Latest Updates

Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau accuses presidential office officials of a raiding scheme

Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies have accused a sitting MP, a former MP and senior officials in the Presidential Office of running an organised scheme to seize companies and property with forged documents.

Read Story

US-China proxy battle at the canal turns into a $3.5bn nightmare for Panama

CK Hutchison opens a second legal front against Panama City, taking its total claims past $3.5bn, as Washington, Beijing and the Mulino government each add fuel to a dispute none of them can fully control.

Read Story

Should Kazakhs bother voting in the upcoming parliamentary election?

A sense of fatigue is hanging over August 23 election, with analysts pointing to voter disengagement, the absence of a genuine opposition and growing self-censorship as evidence of a widening gap between society and the political system.

Read Story

Asia's nuclear arms race stops being hypothetical

China has told Japan not to test its patience over nuclear weapons, in an exchange that has moved an Asian arms race from something strategists war-game to something foreign ministries now argue about in public. Beijing's warning followed months...

Read Story

Sahel lithium boom risks opening new revenue streams for African jihadist groups

King’s College London researcher warns rapid lithium expansion in Mali, Nigeria and the wider Sahel risks creating new revenue streams for jihadist and criminal groups through informal mining, extortion and smuggling.

Read Story

Public media dossier sheds light on how Fidesz maintained political control over Hungary’s state news agency

Journalists and editors document more than a decade of political interference at Hungarian news agency MTI by former Fidesz government.

Read Story

Russia trying to systematically destroy Ukraine's retail sector

Ukraine's government went looking for warehouse space to hand to companies bombed out of their own. On its own experts' best case, it can cover about a fifth of what business needs.

Read Story

Zelenskiy fires aide as Ukraine's graft bureau targets ex-minister's $3.4mn bail

The money that bought a former Ukrainian energy minister his freedom was itself dirty, anti-corruption detectives say, and the trail runs straight back into the president's own office.

Read Story

Bosnia high representative dispute exposes US-EU rift

Dubai Chambers and NASSCOM sign deal to bring Indian AI and deeptech firms to Dubai

Trump threatens penalties on any country aiding Iran in "economic D-Day"

Bosnia high representative dispute exposes US-EU rift

Failure to agree on a successor to Bosnia & Herzegovina's international high representative exposes differences over the future of the country's postwar political order, says Atlantic Council commentary.

Dubai Chambers and NASSCOM sign deal to bring Indian AI and deeptech firms to Dubai

Dubai Chambers has signed an agreement with India's Nasscom to draw Indian agentic AI and deeptech firms to the emirate, opening a channel to an industry worth $315bn across 3,500 companies.

Trump threatens penalties on any country aiding Iran in "economic D-Day"

Trump has threatened economic penalties against any country whose banks, businesses, airports or government bodies give Iran a lifeline, a day after the UAE suspended all trade and financial transactions with Tehran.

News

Ukraine pays 100% US drone tariff while allies at peace pay 15%

Every close US ally that builds drones got a discount on Donald Trump's new tariff wall. The one fighting a drone war did not.

Brazil's banks feast on 14% rates as Nubank storms the gates

Brazil's biggest lenders are minting record profits off some of the world's highest real interest rates, even as Nubank and Pix tear at their retail franchise.

Iraq, World Bank discuss priorities for new electricity sector loan

Iraq and the World Bank have discussed priorities for a new electricity sector loan, covering transmission bottlenecks, grid efficiency, gas supply and the delayed Gulf interconnection. No loan size was disclosed.

Iran failing Zamin Bank to be restructured through asset transfers

Iran Zamin Bank is to be restructured through the recovery of central bank claims and the transfer of some of its assets, in a departure from covering shortfalls with overdrafts.

Romanian car factories to reopen after drought forced temporary nuclear power plant shutdown

Romania stopped operations at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant due to low Danube water levels.

Ukraine pays 100% US drone tariff while allies at peace pay 15%

3 hours ago

Brazil's banks feast on 14% rates as Nubank storms the gates

9 hours ago

Iraq, World Bank discuss priorities for new electricity sector loan

9 hours ago

Iran failing Zamin Bank to be restructured through asset transfers

9 hours ago

Romanian car factories to reopen after drought forced temporary nuclear power plant shutdown

15 hours ago

More News

Tech

Zain Bahrain and tech firm Text enter AI-driven partnership

Zain Bahrain announced that it signed a deal with service technology firm Text, integrating the company's platform into its OneCX system.

Kazakhstan to enrol first students at AI university as schools expand AI education

The Qazaq AI Research University in Astana aims to train engineers capable of developing AI systems.

