Hungary’s economy has fallen behind its Central European peers in recent years, and the root of this underperformance lies in a sharp and protracted collapse in investment. But a possible change of government next year could change things.

Dialing down uncertainty, reducing vulnerabilities, and investing in innovation can help deliver durable economic gains.

A closer inspection suggests that the scope of China’s new controls on rare earths is narrower than many had initially feared. But they still give officials plenty of leverage over global supply chains, according to Capital Economics.

Nature of Turkey-US relations has become transparent under an American president who doesn’t deign to care what people think.

The victory of the populist, eurosceptic ANO party in Czechia’s parliamentary election on October 6 will likely usher in a looser fiscal stance that supports growth and reinforces the Czech National Bank’s recent hawkish shift.

Data

The Kiel Institute for the World Economy found that military aid to Ukraine dropped sharply in July and August compared to previous months, despite the implementation of the Nato PURL initiative.

The International Monetary Fund has lowered its forecast for Russia’s economic growth in 2025 to just 0.6%, marking the second-steepest downgrade among major economies, even as it raised its global outlook.

Russia’s private sector entered deeper contraction in September, as both services and manufacturing activity declined, according to the latest PMI data published by S&P Global.

The surplus nevertheless remained in positive territory for the seventh consecutive month and was the second-highest on record for August.

Turkey’s CDS hover above 250-level. Yield on Turkish government’s 10-year eurobonds steady below 7%-level.

Features

Tehran's new Maryam metro station honours Virgin Mary with architecture blending Armenian and Iranian design elements in new push by Islamic Republic

Indonesia’s ambition to build a colossal seawall along the northern coastline of Java has ignited both hope and heated debate. Valued at around $80bn, the project aims to safeguard the island’s coastal cities from tidal floods and erosion.

While many Asian nations have quietly distanced themselves from Moscow in a bid to fall into line with US or European allies, several continue to engage with Russia, providing varying degrees of support that help sustain its military campaign.

Leading EU figures are pushing for the unanimity rule used to make important decisions to be dropped to enable faster enlargement — one of the bloc’s main tools for geopolitical influence.

Observers point to intra-regime gangs seizing each other’s wealth, remember Erdogan’s “Hello Fatih” phone calls and ponder whether wanted man Turgay Ciner is in London.

Blogs

Thousands of Iranian women are doing away with the mandatory hijab, but the rules (and enforcement) are still murky.

Under President Emmanuel Macron, France has been one of Europe’s leading advocates for a stronger, coordinated response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Czech populist stalwart Andrej Babiš and his ANO party are projected to make a comeback after this week's elections, raising questions about the country's future direction.

The authorities in Chisinau have responded to Russian interference with strategies that would, under normal circumstances, be considered on the verge of unconstitutional.

Trump bails out Argentina with $20bn while slapping 50% tariffs on Brazil to protest Bolsonaro's coup conviction. His ideology-driven policy risks pushing both nations toward China—exactly what Washington hoped to prevent.

bneGREEN

The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will enter its full operational phase on January 1, 2026, marking a major shift in global climate and trade policy.

Iran faces critical water crisis after driest year in five decades with 40% nationwide rainfall drop.

Global renewable energy capacity is on course to double by 2030, reaching 4,600 GW—comparable to the current combined total of China, the European Union and Japan—according to the International Energy Agency’s Renewables 2025 report.

Spearheaded by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, these compact reactors are increasingly being seen as central to the nation's energy policy, offering flexibility, scalability, and ultimately a pathway to carbon neutrality

China is outpacing the US in the global race to dominate energy exports, as demand for clean technology surges and fossil fuel revenues plateau. China exported $120bn in green technology through July 2025, surpassing the US' oil and gas exports.

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Nato General Secretary Mark Rutte warned that the West needs to prepare of the possibility that Chinese President Xi Jinping will ....

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