Features
€1bn EU energy crisis aid in Western Balkans largely untraceable, watchdog says
CEE Bankwatch research reveals only €163.1mn of €1bn spent could be clearly linked to advancing the Green Agenda.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister to ask IMF for new loan, as new team focuses efforts on bring US support back on board
Ukraine’s new prime minister, Yuliia Svyrydenko, said Kyiv will probably ask for a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to plug a widening budget deficit.
Ukraine’s military death tolls underestimated, Russia recruits sufficient to cover its frontline losses
Ukraine’s official military casualty figures in the war with Russia may be vastly understated. Russia’s death toll is much higher.
EXPLAINER: Who fought in Syria’s Suwayda and where do things go from here?
The deep fragility of country’s post-Assad landscape was exposed as Druze, backed by Israel, clashed with Bedouin tribes.
Greek tankers continue to transport Russian oil despite new eighteenth sanctions package, come under Ukrainian special ops attacks
Greek-owned oil tankers are likely to continue to carry Russian oil exports, despite the passage of a new eighteenth sanctions package last week that largely targets Russia’s oil exports.
Ukraine’s accession bid stalls, Zelenskiy downgrades EU diplomatic representation
Ukraine’s bid to join the EU has hit a wall, after efforts to launch the negotiations last week failed due to infighting amongst member states. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has downgraded his country's diplomatic representation.
Fleet-cannibalised Russian aviation can only look on as Central Asia carriers take over regional market segments
Moscow has even considered asking Kazakhstan to run some of its domestic flight connections.
ASEAN in 2025: still relevant, but only just
Founded on August 8 1967, in Bangkok, ASEAN has long prided itself on unity in diversity, guided by the principles of non-interference and consensus-based decision-making.
Japan’s Self-Defence Forces are much more capable than many think
During the past decade Japan has quietly but steadily modernised its defence apparatus. While Tokyo avoids the loud rhetoric of some of its neighbours, its actions speak volumes.
Timor-Leste’s ASEAN accession: A milestone moment despite deepening dilemmas
Timor-Leste’s road to ASEAN has been a protracted one. After over a decade of evaluations and delays, including a pandemic, ASEAN granted “in-principle” approval in 2022. The final decision was confirmed during the 46th ASEAN Summiit.
BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Turbulence in the crystal ball as Turkey seizes online fortune-teller Faladdin
Officials also grab retailer Hakmar for good measure.
What comes after Xi? China's future in a post-Xi era
A system built so tightly around a cult centered on one man, however powerful, invites uncertainty once that man disappears. It also invites opportunity...
Racial profiling in Japan
A 2025 survey by the plaintiffs' legal team found that over 71% of obviously foreign nationals who had lived in Japan for more than five years had been questioned by police on the street.
Erdogan rival Imamoglu handed prison term for insulting and threatening prosecutor
Critics note judges who preside over such “political” cases could risk losing their freedom should the regime fall.
IMF lauds Uzbek reform efforts
Tashkent’s biggest upcoming challenge is easing the state’s grip on the economy.
Russian inflation moving back to target – CBR
Central Bank of Russia Governor Elvia Nabiullina’s plan is working. Last year she introduced a raft of non-monetary policy methods to squash Russian growth and force inflation down by artificially cooling the economy.
EXPLAINER: Ukraine's EU accession path
The war is not an obstacle to Ukraine's membership of the EU, and most of the EU members states have thrown their support behind getting Ukraine into the club as fast as possible.
CEE healthcare remains attractive as private equity investors branch out into dental and pet care
Two decades after private equity firms first started to bet big on Central Europe’s private healthcare, the sector remains a magnet for investors, who are also eyeing deals in adjacent sectors.
UNFPA survey reveals why millions can’t have the families they dream of
A growing global crisis in reproductive agency – not overpopulation or declining birth rates – is one of the most urgent demographic challenges of our time, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said.
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Russian aid agency seeking to fill USAID gaps in former Soviet Union
Imperial attitudes undermine ambitions for expanded influence.