Ukraine tops the world for crypto use per person as volumes hit $206bn

Ukrainians trade more cryptocurrency per head than anyone else on earth. What they mostly do not do is trade it under Ukrainian law.

Iranian mobile roaming cut in UAE, disrupting banking access for expatriates

Iranian mobile operators' roaming has reportedly been cut in the UAE, leaving Iranian residents and travellers unable to receive calls.

Albania tax office targets online trade in drive to curb informal economy

Albania's e-commerce sector has expanded significantly in recent years, prompting the tax administration to introduce a dedicated framework for identifying and addressing tax risks.

Zain Bahrain and tech firm Text enter AI-driven partnership

9 hours ago

Kazakhstan to enrol first students at AI university as schools expand AI education

15 hours ago

Ukraine tops the world for crypto use per person as volumes hit $206bn

1 day ago

Iranian mobile roaming cut in UAE, disrupting banking access for expatriates

2 days ago

Albania tax office targets online trade in drive to curb informal economy

2 days ago

More Tech

Opinion

RAGOZIN: Ukraine’s “tide is turning” PR push has backfired

The PR surge which heralded that the “tide is turning” in the Ukrainian conflict is ending up in a debacle. Ukraine can inflict tangible damage on the Russian economy but Russia can take it and give it back in spades.

Turkey’s economy still struggling to rebalance, says Capital Economics

Attempt to steer economy toward sustainable growth running into increasingly difficult terrain with economic policy facing sharp trade-off between fighting stubborn inflation and fixing external imbalances.

ORYNBAYEV: US STEM talent is up for grabs – the EU must poach it

America's retreat from research funding and openness to skilled immigration has handed Europe an unexpected strategic advantage. If Brussels can remove visa barriers and back scientists, it has a rare chance to narrow the innovation gap.

COMMENT: Thailand's new government is squandering a rare chance for reform

Capital Economics says Thailand's Anutin Charnvirakul government is squandering a rare post-election reform mandate, leaning instead on a poorly targeted 175bn baht subsidy scheme, centralised power and rising industrial protectionism.

Russia could use nuclear weapons as “last option” in face of expanding Ukraine war, warns Turkish foreign minister

West knows of these concerns, says Hakan Fidan.

RAGOZIN: Ukraine’s “tide is turning” PR push has backfired

6 days ago

Turkey’s economy still struggling to rebalance, says Capital Economics

9 days ago

ORYNBAYEV: US STEM talent is up for grabs – the EU must poach it

9 days ago

COMMENT: Thailand's new government is squandering a rare chance for reform

10 days ago

Russia could use nuclear weapons as “last option” in face of expanding Ukraine war, warns Turkish foreign minister

11 days ago

More Opinion

Data

Romania faces tighter spending rules after public debt exceeds 60% of GDP

Acting Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare says crossing the 60% debt threshold means Bucharest has a "very clear limit" on new budget commitments.

Bulgaria inflation slows in July but remains among eurozone’s highest

Bulgaria, which adopted the euro on January 1, remained among the eurozone countries with the fastest price growth in July.

Guyana's oil boom has lifted it past the US on GDP per capita

Six years after its first barrel, Guyana has the fastest-growing income per head in the world - and has overtaken the United States on the measure.

Azerbaijan raises 2026 inflation forecast to 5.7%, trims non-oil growth outlook

Finance ministry cut its 2026 forecast for non-oil, non-gas GDP growth to 3.1% from 3.7%, while leaving the overall economic growth forecast unchanged at 1.7%.

Romania’s public debt rises to 61.4% of GDP at end-May

Increase in debt reflected both new borrowing and the impact of the Romanian leu's depreciation against the euro.

Romania faces tighter spending rules after public debt exceeds 60% of GDP

15 hours ago

Bulgaria inflation slows in July but remains among eurozone’s highest

1 day ago

Guyana's oil boom has lifted it past the US on GDP per capita

1 day ago

Azerbaijan raises 2026 inflation forecast to 5.7%, trims non-oil growth outlook

1 day ago

Romania’s public debt rises to 61.4% of GDP at end-May

1 day ago

More Data

Features

Nepal ends its IMF programme with inflation at 1.7% and reserves at a record

Nepal has completed its first IMF-supported programme in almost two decades, ending it with inflation down to 1.7%, more than a year's worth of import cover in reserve and a fiscal deficit it can defend.

Russia's economic plan is hitting its targets, but growth is still only 1%

Russia's structural transformation plan has hit 12 of its 14 targets for the first half of this year, eight of them ahead of schedule, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told a meeting of the Presidential Council for Strategic Development

Croatia's foreign-owned banks face a 50% profit tax after their euro boom

Croatia's banks, almost all owned from Milan, Vienna or Budapest, are among the most profitable in Europe, and a new 50% tax on excess profit is aimed squarely at them.

