Latest Updates

Ukraine’s secret services hit Kerch bridge with a 1,100kg of explosives bomb

Ukraine’s security services have claimed responsibility for a major underwater explosion that damaged the Kerch Bridge on June 3, the critical road and rail link between Russia and the occupied Crimean peninsula.

Read Story

Russia demands Ukraine's de facto capitulation with Istanbul demands

Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Istanbul for the second direct ceasefire talks on June 1 that made little progress in laying out the groundwork for the mooted 30-day ceasefire suggested by the Trump administration in March.

Read Story

START missile treat exposed Russia’s nuclear bombers to Ukrainian drone attack

The conditions of the START missile treaty signed between Russian President Vladimir Putin and former US President Joe Biden in January 2021 exposed Russia’s strategic nuclear bomber fleet to the devastating Operation Spiderweb drone attack.

Read Story

COMMENT: US Defence Secretary Hegseth tells Asian countries war with China “could be imminent”

US Secretary for Defence Pete Hegseth put the cat amongst the pigeons during a speech at the at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 31, by telling the leading Asian countries they should join with the US and get ready for war with China.

Read Story

President Nawrocki shakes Tusk government to the core

The four-party coalition of Prime Minister Donald Tusk appears to have been shaken to its foundations, as the fallout of June 1's presidential election has begun to spread on the following day.

Read Story

CITIES IN PERIL: Jakarta’s sinking villages

Jakarta is a city of dreams for many of its 11mn population, yet some of its most vulnerable communities are facing a nightmare.

Read Story

Mexico’s judicial elections falter amid low turnout and chaos

Mexico has held its first-ever judicial elections, a process hailed by the federal government as a landmark step towards democratic improvement. Yet the reality on the ground painted a far more fragmented and contentious picture.

Read Story

Cocaine barons switch to trafficking via Turkey after heavy seizures on direct-to-Europe route

Extent of new smuggling indicated by seizure of seven vessels owned by Turks carrying drugs worth $10bn.

Read Story

El Salvador president attacks NGOs and press in defiant anniversary speech

Venezuela and Iran deepen trade ties to circumvent sanctions at Caracas forum

Moody’s warns of Brazil’s rising debt burden, downgrades credit outlook

El Salvador president attacks NGOs and press in defiant anniversary speech

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele delivered a defiant speech marking one year since his re-election, dismissing criticism of his authoritarian approach while doubling down on his controversial security policies.

Venezuela and Iran deepen trade ties to circumvent sanctions at Caracas forum

Venezuela and Iran moved to reinforce their bilateral cooperation during a business forum held in Caracas on June 2, with senior officials from both nations discussing new trade and technology initiatives.

Moody’s warns of Brazil’s rising debt burden, downgrades credit outlook

Brazil’s debt affordability is deteriorating and progress on fiscal reforms has proved slower than expected, clouding the sovereign credit outlook, credit rating agency Moody’s said.

News

Mongolia’s PM loses confidence vote in rapid reversal of fortunes

Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai set out to end corruption – but it was questions over his own wealth that proved his undoing.

Iranian FM in Beirut for talks on stability and reconstruction

Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, arrived in Beirut on June 3 to meet with the new government.

Hungarian banks report record year in 2024 with €5bn consolidated profit

Hungary’s banking sector delivered a record-breaking year in 2024, with consolidated net profits reaching a record HUF2 trillion (€5bn).

Romania’s president expects fiscal plan by June 5, new government by mid-June

PNL interim president Ilie Bolojan seen as most likely next prime minister.

South Korea votes in pivotal election after martial law crisis

The election, held six months after Yoon’s controversial move, has attracted immense public interest. By 9 am, over 4mn people - roughly 9.2% of the 44.39mn registered voters - had already cast their votes across more than 14,000 polling stations.

Mongolia’s PM loses confidence vote in rapid reversal of fortunes

5 hours ago

Iranian FM in Beirut for talks on stability and reconstruction

6 hours ago

Hungarian banks report record year in 2024 with €5bn consolidated profit

15 hours ago

Romania’s president expects fiscal plan by June 5, new government by mid-June

15 hours ago

South Korea votes in pivotal election after martial law crisis

17 hours ago

More News

Tech

Inside Malaysia’s $107bn semiconductor gamble

By betting big on chips, Malaysia is not just investing in factories and engineers, it’s investing in long-term technological sovereignty. As the global race for semiconductors accelerates, Malaysia is proving it intends to play for keeps.

Central Asian states ready to meet rising global demand for critical minerals

China has stranglehold on rare earths needed for emerging technologies.

Bulgaria's EnduroSat raises €43mn to scale modular satellite production and expand global operations 

Company to build one of Europe's largest space R&D facilities in Sofia, as it grows operations across Europe and the US.

