Iran seizes assets of exiled academic Ali Sharifi-Zarchi over alleged collaboration

Seven Iraqi soldiers killed in airstrike on Anbar military base

Seven Iraqi soldiers were killed and 13 wounded in an airstrike on a military base in Anbar province, Iraq's defence ministry says, describing the targeting of a medical facility as a violation of international law.

Israel strikes Iranian Caspian port used by Russia to supply arms, food

More evidence emerged that the CRINK alliance (China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea) are supplying Iran with arms on March 24, after an Israeli strike on a Caspian sea smuggling route used by Moscow to supply Tehra

Haiti violence kills over 5,500 in ten months, UN says

More than 5,500 people were killed in Haiti between March 2025 and mid-January as gang violence and security operations against armed groups ravaged the Caribbean nation, the United Nations said on March 24.

‘Orban-Gate’ scandal reveals Hungarian intelligence derailed probe into operation against opposition Tisza

Hungary’s intelligence services pressured the police over an investigation into a covert, high-profile operation against Tisza Party, documents obtained by investigative news site Direkt36 show.

Albania prepares to launch its first digital-only bank

Albania is going through major digitalisation, says Dimitris Petrilis of Backbase, which is partnering with Jet Bank to deliver a fully app-based banking experience.

Uber Eats to enter Israeli market

Uber Eats confirmed plans to enter the Israeli market via a message on its mobile app landing page, positioning itself to challenge Wolt's dominance in Israel's food delivery sector.

Russian security nepo babies infiltrate tech surveillance

Children of Russian high-profile security officials or so-called “siloviki” are securing key positions in domestic tech surveillance assets.

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.

Riyadh betting on Iran war escalation in trade off of short-term damage for long-term regional dominance

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) is taking a big gamble. He is pressing Washington for a more aggressive stance in its Iran campaign betting the short term damage cost is the price of leaving the Kingdom as the dominant regional power.

Why Russia’s targets in Emerging Europe are talking about the “Moldova playbook”

As critical elections approach in Hungary and Armenia this spring, the recent experience of Moldova is increasingly being brought up by politicians, analysts and election observers.

Russia’s oil windfall from the Iran war masks a slower decline

Russia’s oil industry has been handed a short-term reprieve by the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, but the boost from triple-digit crude prices does not alter the sector’s deeper trajectory, Sergey Vakulenko says.

Will GCC be drawn into war and unite against Iran?

Will GCC be drawn into war and unite against Iran? The foreign ministers of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan met in Riyadh on March 18 to discuss a possible security pact and taking up arms against Iran.

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.

Russia sells gold bars for the first time in 25 years to fund budget deficit

Russia began selling physical gold from its central bank reserves for the first time in 25 years, as the government seeks to plug a widening budget deficit driven by sustained military spending.

Istanbul-listed Halkbank sells $210mn AT1 eurobond at 8.30% amid Iran war

Debt issue follows signing of deferred prosecution agreement over US claims of collusion with Iranians in sanctions dodging.

North Macedonia's central bank keeps key rate at 4% amid rising global uncertainty

National Bank of North Macedonia warned that a prolonged or expanded conflict could lead to sustained price pressures, weaker growth and broader economic instability.

The death of coal power in the UK - OWID

The United Kingdom was the birthplace of coal. It has now, effectively, died there, Our World in Data reprots.

Tel Aviv stocks plummet despite brief recovery after US halt on Iran strikes

Israeli stocks on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange deepened their losses on March 24, hitting a new intraday low at approximately 16:53 local time. The TA-35 index fell approximately 2%, whilst the TA-90 index declined 1.8%.

INTERVIEW: Corazon Avecilla-Padiernos, the Philippines' representative to Taiwan

Manila’s position is that “peace, stability, and adherence to international law are essential to safeguarding maritime routes that are vital to regional trade, including for the Philippines and Taiwan.”

Georgia's record economic run impresses Wall Street, but investors flag political risk

Georgia is the standout economic story in the South Caucasus but investors are increasingly looking at governance and democracy.

Which countries in Europe and Asia have the most reserve coal-fired generating capacity in reserve?

Natural gas prices have already doubled since the start of the war in the Middle East and are expected to rise higher as the last of Qatar’s LNG exports arrive at their destinations. Now everyone is switching to coal.

MACRO ADVISORY: Kazakhstan creating political stability and economic predictability

Kazakhstan is entering a key phase as President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev pushes ahead with political reforms aimed at consolidating stability while reshaping the country’s economic model.

BBC fails to mention Israel during a report of Lebanese hospital missile strikes

The BBC failed to mention the word “Israel” at all when reporting Israeli missiles targeted at least 20 Iranian hospitals and medical centres on March 23 –a war crime.

Crude market volatility reflects Trump administration’s unpredictable war moves, says analyst

The US has temporarily lifted sanctions to permit the sale and delivery of Iranian oil, allowing for up to 140 million barrels of crude to enter global markets over the coming weeks.

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.

Clean energy stocks outperform oil majors as investors anticipate long-term switch to renewables due to Iran war

Shares in clean energy companies have outpaced oil majors since the outbreak of conflict involving Iran, as investors bet that higher fossil fuel prices will accelerate the shift towards renewables, the Financial Times reports.

Middle East conflict causes surge in gas flaring and emissions

The war in Iran has caused a spike in gas flaring across the Middle East is adding to greenhouse gas emissions as energy infrastructure disruptions linked to regional conflict force producers to burn excess fuel.

Cow dung to power Suzuki biogas push in India

The facility, located in Bhukhala in Gujarat in Northwest India processes cow dung to generate methane for use in compressed natural gas vehicles.

Questions remain over toxic leak in Dniester after water supplies resumed

Moldova said Russian attack on Ukraine led to pollution of Dniester that supplies water to approximately 80% of Moldova’s population and 98% of Chisinau.

Gulf war drives up demand for Asian EV