Kremlin think tank warns Putin Russia faces 1.6% growth without reform

Everything that has kept the Russian economy growing since 2020 has now been used up, a think tank the Kremlin created itself has told Vladimir Putin.

Russia and Myanmar sign ten documents as Putin dangles LNG, nuclear power and a deep-water port

Russia and Myanmar signed ten documents in the Kremlin on August 18, including a joint declaration on countering Western sanctions.

Nepal ends its IMF programme with inflation at 1.7% and reserves at a record

4 hours ago

Russia's economic plan is hitting its targets, but growth is still only 1%

4 hours ago

Croatia's foreign-owned banks face a 50% profit tax after their euro boom

1 day ago

Kremlin think tank warns Putin Russia faces 1.6% growth without reform

1 day ago

Russia and Myanmar sign ten documents as Putin dangles LNG, nuclear power and a deep-water port

1 day ago

More Features

Blogs

ISTANBUL BLOG: Turkey then VS Turkey now

At the ancient Egyptian obelisk outside the Blue Mosque, looking along what was once the Hippodrome of Constantinople, I found myself thinking about a tent.

Russia will try and destroy the rest of Ukraine's power generation capacity: how bad could it get?

Ukraine's power generation capacity has fallen from 60GW before the war to 12GW today, and a renewed Russian bombing campaign this winter could push the shortfall toward 10GW, even as European gas storage sits near a 15-year low.

ISTANBUL BLOG: Turkey probes TV presenter who called Syria’s al-Sharaa a “terrorist with a tie”

Dubious rise to the top is questioned. Watchdog says remarks “incompatible with foreign policy vision”.

CENTRAL ASIA BLOG: Unjust bureaucratic hurdles are wrecking legit UK travel dreams

Tourist visas denied based on highly subjective assessments of financial means and intentions to use “return” section of plane ticket.

MOSCOW BLOG: The Nato-Russia clash mission creep

The stochastic war continues to escalate into a brutal tit-for-tat missile war with both sides continuously rolling out new and improved weapons that could eventually lead to a direct clash between Nato and Russia.

ISTANBUL BLOG: Turkey then VS Turkey now

8 days ago

Russia will try and destroy the rest of Ukraine's power generation capacity: how bad could it get?

9 days ago

ISTANBUL BLOG: Turkey probes TV presenter who called Syria’s al-Sharaa a “terrorist with a tie”

24 days ago

CENTRAL ASIA BLOG: Unjust bureaucratic hurdles are wrecking legit UK travel dreams

25 days ago

MOSCOW BLOG: The Nato-Russia clash mission creep

28 days ago

More Blogs

bneGREEN

Istanbul-listed cement maker Cimsa to build Ireland’s largest rooftop solar plant at Mannok facility

The company has already commenced construction of the 6-MW project, which will cover approximately 38,800 square metres, equivalent to around 5.5 football pitches, and will comprise approximately 10,000 solar panels.

Solar overtakes hydropower in the EU electricity mix for the first time

Solar panels generated more electricity in the European Union than dams did in 2025, the first time that has happened.

Albania beats EU on renewable electricity but hydropower reliance brings risks

Renewable sources accounted for 105.2% of Albania's gross electricity consumption in 2025, Eurostat data shows, with only Norway and Iceland performing better across Europe.

The strongest El Niño on record will hit food prices from Brazil to Indonesia

The Pacific is warming faster than at any point in the modern record, and central bankers have started writing it into their forecasts.

Hellish scenes in Cyprus as Turkey’s problem with mountains of imported plastic waste washes ashore

Mounting pollution on northern Cypriot beaches show spillover costs of Ankara’s ambition to dominate Europe’s waste-processing trade.

Istanbul-listed cement maker Cimsa to build Ireland’s largest rooftop solar plant at Mannok facility

15 hours ago

Solar overtakes hydropower in the EU electricity mix for the first time

1 day ago

Albania beats EU on renewable electricity but hydropower reliance brings risks

1 day ago

The strongest El Niño on record will hit food prices from Brazil to Indonesia

1 day ago

Hellish scenes in Cyprus as Turkey’s problem with mountains of imported plastic waste washes ashore

1 day ago

More bneGREEN

Latest Updates

News

Every close US ally that builds drones got a discount on Donald Trump's new tariff wall. The one fighting a drone war did not.

Brazil's biggest lenders are minting record profits off some of the world's highest real interest rates, even as Nubank and Pix tear at their retail franchise.