Croatia to launch AI development plan as minister warns of major job market shifts 

Digital Transformation Minister Damir Habijan says AI will transform Croatia's labour market in the coming years, eliminating millions of existing jobs while creating entirely new ones.

Uber and Abdul Latif Jameel sign MoU to develop autonomous vehicle platform in Saudi Arabia

Abdul Latif Jameel and Uber partner to develop autonomous vehicle platform in Saudi Arabia, targeting 30,000 jobs under Vision 2030.

Inside Malaysia’s $107bn semiconductor gamble

5 days ago

Central Asian states ready to meet rising global demand for critical minerals

6 days ago

Bulgaria's EnduroSat raises €43mn to scale modular satellite production and expand global operations 

6 days ago

Croatia to launch AI development plan as minister warns of major job market shifts 

7 days ago

Uber and Abdul Latif Jameel sign MoU to develop autonomous vehicle platform in Saudi Arabia

8 days ago

More Tech

Opinion

COMMENT: Chinese firms carving up Tesla's once solid brand recognition

While Tesla remains a powerful player in the EV market, its star has dimmed, particularly in China, today the world’s largest EV market and increasingly its most competitive.

Erdogan’s “missteps” have doomed him, argues Council on Foreign Relations analyst

Henri J Barkey describes the “flailing of a threatened, insecure, and imperiled man” who is “confronting mounting public fatigue” in Turkey with his presidency.

BERTRAND: ASEAN, GCC countries and China come together, forming the world’s largest economic bloc

China, the countries of South-East Asia (ASEAN) and the Arab states (GCC) just held a summit in Kuala Lumpur to forge what could become the world's largest economic bloc, covering everything from free trade agreements to de-dollarisation.

COMMENT: The Philippines – an Asian nation closer to the US than its regional neighbours

The Philippines is a bit of an oddball in Southeast Asia: a country economically tethered to the United States through deep-rooted historical, political and financial ties, yet it consistently ranks as one of the least democratic nations in Asia.

COMMENT: How Nepal and Bhutan navigate the India-China rivalry

While New Delhi flexes its military posture to signal resolve both to Beijing and Islamabad, neighbouring microstates like Nepal and Bhutan find themselves compelled to recalibrate their security interests and economic alignments.

COMMENT: Chinese firms carving up Tesla's once solid brand recognition

1 day ago

Erdogan’s “missteps” have doomed him, argues Council on Foreign Relations analyst

4 days ago

BERTRAND: ASEAN, GCC countries and China come together, forming the world’s largest economic bloc

5 days ago

COMMENT: The Philippines – an Asian nation closer to the US than its regional neighbours

5 days ago

COMMENT: How Nepal and Bhutan navigate the India-China rivalry

6 days ago

More Opinion

Data

Turkey's official inflation falls to 35% y/y in May

Independent economists calculate 74%.

Record number of Russians want the war to end

A record number of Russian citizens now want the war to end, according to a new poll by the independent pollster, the Levada Center, the Moscow Times reported on June 3.

Ukraine’s banks continue strong performance in 2025

Ukraine’s banks continue to show resilience in war-time conditions, posting healthy profits for 2024 and the first four months of 2025 and continuing to reduce their holdings of non-performing loans (NPLs).

Polish GDP records solid 3.7% y/y growth in Q1

Poland's GDP grew by 3.7% year on year in the first quarter of 2025, easing by 0.2pp against the preceding quarter, seasonally adjusted preliminary data released by the statistical office GUS showed on June 2.

Polish PMI suffers biggest decline in nearly three years in May

Poland's Purchasing Managers' Index dropped sharply to 47.1 in May from 50.2 in April, marking the steepest monthly decline in nearly three years.

Turkey's official inflation falls to 35% y/y in May

2 hours ago

Record number of Russians want the war to end

4 hours ago

Ukraine’s banks continue strong performance in 2025

5 hours ago

Polish GDP records solid 3.7% y/y growth in Q1

13 hours ago

Polish PMI suffers biggest decline in nearly three years in May

16 hours ago

More Data

Features

Japan: the land where ancient geothermal use is part of the problem

Onsen have long been a part of the daily lives of Japanese, and are seen as so integral to the culture as likely to trump any ‘new-fangled’ technological ideas in the eyes of many – younger Japanese included.

US-trained millennial economist nominated to lead Iran’s troubled economy

A millennial American university graduate and maths buff is likely to become Iran's next economy minister.

CITIES IN PERIL: Taipei’s climate countdown

Located in the Taipei Basin and bordered by the volcanic Yangmingshan mountain range to the north and Taiwan’s Central Mountain Range to the southeast, Taipei’s geography makes it both scenic and vulnerable.

BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Erdogan camp's dirty work paints jailed rival as ‘Imamoglu the Suleymanist’

President also sets out to trash opponent as head of an octopus-like criminal syndicate.

CITIES IN PERIL: Cities confront the rising tide of climate change

Fast and chaotic urban population growth combined with climate challenges on multiple fronts are putting cities at risk around the world.

Japan: the land where ancient geothermal use is part of the problem

1 day ago

US-trained millennial economist nominated to lead Iran’s troubled economy

2 days ago

CITIES IN PERIL: Taipei’s climate countdown

2 days ago

BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Erdogan camp's dirty work paints jailed rival as ‘Imamoglu the Suleymanist’

4 days ago

CITIES IN PERIL: Cities confront the rising tide of climate change

4 days ago

More Features

Blogs

BALKAN BLOG: Serbia’s protest movement is losing momentum

Student-led demonstrations, once drawing hundreds of thousands to the streets of Belgrade and Novi Sad, have ebbed in recent weeks.

LATAM BLOG: The elusive dream of connecting two oceans by rail

The Bi-Oceanic Railway promises to connect Brazil’s Atlantic coast with Peru’s Pacific port of Chancay. Yet this grand vision remains more geopolitical statement than reality, facing immense logistical, environmental, and political challenges.

ASIA BLOG: Taiwan on the international stage – inclusion is not a concession, it is common sense

It is increasingly absurd – and even dangerous – that Taiwan continues to be excluded from key international organisations such as the WHO, Interpol, ICAO and most prominently, the UN.

LATAM BLOG: Venezuela's latest electoral charade marks final break with democracy

The May 25 parliamentary and regional elections delivered Nicolás Maduro a sweeping triumph, but the price was democratic legitimacy itself.

KYIV BLOG: How is Ukraine going to fund the rebuild and a growing trade deficit?

The money the West grants to support Ukraine’s economy and military campaign gets a lot of attention. So far, the West has sent a total of $133bn to Ukraine over the last three years, according to the Ministry of Finance.

BALKAN BLOG: Serbia’s protest movement is losing momentum

1 day ago

LATAM BLOG: The elusive dream of connecting two oceans by rail

5 days ago

ASIA BLOG: Taiwan on the international stage – inclusion is not a concession, it is common sense

6 days ago

LATAM BLOG: Venezuela's latest electoral charade marks final break with democracy

8 days ago

KYIV BLOG: How is Ukraine going to fund the rebuild and a growing trade deficit?

11 days ago

More Blogs

bneGREEN

40% of Europe already in a drought before summer gets fully underway

As Europe slides into its third disaster season, 40% of the EU is already officially facing a drought before the hottest months of the year arrive. And this year’s droughts are likely to become even worse than previous heatwaves.

AMEA Power inaugurates 500MW wind plant, Africa’s largest, in Egypt’s Ras Ghareb

The UAE renewable energy firm AMEA Power has successfully commissioned a 500MW wind power plant in Egypt’s Ras Ghareb in the Red Sea governorate, nearly 2.5 months ahead of schedule.

Fires could turn Amazon rainforest into a desert

Fires could turn the Amazon rainforest into a desert as human activity and climate change threaten ‘lungs of the world’, says a study.

BRICS nations formulate first ever joint Climate Crisis policy

The BRICS bloc approved its first coordinated climate finance framework on May 30, marking the group’s first unified policy to fund climate action and setting the foundation for a shared position ahead of the COP30 meeting due to be held in Brazil.

Iraq and Kuwait launch joint project to combat dust storms

Iraq's Ministry of Agriculture has announced a joint project with Kuwait aimed at reducing dust and sand storms that have increased in frequency and intensity over the past two years.

40% of Europe already in a drought before summer gets fully underway

8 hours ago

AMEA Power inaugurates 500MW wind plant, Africa’s largest, in Egypt’s Ras Ghareb

9 hours ago

Fires could turn Amazon rainforest into a desert

13 hours ago

BRICS nations formulate first ever joint Climate Crisis policy

14 hours ago

Iraq and Kuwait launch joint project to combat dust storms

2 days ago

More bneGREEN

Latest Updates

News

Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai set out to end corruption – but it was questions over his own wealth that proved his undoing.

Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, arrived in Beirut on June 3 to meet with the new government.

Hungary’s banking sector delivered a record-breaking year in 2024, with consolidated net profits reaching a record HUF2 trillion (€5bn).

PNL interim president Ilie Bolojan seen as most likely next prime minister.

The election, held six months after Yoon’s controversial move, has attracted immense public interest. By 9 am, over 4mn people - roughly 9.2% of the 44.39mn registered voters - had already cast their votes across more than 14,000 polling stations.

