Russia
Europe buys the most Russian LNG in history, just as first bans on imports come into effect
Despite threatening to end Russian LNG imports completely next year, prompting the Kremlin to threaten to cut off gas exports to Europe before then, the EU just imported the most LNG in history as it slides into an expanding gas crisis.
Emerging Europe weathers Iran war shock, but risks mount, wiiw says
Higher energy prices, weaker trade and geopolitical uncertainty weigh on the region’s outlook, according to new forecasts from the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies.
Berlin's Kazakh oil fiction is ending and the numbers don't add up
The Kremlin has announced that it will end a three-year old deal to deliver “Kazakh” oil to Berlin from the start of May, plunging Berlin into a fresh energy shortfall crisis as it scrambles to find an alternative source of crude.
Von der Leyen's gaffe complicates EU relations with Turkey
The EU is in a slow-moving identity collapse crisis. Disunity in the EU is growing more obvious each month and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is casting about for ways to rebuild a consensus without much luck.
Rift surfaces in BRICS over West Asia conflict
In spite of the diplomatic impasse at the declaration level, the consultations reportedly addressed humanitarian conditions across several conflict-affected states and examined prospects for post-conflict stabilisation in the broader MENA region.
Germany in talks with Poland over oil route for Schwedt refinery after Russia halts supplies
Germany is in talks with Poland on whether replacement oil supplies can be delivered to the PCK Schwedt refinery through the Polish port of Gdańsk after Russia said it would halt Kazakh crude flows to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline.
EU imposes “anti-circumvention” sanctions on Kyrgyzstan for assisting Russia
Sanctions may hurt Bishkek’s image more than its economy.
Putin’s alleged daughter said to head Moscow State University AI ecosystem
Katerina Tikhonova reportedly oversees a broad institutional network at MGU including a research centre, an AI Institute, the MGU-270 supercomputer and the newly launched faculty.
Russia eyes crypto taxation in ongoing fiscal squeeze
Russia’s Ministry of Finance has advanced a draft law that would tax cryptocurrency income broadly in line with securities investments.
Europe paid for the weapons. America kept them.
The contracts were signed. The funds were transferred. The weapons were manufactured. Then came the notification that they would not be arriving on schedule — because the United States needed them elsewhere.
Stolen Ukrainian grain is being unloaded in Haifa, EU threatens sanctions
Ukraine summoned Israel's ambassador to Kyiv on April 27 and filed a formal protest after a second shipment of grain allegedly stolen from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories docked at the port of Haifa, in a diplomatic scandal.
Drone strike triggers fire at Russia's Tuapse oil refinery in latest attack on Black Sea facilities
A drone strike triggered a fire at Russia's Tuapse oil refinery on April 28, the third attack on the Black Sea port city's infrastructure in recent weeks. Earlier strikes on the seaport caused a major oil spill into the Tuapse River and Black Sea.
Russia's VPN crackdown disrupts banks, marketplaces and government services
Russia's intensified VPN crackdown is causing widespread collateral disruption to legal banks, marketplaces, Yandex services and government platforms, with Novosibirsk worst-hit.
Putin holds talks with Iran's Araghchi in St Petersburg in first visit since war
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in St Petersburg on April 27, the first visit by a senior Iranian official to Moscow since the outbreak of the US-Iran war and Tehran's leadership transition.
India cannot compete with Russia in defence export markets
India has traditionally been a major defence export market for Russia, and while being mostly a vendor - customer relationship between 1960 and 2000, it has now started to evolve in the 'beyond-visual range' era of multi-domain warfare.
A super El Niño due this year and the world is not ready
The numbers released last week by an international consortium of climate scientists are remarkable in their uniformity. Every single key indicator of the state of the Earth's climate system set a new record in 2025. And not in a good way.
IMF: Can advanced economies avoid debt distress?
Many highly indebted advanced economies face a grim fiscal outlook. Under current policies, the public debt ratios of countries including Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States are set to deteriorate over the next two decades.
Russia's answer to Starlink takes off
Russia launched its first operational batch of low-Earth orbit internet satellites in March, marking the beginning of what the Kremlin has boasted is the country's path to digital sovereignty — a homegrown alternative to SpaceX's network.
Russia's economy is cracking — but so is everyone else's
Every week brings a new slew of articles predicting that Russia's deteriorating economy will force Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table as the economy slips into recession. But its not just Russia. All the main countries are in the same boat.
COMMENT: Russia’s Iran gamble risks sacrificing Gulf strategy for tactical gains
Russia’s deepening entanglement in the crisis around Iran is delivering short-term geopolitical dividends, but at a potentially high strategic cost.