Milei's La Libertad Avanza secures crucial victory in Buenos Aires election

Argentine President Javier Milei's La Libertad Avanza party achieved a significant electoral breakthrough on May 18, securing first place in Buenos Aires City Legislature elections with 30.13% of the vote.

Hungarian fertilser maker agrees with bondholders on extending €200mn debt

Hungary’s leading fertiliser maker Nitrogemuvek, owned by businessman Laszlo Bige, has reached an agreement with investors holding 75% of its €200mn bond package on a 60-day extension of the debt after the company missed a deadline last week.

Protesters against euro adoption block roads in Bulgaria

Roads blocked in Bulgaria's biggest cities as activists step up their campaign to prevent country's entry to the Eurozone in January 2026.

Arab League leaders call for Gaza ceasefire at Baghdad summit amid regional crises

Gaza and Lebanon dominated the 34th Arab League Summit as some top brass skipped attendance.

Georgian laments "lack of communication" in open letter to Trump

Irakli Kobakhidze appeals for resumption of US-Georgia Strategic Partnership, writes of “striking alignment of values and ideology” between Tbilisi and Washington.

Malaysia’s chip sector navigates tariff turmoil and rising regional competition

The Southeast Asian nation, the world’s sixth-largest semiconductor exporter, faces mounting pressure to retain investment and relevance in a fast-evolving global tech landscape.

Iran, Russia launch second phase of banking payment system integration

Iran and Russia rolled out the second phase of their Shetab-Mir payment network integration, strengthening financial ties between the two nations

Saudi Crown Prince launches Humain AI company under PIF

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced the launch of Humain, a company owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Indonesia’s data centre industry: huge market, limited infrastructure

Under President Prabowo’s administration, the government has pledged support for the development of the data centre sector to accelerate digital transformation and drive a technology-based economy.

Amazon to build $4bn data centres and cloud infrastructure in Chile

Amazon's cloud computing division has announced plans to invest $4bn in Chile to build its first data centres and cloud infrastructure in the country.

COMMENT: Amid shrinking civic space, will the EBRD still uphold its democratic mandate?

As the global Democracy Index recorded a historic low in 2024, institutions tasked with upholding democratic values are under increasing pressure to adapt.

COMMENT: Taiwan is playing with darkness by abandoning nuclear power

Japan has restarted many of its nuclear reactors, recognising their role in energy security and climate targets. South Korea has also reinstated nuclear as a core component of its energy strategy. Taiwan, by contrast, is marching backwards.

In Kurdish peace moves, expect ailing founder Ocalan to get Turkish Riviera house arrest and “Real PKK” splinter to emerge, says analyst

Ankara thinks it can “mop up” those who continue fighting, adds Soner Cagaptay.

COMMENT: China’s quiet power play in Southeast Asia

BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Who's to say PKK guns won't be used under a different name?

And anyway, despite what you are reading, the militants' so-called name has not been in use since 2002.

Romania holds monetary policy rate at 6.5% amid elevated inflation and political uncertainty

Markets currently expect no rate cuts before autumn, although that timing remains subject to shifts in both domestic policy and external economic conditions.

Borsa Istanbul leads world markets in dollar-basis losses

Turkey’s exchange-traded fund down 9.5% in year-to-date. Thai performance second worst at 6.5%.

Polish economy grows 3.8% in first quarter as momentum holds steady

Polish GDP grew 3.8% year on year in the first quarter of 2025, slightly below the revised 3.9% increase recorded in the previous three months, seasonally adjusted data from the Central Statistical Office showed in a flash estimate on May 15.

Uzbekistan’s 1Q passenger car imports plummet to 6,950 units from 22,210 a year earlier

Non-tariff barriers have taken a big toll.

Slovak inflation eases to 3.7% y/y in April

China filling void left by USAID’s dismantling

Small and Beautiful marks next phase of Belt & Road Initiative.

COMMENT: Europe must choose either to accept 15% of Russian gas supplies or zero

The European Commission on May 6 unveiled a brief roadmap outlining how it plans to achieve the EU objective of eliminating all remaining Russian energy imports by 2027.

United States has image problem in Central Asia

Public perceptions toward Washington rapidly swing from positive to negative.

Nissan’s global retrenchment: factories close, jobs lost

The seeds of Nissan’s current predicament were sown back in fiscal year 2019. The company’s global vehicle sales fell by over 10% to just under 5mn units, with major slowdowns across critical markets.

EBRD2025: African tech is flourishing, but it still has a long way to go

Africa benefits from an incredibly young, tech savvy population; over 60% of the population is under 25 years old and in just Senegal the average age of the population is a mere 19 years old. That makes it a hotbed for tech development.

BUCHAREST BLOG: Romania at a political crossroads ahead of presidential election runoff

Voters face a stark choice between far-right AUR leader George Simion and independent Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan.

ASIA BLOG: Beijing’s South China Sea strategy is about Taiwan — and the world needs to sit up and take notice

Even as Taiwan is described as potentially the most dangerous flashpoint in Asia, it is actually the fulcrum upon which the future of the Indo-Pacific — and by extension the global balance of power — may pivot.

MOSCOW BLOG: A muted V-day parade on Red Square

I have just been watching the Victory Day parade on Red Square. A few observations.

LATAM BLOG: Gold, murder and the collapse of the Peruvian State

The massacre of thirteen miners in Peru's Pataz exposes a state paralysed by its own laws, captured by criminal economies, and sustained by complicit politicians in the country's collapsing fight against illegal mining.

BLOG: The EU’s glacial push to eliminate Russian LNG

The EU is continuing to grapple with the complex challenge of eliminating its remaining oil and gas imports from Russia, as the European Commission prepares to unveil a roadmap this week outlining how to achieve that goal, hopefully by 2027.

China’s growing gap to Paris pledge threatens meeting of climate targets

The introduction of new Chinese renewable electricity pricing rules in June threaten the country’s ability to meet its Paris Agreement 2030 climate commitments, according to a report by Carbon Brief.

The world is getting darker, absorbing more sunlight, which is accelerating the Climate Crisis

The world is getting darker as the ice melts and that means it is absorbing more and more sunlight, which is accelerating the process.

Kazakhstan joins Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan in warning Taliban canal could hit water security

Knock-on effects could leave country facing crisis, Astana conference hears.

Dust storm blankets Tehran after hitting Iraq

A severe dust storm, originating in southern Iraq, swept eastward on May 15 reaching as far north as Iran's capital city of Tehran.

Middle East braces for intense heatwave, with temperatures set to surpass 50°C

The Middle East is bracing for another intense heatwave set to grip the region from May 17, with temperatures likely to easily surpass 50 degrees Celsius in the next few days.