Tech

By betting big on chips, Malaysia is not just investing in factories and engineers, it’s investing in long-term technological sovereignty. As the global race for semiconductors accelerates, Malaysia is proving it intends to play for keeps.

China has stranglehold on rare earths needed for emerging technologies.

Company to build one of Europe's largest space R&D facilities in Sofia, as it grows operations across Europe and the US.

Digital Transformation Minister Damir Habijan says AI will transform Croatia's labour market in the coming years, eliminating millions of existing jobs while creating entirely new ones.

Abdul Latif Jameel and Uber partner to develop autonomous vehicle platform in Saudi Arabia, targeting 30,000 jobs under Vision 2030.

Opinion

While Tesla remains a powerful player in the EV market, its star has dimmed, particularly in China, today the world’s largest EV market and increasingly its most competitive.

Henri J Barkey describes the “flailing of a threatened, insecure, and imperiled man” who is “confronting mounting public fatigue” in Turkey with his presidency.

China, the countries of South-East Asia (ASEAN) and the Arab states (GCC) just held a summit in Kuala Lumpur to forge what could become the world's largest economic bloc, covering everything from free trade agreements to de-dollarisation.

The Philippines is a bit of an oddball in Southeast Asia: a country economically tethered to the United States through deep-rooted historical, political and financial ties, yet it consistently ranks as one of the least democratic nations in Asia.

While New Delhi flexes its military posture to signal resolve both to Beijing and Islamabad, neighbouring microstates like Nepal and Bhutan find themselves compelled to recalibrate their security interests and economic alignments.

Data

Independent economists calculate 74%.

A record number of Russian citizens now want the war to end, according to a new poll by the independent pollster, the Levada Center, the Moscow Times reported on June 3.

Ukraine’s banks continue to show resilience in war-time conditions, posting healthy profits for 2024 and the first four months of 2025 and continuing to reduce their holdings of non-performing loans (NPLs).

Poland's GDP grew by 3.7% year on year in the first quarter of 2025, easing by 0.2pp against the preceding quarter, seasonally adjusted preliminary data released by the statistical office GUS showed on June 2.

Poland's Purchasing Managers' Index dropped sharply to 47.1 in May from 50.2 in April, marking the steepest monthly decline in nearly three years.

Features

Onsen have long been a part of the daily lives of Japanese, and are seen as so integral to the culture as likely to trump any ‘new-fangled’ technological ideas in the eyes of many – younger Japanese included.

A millennial American university graduate and maths buff is likely to become Iran's next economy minister.

Located in the Taipei Basin and bordered by the volcanic Yangmingshan mountain range to the north and Taiwan’s Central Mountain Range to the southeast, Taipei’s geography makes it both scenic and vulnerable.

President also sets out to trash opponent as head of an octopus-like criminal syndicate.

Fast and chaotic urban population growth combined with climate challenges on multiple fronts are putting cities at risk around the world.

Blogs

Student-led demonstrations, once drawing hundreds of thousands to the streets of Belgrade and Novi Sad, have ebbed in recent weeks.

The Bi-Oceanic Railway promises to connect Brazil’s Atlantic coast with Peru’s Pacific port of Chancay. Yet this grand vision remains more geopolitical statement than reality, facing immense logistical, environmental, and political challenges.

It is increasingly absurd – and even dangerous – that Taiwan continues to be excluded from key international organisations such as the WHO, Interpol, ICAO and most prominently, the UN.

The May 25 parliamentary and regional elections delivered Nicolás Maduro a sweeping triumph, but the price was democratic legitimacy itself.

The money the West grants to support Ukraine’s economy and military campaign gets a lot of attention. So far, the West has sent a total of $133bn to Ukraine over the last three years, according to the Ministry of Finance.

bneGREEN

As Europe slides into its third disaster season, 40% of the EU is already officially facing a drought before the hottest months of the year arrive. And this year’s droughts are likely to become even worse than previous heatwaves.

The UAE renewable energy firm AMEA Power has successfully commissioned a 500MW wind power plant in Egypt’s Ras Ghareb in the Red Sea governorate, nearly 2.5 months ahead of schedule.

Fires could turn the Amazon rainforest into a desert as human activity and climate change threaten ‘lungs of the world’, says a study.

The BRICS bloc approved its first coordinated climate finance framework on May 30, marking the group’s first unified policy to fund climate action and setting the foundation for a shared position ahead of the COP30 meeting due to be held in Brazil.

Iraq's Ministry of Agriculture has announced a joint project with Kuwait aimed at reducing dust and sand storms that have increased in frequency and intensity over the past two years.

Follow Us On

Most Read

Podcasts

In this episode of the Emerging Global Podcast, Ruthie Blum, former advisor to the Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netan....

Reports

Cookies on the bne IntelliNews website