China backs US-Iran ceasefire and talks

China's Wang Yi has told Iran's foreign minister Araghchi that Beijing supports the ceasefire and ongoing US-Iran talks, saying a window for peace is opening amid the war.

Iran considering petrochemical imports after Israeli strikes hit output

Iran may turn to imports of petrochemical products to supply feedstock for downstream industries after US-Israeli air strikes hit its main production hubs earlier this month, a government spokesperson said.

Trump claims Israeli and Lebanese leaders will speak directly as IDF expands buffer zone

US President Donald Trump has claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak directly with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on April 16.

US taps Gulf allies, warns Chinese banks in stepped-up Iran sanctions push

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on April 15 in Washington that the US is working with Persian Gulf allies to obtain data on bank accounts linked to members of the Iranian government and is contacting international lenders, including in China

Trump says China agreed to stop arming Iran in exchange for reopening of Strait of Hormuz

Trump claims China agreed to halt arms supplies to Iran in exchange for US efforts to permanently reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with a Xi Jinping meeting planned in coming weeks.

Iran's business leaders warn internet shutdowns costing up to $80mn a day

Iran's business chambers warn that internet shutdowns are costing the digital economy up to $80mn a day as the country remains offline for the seventh week.

Saudi Arabia's First Mills deploys AI agent platform in food production first

Saudi flour giant First Mills becomes the first customer of Glasgow AI startup Kodamai, deploying a mathematically verified autonomous agent platform across its four production facilities.

Disinformation over Erdogan threat to invade Israel reportedly goes viral

Video clip taken from real speech, but edited and misrepresented, says Dailymotion.

Iran-linked hackers claim major cyberattack on Dubai government infrastructure

Iran-linked hacker group Handala claims to have destroyed 6 petabytes of data and extracted 149TB of classified documents from three Dubai government bodies in what it calls a warning to Gulf states.

Tehran e-commerce body demands internet restoration immediately

Tehran's e-commerce association demands the immediate restoration of internet services, saying continued restrictions are damaging household incomes and the private sector as Iran's digital economy struggles to recover from the war.

EU credibility on the line as Bosnia’s accession path stalls

Bosnia & Herzegovina’s long and troubled path towards European Union membership risks drifting further into irrelevance, warns EPC policy brief.

Montenegro and Albania urged to make the case for EU membership as 2030 target looms

Western Balkan frontrunners Montenegro and Albania must do more to convince sceptical EU member states of their value or risk delays to their 2030 accession ambitions, a Carnegie Europe paper says.

Orbán’s election defeat shakes illiberal allies in Southeast Europe

Implications for leaders across Southeast Europe who have aligned themselves with Viktor Orban's brand of illiberal governance.

COMMENT: The US naval blockade of Iran won't work

The US is moving to choke Iran’s oil lifeline. The market is starting to price something much bigger because the Trump administration naval blockade of Iran is not going to work.

COMMENT: Iran and the US, where maximalism meets survival and peace cannot follow

IMF the first to improve Russia’s growth outlook on Iran war windfall

The International Monetary Fund has become the first institution to raise its forecast for Russia’s economic growth in 2026 in anticipation of the windfall it is expected to earn from the effects of the Iran war related spike in energy prices.

IMF the first to improve Russia’s growth outlook on Iran war windfall

The International Monetary Fund has become the first institution to raise its forecast for Russia’s economic growth in 2026 in anticipation of the windfall it is expected to earn from the effects of the Iran war related spike in energy prices.

Istanbul-listed Aksa Enerji obtains $300mn six-year loan from Africa Finance Corporation

Funding will finance power plant investments across African continent.

Turkey has the second most foreign military bases in the world after the US

Turkey has emerged as the country with the second-largest number of foreign military bases in the world after the United States, and is the only Muslim-majority nation with a global military base network of this scale.

Where elections are seen as fair or flawed - OWID

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this month directing the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to compile lists of US citizens eligible to vote in each state, Statista reports.

The empty throne

Mojtaba Khamenei is Iran's supreme leader in name only — unseen since February 28, his authority a written statement read by a newsreader.

Hungary’s energy ties to Russia set limits on post-Orbán pivot

Hungary’s incoming prime minister Peter Magyar may ease tensions with Brussels, but he says he won’t end imports of Russian oil and gas for now.

The Greater Israel theory is a complete farce

While rumours of the pursuit of a Greater Israel are simmering given the IDF's seizure of Lebanese and Syrian territory, Israel's military track record proves that this is nothing more than a conspiracy theory.

South Korean industry faces crisis over critical material shortages

South Korea’s semiconductor and pharmaceutical sectors face critical supply disruptions as uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint deepens.

Tajik government finds that being party pooper is profitable

Law regulating weddings, birthdays and funerals reaps over $1mn in fines.

ASIA BLOG: How Taiwan’s KMT risks the nation’s sovereignty

As Taiwan’s opposition leader, Cheng Li-wun leads a delegation across China the fine line between opposition outreach and quasi-diplomacy is being blurred. It is an issue that should concern anyone with a stake in Taiwan’s democratic integrity.

TEHRAN BLOG: Ceasefire brings quiet relief to Iran, but few believe it will hold

Iranians remain split in the early hours of the two-week ceasefire between their government and US and Israel on the otherside, but as things stand any return to normality is better than nothing.

CAUCASUS BLOG: Armenian PM’s Moscow pushback plays to a domestic audience pre-election

Nikol Pashinyan made unusually blunt comments to Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow.

MOSCOW BLOG: Pax Americana exposed as a paper tiger

Superficially the war in Iran has dealt Ukraine a huge blow. The White House is now completely distracted, and the Trump administration seems to have abandoned, or at least paused, the ceasefire negotiations with Russia.

BALKAN BLOG: The connection between the Middle East conflict and Slovenia’s closely fought election

Strong pro-Palestine sentiment in Slovenia causes alleged interference by Israeli private security firm ahead of general election to backfire.

Tehran enters sixth consecutive year of drought as dam levels drop

Tehran has entered its sixth consecutive year of drought with rainfall down 35%, as the capital's water utility warns dam levels remain fragile and calls on residents to cut consumption ahead of summer.

Iraq says Tigris river pollution contained after sediment surge from Diyala

Iraq's environment minister says authorities have contained a Tigris river pollution crisis caused by sediment from water releases, days after a mass fish die-off in Wasit province killed over 1,000 tonnes of fish.

Moldova prepares damage claims against Russia over energy infrastructure and environmental damage

Russian drone attack against a hydropower plant on the territory of Ukraine blamed for pollution of Dniester River.

Falling battery prices make round-the-clock solar power supply viable in India

A recent report by energy think tank Ember says that declining battery storage costs have reached a level where it makes it economically viable for solar power to supply most of India’s electricity demand.

Argentina eases glacier protection in $40bn mining push despite environmental fears

Argentina’s Congress has approved a reform to the country’s glacier protection law, relaxing restrictions on mining in high-altitude regions in a move aimed at attracting billions in investment, while drawing criticism from environmental groups.