Peter Magyar pledges peaceful regime change and sweeping reforms at Tisza Party congress

Peter Magyar, leader of Hungary's emerging opposition force, the Tisza Party, pledged a peaceful and responsible regime change at a party congress on July 12, unveiling a raft of reform proposals and a slew of election promises.

Slovak PM Fico expects deal with EU over sanctions against Russia on July 15, and threatens to continue blocking sanctions if none made.

Slovak populist Prime Minister Robert Fico expects an agreement between the European Union and Slovakia could be reached on Tuesday, July 15, over Slovakia lifting its veto of the EU’s 18th round of sanctions against Russia.

Ukraine signs €11bn in reconstruction deals at Rome URC2025 conference

Ukraine signed close to 200 agreements and memorandums totalling €11bn during the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 (URC2025) held in Rome, according to Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko.

EC proposes floating Russian oil cap rate at 15% below global price

The European Commission has proposed a floating price cap on Russian crude oil set at 15% below the average global market price over the previous three months, European Union diplomats said on July 11.

Saudi Arabia signs $8.3bn renewable energy deals with ACWA Power consortium

Saudi Arabia signed power purchase agreements worth $8.3bn for seven renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 15 GW on July 13.

Israel successfully launches Dror 1 communications satellite joining space race

Israel Aerospace Industries successfully launched the Dror 1 national communications satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, marking a significant milestone in Israel's space capabilities and technological independence

Spotify threatens to exit Turkey after government attacks playlists mocking Erdogan’s wife

Streaming service makes it clear it stands firmly against censorship of user-generated content.

Bitcoin hits historic high for second time in one day

Bitcoin broke its historic price record for the second time in one day, surpassing $118,000 in global market trading after setting a new high above $116,000 overnight.

Czech government bans DeepSeek in public administration, warning the AI company products pose 'High' threat

The Czech government has banned the use of the Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek and its products in the country’s public administration.

Revolut freezes crypto accounts in Hungary amid legal crackdown

Move follows Hungarian government's criminalisation of unauthorised crypto transactions under a sweeping legislative package

COMMENT: Trump at his most pro-Ukraine yet, but still no sanctions action

US President Donald Trump made his most pro-Ukraine, anti-Russia comments on his presidency to date this week, but he has yet to impose any new sanctions on Russia whatsoever, or follow through on his promises to restart weapons deliveries to Kyiv.

COMMENT: How close to a crisis is Russia's banking sector?

The Russian banking sector, once buoyed by record profits and wartime stimulus, is now showing growing signs of financial strain, leading some to ask if a crisis is looming?

ING: National Bank of Poland press conference, hawkish start to dovish end

President of the National Bank of Poland says latest rate cut is an adjustment, not the beginning of a cycle of cuts.

COMMENT: Iran's new rail link to China played a role in provoking the 12-day war

Iran launched its first-ever direct railway connection to China in May, its first rail link to Asia that does not rely on transshipment through seaports or Russia, significantly improving its national security by avoiding the seaborne exports.

BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Turkey’s tourism minister holidays in Greece

Hold the indignation. Let the poor man explain.

Romania’s inflation rises to 5.66% in June ahead of anticipated price pressures

Electricity market liberalisation and a VAT hike in August are expected to put upward pressure on prices.

Tipping Point: when populations peak – Statista

As July 11 marks World Population Day, celebrating the approximate date that the world's population reached 5bn in 1987, we're taking a closer at one of the population trends that will affect many countries sooner or later in the 21st Century.

Czech inflation confirmed at 2.9% y/y in June

Consumer price growth (inflation) in Czechia reached its highest level this year after the country’s statisticians confirmed inflation increased by 2.9% year on year, and by 0.3% month on month.

Slovak industry deepens its decline to 4% y/y in May

Romania’s revised Q1 GDP shows slower consumption growth

Data confirms Romania’s GDP continued its five-quarter quasi-stagnation in Q1.

Saudi Arabia ranks first globally in tourism revenue growth

Saudi Arabia achieved first place globally in international tourism revenue growth during the first quarter of 2025.

Ukraine seeks infrastructure investment capital, a “once in a generation” opportunity

As the war in Ukraine enters its third year, Kyiv and its partners are pithing international investors to get involved the infrastructure projects. "The time is now."

The decline of Persian carpet exports reflects the wider Iranian economy

Export figures reveal a catastrophic contraction from $427.4mn in 2011 to a mere $41.7mn in 2024, representing an 90% reduction in carpet sales.

Ever in India’s shadow, Bangladesh needs to define its own energy path

As a country Bangladesh is at an energy crossroads. Following decades of natural‑gas dominance, its energy planners are charting a course towards a diversified power policy with the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant the jewel in the crown.

India unlikely to extradite former Bangladesh PM Hasina despite leaked audio

While the interim government of Bangladesh has accused Hasina of crimes against humanity, including state-sanctioned killings during the extraordinarily disruptive and violent student-led protests, India is under no legal obligation to extradite her.

ASIA BLOG: Vietnam – a rising star among Asia’s emerging markets

The transformation of Vietnam over the past three decades has been nothing short of remarkable – from a primarily agrarian economy to one driven by manufacturing, services and exports.

BALKAN BLOG: Can Croatia become a European energy and transport hub?

Croatia has ambitions to become a gateway for energy and trade in Europe, but questions remain about how far this can be achieved in a competitive field.

KYIV BLOG: A night under attack

Katia, a 28-year old text editor, had spent Thursday afternoon on the beach by what locals call the Kyiv sea, but which is in fact a huge reservoir formed by the damming of the Dnipro river north of the city.

KYIV BLOG: Never enough arms and ammo for Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been calling for western arms from day-one of the war and has never received enough soon enough.

ASIA BLOG: Southeast Asia should pivot away from Trump’s America and steer in the direction of Europe

Trump's confrontational approach to China, while superficially aligned with concerns within ASEAN, is neither strategic nor consultative. It is built more on spectacle than substance, more on division than dialogue.

Baghdad residents protest electricity shortages as temperatures exceed 50°C

Melting icecaps will cause more and bigger volcanic eruptions – study

As the weight of melting ice is lifted off volcanos, eruptions will become more common and more violent, according to a new study of volcanos in Chile’s Patagonia region, reports the Smithsonian magazine.

Climate change devastates global cocoa supplies as prices remain high

Cocoa prices have surged to unprecedented levels as climate change wreaks havoc on West African crops.

Syria battles major wildfires as UN allocates $625,000 for emergency response

Syrian firefighting crews extinguished two major forest fires in Hama countryside whilst continuing to battle devastating wildfires in Latakia province for the ninth consecutive day.

India’s smart metering push gains momentum

India’s ambitious smart metering programme is gathering pace as state-owned distribution companies (DISCOMs) and private partners ramp up deployments across the country.