Iraq and the World Bank have discussed priorities for a new electricity sector loan, covering transmission bottlenecks, grid efficiency, gas supply and the delayed Gulf interconnection. No loan size was disclosed.

Iran Zamin Bank is to be restructured through the recovery of central bank claims and the transfer of some of its assets, in a departure from covering shortfalls with overdrafts.

Romania stopped operations at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant due to low Danube water levels.

Tech

Zain Bahrain announced that it signed a deal with service technology firm Text, integrating the company's platform into its OneCX system.

The Qazaq AI Research University in Astana aims to train engineers capable of developing AI systems.

Ukrainians trade more cryptocurrency per head than anyone else on earth. What they mostly do not do is trade it under Ukrainian law.

Iranian mobile operators' roaming has reportedly been cut in the UAE, leaving Iranian residents and travellers unable to receive calls.

Albania's e-commerce sector has expanded significantly in recent years, prompting the tax administration to introduce a dedicated framework for identifying and addressing tax risks.

Opinion

The PR surge which heralded that the “tide is turning” in the Ukrainian conflict is ending up in a debacle. Ukraine can inflict tangible damage on the Russian economy but Russia can take it and give it back in spades.

Attempt to steer economy toward sustainable growth running into increasingly difficult terrain with economic policy facing sharp trade-off between fighting stubborn inflation and fixing external imbalances.

America's retreat from research funding and openness to skilled immigration has handed Europe an unexpected strategic advantage. If Brussels can remove visa barriers and back scientists, it has a rare chance to narrow the innovation gap.

Capital Economics says Thailand's Anutin Charnvirakul government is squandering a rare post-election reform mandate, leaning instead on a poorly targeted 175bn baht subsidy scheme, centralised power and rising industrial protectionism.

West knows of these concerns, says Hakan Fidan.

Data

Acting Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare says crossing the 60% debt threshold means Bucharest has a "very clear limit" on new budget commitments.

Bulgaria, which adopted the euro on January 1, remained among the eurozone countries with the fastest price growth in July.

Six years after its first barrel, Guyana has the fastest-growing income per head in the world - and has overtaken the United States on the measure.

Finance ministry cut its 2026 forecast for non-oil, non-gas GDP growth to 3.1% from 3.7%, while leaving the overall economic growth forecast unchanged at 1.7%.

Increase in debt reflected both new borrowing and the impact of the Romanian leu's depreciation against the euro.

Features

Nepal has completed its first IMF-supported programme in almost two decades, ending it with inflation down to 1.7%, more than a year's worth of import cover in reserve and a fiscal deficit it can defend.

Russia's structural transformation plan has hit 12 of its 14 targets for the first half of this year, eight of them ahead of schedule, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told a meeting of the Presidential Council for Strategic Development

Croatia's banks, almost all owned from Milan, Vienna or Budapest, are among the most profitable in Europe, and a new 50% tax on excess profit is aimed squarely at them.

Everything that has kept the Russian economy growing since 2020 has now been used up, a think tank the Kremlin created itself has told Vladimir Putin.

Russia and Myanmar signed ten documents in the Kremlin on August 18, including a joint declaration on countering Western sanctions.

Blogs

At the ancient Egyptian obelisk outside the Blue Mosque, looking along what was once the Hippodrome of Constantinople, I found myself thinking about a tent.

Ukraine's power generation capacity has fallen from 60GW before the war to 12GW today, and a renewed Russian bombing campaign this winter could push the shortfall toward 10GW, even as European gas storage sits near a 15-year low.

Dubious rise to the top is questioned. Watchdog says remarks “incompatible with foreign policy vision”.

Tourist visas denied based on highly subjective assessments of financial means and intentions to use “return” section of plane ticket.

The stochastic war continues to escalate into a brutal tit-for-tat missile war with both sides continuously rolling out new and improved weapons that could eventually lead to a direct clash between Nato and Russia.

bneGREEN

The company has already commenced construction of the 6-MW project, which will cover approximately 38,800 square metres, equivalent to around 5.5 football pitches, and will comprise approximately 10,000 solar panels.

Solar panels generated more electricity in the European Union than dams did in 2025, the first time that has happened.

Renewable sources accounted for 105.2% of Albania's gross electricity consumption in 2025, Eurostat data shows, with only Norway and Iceland performing better across Europe.

The Pacific is warming faster than at any point in the modern record, and central bankers have started writing it into their forecasts.

Mounting pollution on northern Cypriot beaches show spillover costs of Ankara’s ambition to dominate Europe’s waste-processing trade.

Follow Us On

Most Read

Podcasts

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

Reports

Cookies on the bne IntelliNews website