Features
CNG vehicle adoption accelerates across India
Air pollution remains a severe public health challenge in North India, especially during the winter months, with several cities in the region regularly feature among the world’s top ten most polluted.
Indonesia fast-tracks OECD bid as part of geopolitical balancing act
Indonesia is accelerating its efforts to become a full member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, positioning itself as a reform-oriented emerging economy with aspirations for global policy influence.
Armenian economy stabilises after 2022 boom, says RenCap
Growth surge that saw Armenia’s GDP nearly double to $25bn by 2024 is mostly over, says investment bank.
CITIES IN PERIL: Mexico's Acapulco still rebuilding as climate disasters mount
The people of Acapulco are rebuilding not only infrastructure but also their lives, in the grim knowledge that hurricanes may become increasingly likely as ocean temperatures continue to rise.
COMMENT: What Japan, Southeast Asia and the US can expect from South Korea’s new president
While he has not shied away from criticising Tokyo, Lee has sensibly signalled a willingness to compartmentalise some issues in order to foster cooperation on trade, technology and regional security.
COMMENT: Despite Pakistan’s hostility, India builds bridges with Islamic world
New Delhi's outreach to the Islamic world has intensified in recent years, particularly towards the Gulf Cooperation Council states, which are pivotal to India's energy security, diaspora well-being, and trade balance.
How Turkey freed Islamic State suspects after G7 terrorist money watchdog took country off grey list
Fact that trial of 19 alleged terror finance individuals was being pursued was factor in FATF’s decision to end listing.
Meet Syria's new first lady who lived in caves during 14-year civil war
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's comments about his wife Latifa al-Droubi have sparked widespread reaction on social media after he revealed she had lived with him in caves and chicken coops.
CITIES IN PERIL: Adapting the concrete heart of São Paulo to a changing climate
When the rains come to Latin America’s largest metropolis, water reclaims ancient paths buried beneath layers of concrete.
Nawrocki’s rise sparks fresh uncertainty for wartime Ukraine
Conservative historian Karol Nawrocki’s victory in the June presidential election in Poland has all but dashed Ukrainian hopes for Warsaw speaking with one voice about Ukraine.
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ASIA BLOG: How US tariffs are driving Asia closer to itself – and China
What’s striking right now is how ASEAN is operating on two levels. Publicly, it champions inclusivity and dialogue. Privately, it’s hedging harder than ever.
A drone arms race between Russia and Ukraine is in full swing
Drones have increasingly become an offensive, not defensive, weapon.
CITIES IN PERIL: Rising seas threaten India’s coastal cities
More than 10% of Mumbai is at risk of submergence by 2040 after it recorded the highest sea level rise among Indian coastal cities in the last three decades.
Ukraine, Russian ceasefire talks are dead
Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have given up on ceasefire talks, calling them pointless as both sides increase the frequency and ferocity of their mutual missile strikes on each other's territory.
The fall of Sritex: unravelling the collapse of Southeast Asia’s textile giant
Once celebrated as Southeast Asia’s largest textile producer, the Indonesian firm shuttered its operations, resulting in job losses for nearly 11,000 workers across Central Java. The closure sent tremors through the nation’s economy.
The Bazarification of war
In the early hours of June 1, 2025, Ukrainian intelligence operatives executed what military historians may well regard as warfare's equivalent of Pearl Harbor.
CITIES IN PERIL: Two decades of change are testing Tokyo’s resilience
A global megacity grapples with the overlapping stresses of urbanisation, ageing demographics and climate risk.
China helping Russia outpace Ukraine in drone production, Kyiv claims
Russia is rapidly closing the gap with Ukraine in drone warfare thanks in part to covert support from China that is supplying Russia with all the parts and technology it can, but strictly staying within technical limits imposed by sanctions.
Pakistan’s power sector in 2025 at a critical juncture
The country recorded notable growth in solar energy deployment and added new renewable capacity, but these gains came against the backdrop of deep-rooted structural challenges
CITIES IN PERIL: Droughts and heatwaves grip Tehran
The Iranian capital’s vulnerability to the changing climate presents a significant national challenge.