Israeli airstrike hits residential building in Beirut southern suburbs

Israeli airstrike hits residential building in Beirut southern suburbs, killing at least one and wounding 21. Israel says strike targeted Hezbollah chief of staff.

International aid rushed to battle wildfires in Iran’s ancient Hyrcanian forests

Shehbaz orders acceleration of Pakistan International Airlines privatisation process

Pakistan’s prime minister has instructed officials to fast-track the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines, signalling renewed urgency in efforts to restructure the loss-making national carrier.

Spurs make Turkish clinic official hair transplant partner. Will they still play a high line?

Football club releases feel-good film to announce agreement.

Draft US security guarantees offer Ukraine Article 5-style protections – Axios

The US draft security guarantee for Ukraine included in the mooted 28-point peace plan offers Ukraine unprecedented Article 5-like assurances, the biggest concession to Kyiv in the Trump administration effort to bring the war to an end.

Russia’s T-Technologies reports record revenue and launches share buyback after strong 3Q25 results

Russia’s T-Technologies reported record financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended on September 30, as the Russian technology group crossed RUB1tn ($11bn) in revenue for the first time and announced a new share buyback.

Google stakes its AI future on Taiwan

Google has inaugurated its largest artificial intelligence infrastructure hardware engineering centre outside the United States, in Taipei, underscoring Taiwan’s growing importance in the global tech ecosystem.

Turkey seizes fintech IQ Money in illegal betting prosecution

Twenty six suspects detained. Deposit insurance fund TMSF asked to take over yet another company.

Polish med-tech company Synektik lifts quarterly earnings on stronger medical equipment sales

Warsaw-listed Synektik said medical equipment, IT solutions and service work drove performance in August and September.

Lithuania set to roll out a nationwide network of 44 cybersecurity operations centres

Officials say the scheme will help strengthen cybersecurity across the public sector by improving detection, logging and response to attacks.

MACRO ADVISORY: Will dark water take the shine off Kyrgyzstan’s golden growth?

The Kyrgyz Republic has reported average annual GDP growth of 9% for the past three years and will again be close to that growth in 2025. But while the economy is doing well, Kyrgyzstan and its neighbours are facing a major power and water crisis.

UBN: Ukraine’s war of drones reaches a new level

The war of drones has reached a level that was impossible to predict just a short time ago. The Western allies are completely unaware of the current military landscape as they talk about defending their borders from a new model of warfare.

COMMENT: Russia’s impossible budget plan for 2025

Russia’s Finance Ministry has projected a federal budget deficit of RUB5.7tn ($63.6bn) in 2025, or 2.6% of GDP, based on expected expenditures of RUB42.8tn and revenues of RUB37.1. But it will probably miss even this inflated target.

Corruption and lack of competitiveness threaten fast-track EU enlargement

wiiw study says candidate countries must accelerate deep economic and institutional reforms if they hope to meet ambitious timelines for EU accession.

UBN: Energoatom scandal hurts Ukraine, benefits the Kremlin

The $100bn Energoatom corruption scandal that broken on November 10 has caused outrage in Ukraine. It has hurt Ukraine's reputation and benefited the Kremlin, says UBN's editorial team.

Russian stocks rally on reports of Trump-backed Ukraine peace plan

Russian equities rallied strongly at the start of trading on November 21 after details of the US 28-point peace plan were released the previous evening. Investor sentiment got a fillip as a possible deal is on the cards.

Foreign M&A bolsters confidence in Vietnam’s industrial and energy sectors

Foreign investors are stepping up their involvement in Vietnman’s industrial and energy sectors, signalling renewed confidence in the country’s manufacturing base and its long-term growth prospects.

Tokyo unveils $136bn stimulus

Japan has approved an economic stimulus package of roughly JPY21.3 trillion ($136bn) in an effort to counter rising living costs and reinforce domestic demand, marking the first major policy initiative under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Moldova’s industry strengthens through 2025 driven by labour-intensive sectors

Moldova’s industrial output rose 6.2% y/y in 3Q25, the third consecutive quarter of strengthening activity.

IMF warns Montenegro’s economy is weakening after years of strong post-pandemic growth

Growth, which averaged around 9% annually between 2021 and 2023, moderated to 3.2% in 2024 and in the first half of 2025.

India confronts stricter US sanctions as Russian oil imports decline

India’s reliance on discounted Russian crude — a pillar of its energy strategy since 2022 — has come under renewed strain as Washington tightens sanctions and imposes fresh tariffs on Moscow’s energy sector.

COMMENT: Is this the end of the road for Hasina and the Awami League in Bangladesh?

Sheikh Hasina's dramatic ousting in August 2024 in the wake of violent protests, and her subsequent death sentence ruling has been seen by some as marking the end of the road for the former PM and her party.

LONG READ: How oil price discounts became a barometer of the sanction’s effectiveness

When Russian troops crossed into Ukraine in February 2022, the country’s main crude export blend, Urals, was still trading in line with its traditional discount to Brent of $2. A month later Russia discounted it by $30 to find buyers.

Peru’s broken regulatory system is enabling illegal mining networks

Peru’s decision to prolong the Integrated Registry for Mining Formalisation (Reinfo) is the clearest indication that the state has lost control over its primary tool for regulating small-scale mining.

After Tajikistan deports hundreds of Afghans, refugee community remains on edge

Tajiks accuse deportees of bad behaviour, many held legal status.

KYIV BLOG: Zelenskiy should take the US peace deal

Most of the anglophone coverage of the US 28-point peace plan has been negative, suggesting it is nothing more than a capitulation to Russian aggression. But Russia did make some concessions. Zelenskiy should take the deal.

KYIV BLOG: Pokrovsk becomes a modern-day Stalingrad

The battle for Pokrovsk has become a modern-day Stalingrad. Some Russian troops are reportedly refusing to enter the city as that means almost certain death. The fighting is swinging back and forth, but there are no fixed positions.

KYIV BLOG: Ukrainian war sailing towards a crisis

Russia’s oil industry, long seen as the bedrock of the country’s economic strength, is being slowly degraded—not by sanctions or falling demand, but by the persistent and methodical pressure of Ukraine’s drone attacks.

BALKAN BLOG: North Macedonia’s 20-year wait to join the EU

20 years since North Macedonia was given EU candidate status, the country's European dream endures — battered, delayed, but not yet extinguished.

ISTANBUL BLOG: Rulers have changed their game, dull rights defenders offer no riposte

As shown by Merz’s first visit to Turkey as German chancellor, the powers that be don’t pay a blind bit of notice to NGOs like HRW. Though they sometimes respond with a spot of pantomime.

Iran air pollution reaches hazardous levels, Danish embassy reports

Air pollution in Tehran reaches hazardous levels with an AQI of 189 recorded at the Danish embassy. Authorities also move schools online for November 25-26 and ban outdoor sports as emergency measures are implemented across the capital.

Turkmenistan still venting like crazy, methane super-emissions data show

Country clearly still needs a kick in the gas.

Indonesia–Singapore energy ties deepen as clean power ambitions converge with private capital moves

Indonesia and Singapore are entering a new phase of energy cooperation, one shaped by the simultaneous rise of clean-power ambitions and strategic private-capital bets on the region’s downstream energy sector.

Quake shakes Dhaka, three dead, more deaths expected

An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter Scale struck parts of Bangladesh at 10.38 am on November 21, triggering a series of safety alarms, minor structural failures and small fires across Dhaka and surrounding districts.

India's smart meter rollout faces delay

India’s ambitious drive to modernise its power distribution network through the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) is facing mounting pressures, with delays in installing smart meters and slow payment cycles threatening to erode returns