UPDATE: Pakistan launches Iran transit corridor with first shipment to Central Asia

Pakistan has formally launched a new overland trade corridor via Iran, dispatching its first export consignment from Karachi to Tashkent.

Spain reopens embassy in Tehran as diplomatic activity resumes

Spain has reopened its embassy in Tehran, with Ambassador Antonio Sanchez Bendito saying he returned to join peace efforts in line with Madrid's foreign policy guidelines.

Lebanon on the brink of energy crisis following Iran war spillover

Lebanon faces an energy crisis that extends beyond immediate fuel price volatility fueled by the Iran war, according to a study by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies.

Hungarians vote for regime change

Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar delivered a victory speech before tens of thousands of supporters after securing a historic landslide win in the April 12 elections, bringing an end to Viktor Orban’s 16-year rule.

Viktor Orban concedes loss in Hungary election, congratulates Peter Magyar

Fidesz leader acknowledged what he described as a "painful and clear" election result.

Saudi Arabia's First Mills deploys AI agent platform in food production first

Saudi flour giant First Mills becomes the first customer of Glasgow AI startup Kodamai, deploying a mathematically verified autonomous agent platform across its four production facilities.

Disinformation over Erdogan threat to invade Israel reportedly goes viral

Video clip taken from real speech, but edited and misrepresented, says Dailymotion.

Iran-linked hackers claim major cyberattack on Dubai government infrastructure

Iran-linked hacker group Handala claims to have destroyed 6 petabytes of data and extracted 149TB of classified documents from three Dubai government bodies in what it calls a warning to Gulf states.

Tehran e-commerce body demands internet restoration immediately

Tehran's e-commerce association demands the immediate restoration of internet services, saying continued restrictions are damaging household incomes and the private sector as Iran's digital economy struggles to recover from the war.

Armenia pushes semiconductor ambitions as part of high-tech growth strategy

Armenia is stepping up efforts to develop its semiconductor industry as part of a broader push to transform its economy through high technology.

COMMENT: Iran and the US, where maximalism meets survival and peace cannot follow

OPINION: Hungarian vote puts EU unity on the line

Hungary's general election is “make-or-break” for Brussels-Budapest relations, says Clingendael Institute report.

Did America just hand the Gulf to Russia?

The Iran war has turned Russia from a sanctioned energy pariah into an indispensable supplier for half the planet. With Urals crude at 13-year highs and sanctioned LNG going at 40% discounts, Moscow may be the war's real winner.

US-Europe relations strains bring Nato alliance close to breaking point

The West is discussing a new defence alliance format to replace Nato that would include Ukraine. Nato's current form is ineffective, so it is worth creating a new defence structure.

COMMENT: Should the ceasefire fail, we could expect a ‘digital Hormuz’ scenario

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait have collectively attracted hundreds of billions of dollars in technology investment, transforming themselves from hydrocarbon exporters to AI powerhouses. It could all unravel if peace is fleeting.

ADB says Uzbekistan expected to sustain steady growth of towards 7%

Delivering on the forecast could prove challenging, however, if the Middle East conflict is prolonged.

Fitch downgrades outlook on Turkey as war impacts drain FX reserves

Unscheduled move comes as central bank stung for $50bn in cost of interventions made in defence of lira.

Serbia's FX reserves fall in March as gold prices slump

Gross foreign exchange reserves stood at €28.48bn at the end of March, down by €1.33bn from a month earlier, the central bank said.

Czech industrial output grows 1.3% in February as slowdown continues for third month

Czech industrial output rises 1.3% in February, slowing for the third straight month but staying in positive territory on the back of car production. Construction returns to 4.1% growth with housing starts up 46%.

Serbia holds key rate at 5.75% following global energy shock

Despite the global uncertainty, the NBS still expects inflation to remain within its target band of 3% plus or minus 1.5 percentage points by the end of the year.

Tajik government finds that being party pooper is profitable

Law regulating weddings, birthdays and funerals reaps over $1mn in fines.

Taiwan’s lethal road culture - where red lights don’t mean stop

Taiwan likes to present itself as a modern, developed democracy, but step off the plane and onto any Taiwanese street, and a very different reality quickly emerges: one in which basic public safety is dangerously absent.

Pakistan’s Ghazab Lil-Haq operation and the prospect of regime change in Afghanistan

A Eurasianet partner post from the Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst.

Seoul’s missing $7.8bn central bank surplus

The move has raised transparency concerns as the administration appears to be shielding a multi-billion dollar windfall from legislative oversight.

PANNIER: Taliban look north for friends

Faced by a hostile Pakistan to the east and south, and a conflict-wracked Iran to the west, Afghanistan’s rulers turn to Central Asia for options.

ASIA BLOG: How Taiwan’s KMT risks the nation’s sovereignty

As Taiwan’s opposition leader, Cheng Li-wun leads a delegation across China the fine line between opposition outreach and quasi-diplomacy is being blurred. It is an issue that should concern anyone with a stake in Taiwan’s democratic integrity.

TEHRAN BLOG: Ceasefire brings quiet relief to Iran, but few believe it will hold

Iranians remain split in the early hours of the two-week ceasefire between their government and US and Israel on the otherside, but as things stand any return to normality is better than nothing.

CAUCASUS BLOG: Armenian PM’s Moscow pushback plays to a domestic audience pre-election

Nikol Pashinyan made unusually blunt comments to Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow.

MOSCOW BLOG: Pax Americana exposed as a paper tiger

Superficially the war in Iran has dealt Ukraine a huge blow. The White House is now completely distracted, and the Trump administration seems to have abandoned, or at least paused, the ceasefire negotiations with Russia.

BALKAN BLOG: The connection between the Middle East conflict and Slovenia’s closely fought election

Strong pro-Palestine sentiment in Slovenia causes alleged interference by Israeli private security firm ahead of general election to backfire.

Falling battery prices make round-the-clock solar power supply viable in India

A recent report by energy think tank Ember says that declining battery storage costs have reached a level where it makes it economically viable for solar power to supply most of India’s electricity demand.

Argentina eases glacier protection in $40bn mining push despite environmental fears

Argentina’s Congress has approved a reform to the country’s glacier protection law, relaxing restrictions on mining in high-altitude regions in a move aimed at attracting billions in investment, while drawing criticism from environmental groups.

Battery costs have declined by 99% in the last three decades, making electrified transport a reality – OWID

Over 20mn electric cars were sold globally in 2025 — some for as little as $10,000. Even just two decades ago, that would have been impossible. The reason it's possible now? Batteries have gotten much cheaper.

Peru scales up solar capacity as Sunny complex reaches 345 MW

Peru accelerates solar deployment as Kallpa’s Sunny complex reaches 345 MW, signalling a broader expansion pipeline of 1.42 GW set to reshape the country’s renewable energy landscape by 2028.

Grid constraints threaten Europe’s energy security ambitions

Europe risks undermining its energy security and industrial competitiveness due to insufficient electricity grid capacity, with at least 120 GW of planned renewable projects facing delays, according to a report by Ember.