Slovenia’s ruling party takes narrow lead in tight general election

Parallel vote count puts Prime Minister Robert Golob’s party at 29.9% and the opposition SDS, led by former premier Janez Janša, at 27.5%.

Cuba warns military is preparing for possible US aggression

Cuba's deputy foreign minister has said the island's armed forces are actively preparing for a potential US military attack, in the starkest public acknowledgment yet of Havana's fears as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on the regime.

Ukraine sends drone units to five Gulf countries

Ukraine has sent drone units to five Gulf countries at the invitation of their governments as US-made interceptor ammunition runs low.

Khamenei makes three harsh demands to end the war

Khamenei makes three harsh demands to end the war The new Iranian leader has made three harsh demands to bring the Gulf war to an end, as the new regime takes an increasing hardline to the US invaders.

Qatar military helicopter crashes killing seven including Turkish joint forces member

Seven killed in a Qatari military helicopter crash in territorial waters, including a member of the Qatar-Turkey joint forces, as the country's armed forces operate under sustained wartime pressure.

Potanin’s T-Technologies to acquire Auto.ru from Yandex for $0.4bn

T-Bank is primarily targeting the platform to support the expansion of its car loan business, which has been developing successfully despite stagnation in the automotive market.

Nebius raises $4bn in convertible bonds

Nebius plans to channel the funds raised for the construction of the data processing centres and general corporate purposes.

Iran blackout enters 20th day as 456-hour outage sets record, NetBlocks says

Iran’s nationwide internet shutdown has entered its 20th day, with public access to the global web cut for more than 456 hours.

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan entering crypto arena

Central Asian countries commit to multiple plans and investments. Some observers, however, say Russian sanctions dodgers are exploiting their cryptocurrency networks.

K&H focuses on digitalisation, AI as digital banking grows in Hungary

Hungarian lender K&H Group is deepening its push into integrated digital services and artificial intelligence as customers increasingly expect banking to match the speed and simplicity of major online platforms.

Most Gulf and European ships likely blocked from Hormuz despite Iran's 'open to all' claim

A Russian energy analyst says Iran's "open to all" Hormuz policy would in practice block most Gulf and European shipping, as Tehran keeps the definition of "enemy" vessels deliberately vague.

ING: Energy markets brace for a prolonged supply disruption

There are few signs of de-escalation or a resumption in energy flows from the Persian Gulf. The market is having to reprice the duration of ongoing supply disruptions. We have updated our scenarios for oil and gas markets.

Quagmire in the Gulf: 13 points from when war games meets reality in US-Iran conflict

Three weeks into the war with Iran, the trajectory of the conflict is beginning to resemble some of the worst-case scenarios long modelled by policymakers and analysts, according to Ilan Goldenberg, a former US Department of Defence official.

Oman’s foreign minister tells the US some hard truths, because that’s what friends do

Oman has played a leading role in the mediation between the US and Iran trying to prevent the regional conflict that started two weeks ago. In a poignant opinion piece “America’s friends must help extricate it from an unlawful war."

COMMENT: US ground invasion to take control of Hormuz is extremely risky

With some 5000 US military personnel on their way to the gulf analysts have been speculating that the White House is intending to try and take control of Strait of Hormuz with the ground invasion.

Turkey’s diesel tax buffer evaporates amid booming oil prices and refinery margins

Annual rise in diesel price reaches 57% versus 37% on gasoline.

Which countries face the broadest international sanctions? Statista

As geopolitical tensions remain elevated and economic measures are becoming a key foreign policy tool, sanctions continue to shape global trade and diplomacy, Statista reports.

Democracy fading as autocractic rulers gain ground – Statista

Released on March 19, the latest Freedom in the World 2026 report finds that global freedom declined for the 20th consecutive year in 2025, with more countries experiencing deterioration in political rights and civil liberties than improvements

Polish industrial production rebounds in February

Poland’s industrial output expanded 1.5% y/y in constant prices in February, a changeover from a decline of 1.5% y/y the preceding month, unadjusted data from the statistics office GUS showed.

Luminor forecasts steady growth for Baltic economies in 2026

Lithuania is set to lead the Baltic growth this year with 3.6%, while Estonia is forecast to expand by 2% and Latvia by 2.5%.

Refined oil products caught in Iran war energy shock maelstrom

The sharp rise in refined oil product prices is intensifying the economic fallout from the latest energy shock, compounding the effects of disrupted crude flows and tightening supply chains.

Georgians continue fight for democracy after almost 500 days of protest

After more than a year of continuous demonstrations, the ruling Georgian Dream has severely cracked down on the right to protest, freedom of speech and political pluralism.

Coalition maths points to deadlock ahead of Slovenia's general election

Latest polls show tightening race between opposition SDS and ruling Freedom Movement in election campaign marred by allegations of foreign interference.

Dubai faces expat exodus as war shatters safe-haven reputation

Dubai faces its largest expat exodus in decades as the Iran war shatters its safe-haven reputation, with major banks evacuating staff, the stock market down 17% and the UAE mulling tax relief to retain residents.

Indian basmati rice exports likely to remain steady despite Middle East tensions

India is the world’s largest producer as well as exporter of basmati rice. The South Asian country contributes approximately 85% of the global basmati rice volume. In India, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are the main basmati producing states.

TEHRAN BLOG: Iran's new year Nowruz is not the same this year

For more than 3,000 years, Nowruz has been Iran's national festival, but this year's war has darkened the mood.

ISTANBUL BLOG: Bedtime reading for Trump. Condemnation and denunciation from Arab and Islamic countries affirmed

US Commander-in-Chief, meanwhile, says he told Netanyahu “don’t do that”. But he did do that.

TEHRAN BLOG: Operation Epic FUBAR: Command of the Reload

America and Iran have two very strategies for fighting this war.The US is still using the old school approach of building extremely powerful and incredibly accurate flying bombs that will definitely destroy anything they hit and are hard to stop.

TEHRAN BLOG: Permits-for-passage system emerges as the US heads towards a strategic defeat in Iran

A “permits-for-passage" system emerges as the US heads towards a strategic defeat in Iran after the White House makes a string of strategic blunders.

LATAM BLOG: Iran war fuels Venezuela's oil comeback, but democracy lags behind

Caracas stands to gain from surging crude prices triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, but Washington's control over its oil income means the bonanza may consolidate authoritarian rule rather than rebuild a broken state.

Gulf war drives up demand for Asian EV

War will deepen Iran’s water crisis

Iran already had a water problem before the US-Israel attack on February 28. Now it is going to get a lot worse.

Renewables supply nearly half of EU electricity in 2025

Almost half (47%) of the European Union’s electricity was generated from renewable sources in 2025, according to new data from Eurostat, which will provide a significant buffer at a time when the fossil fuel markets have been plunged into chaos.

Data on super-polluting plumes show Turkmenistan’s joining of Global Methane Pledge has achieved little

Still one of the worst for potent mega-leaks.

Latvia’s LMT and Latvenergo develop AI-driven system to protect birds at wind farms

Initiative aims to reduce bird mortality while supporting the expansion of wind energy in line with environmental standards.