Fuel tanker explosion in Jebrin, Syria, kills seven, injures many

UK Foreign Office summons Georgian chargé d’affaires over ruling party crackdown

London officially condemns the Georgian Dream government’s crackdown on civil society, independent media and its political opponents.

Serbia gripped by civil unrest as road blockades continue

Thousands of demonstrators, led by student groups, have blocked key roads and intersections nationwide since June 29.

€220,000 Rolls-Royce owned by Russia-linked mayor of Kaunas hits pedestrian

Visvaldas Matijosaitis, mayor of Kaunas, Lithuania’s second-largest city and one of the country's richest men, struck a pedestrian with his ca €220,000 Rolls-Royce on June 30 at a pedestrian crossing in the city.

SAS orders 45 Embraer jets worth $4bn in largest fleet deal since 1996

Scandinavian airline SAS plans to buy up to 55 E195-E2 aircraft from Brazilian manufacturer Embraer in a deal worth approximately $4bn.

Iran expert warns filtering policies enable espionage VPN proliferation

An Iranian communications expert has warned that the country's internet filtering policies have inadvertently led millions of users to install VPN applications that may serve as espionage tools for foreign intelligence services.

Uzbek venture capital outfit IT Park Ventures enters into strategic partnership with Startup Garage

Companies link up to expand potential in turning bold ideas into smart business.

North Macedonia's streaming platform Gley launches IPO on Skopje stock exchange

Funds raised to be directed toward original content production and expanding Gley’s catalogue of children’s and international programming.

Crypto token launched in Kyrgyzstan by Moldovan oligarch facilitates sanctions-dodging billions for Russia, says report

“A7A5” said to be first stablecoin pegged to ruble. Russian defence sector bank also behind it.

TikTok access reportedly restored in Albania three months after ban

No formal announcement of end to year-long TikTok ban but users across the country report full access to the platform.

COMMENT: Iran new rail link to China played a role in provoking the 12-day war

Iran launched its first-ever direct railway connection to China in May, its first rail link to Asia that does not rely on transshipment through seaports or Russia, significantly improving its national security by avoiding the seaborne exports.

BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Turkey’s tourism minister holidays in Greece

Hold the indignation. Let the poor man explain.

COMMENT: Competing Trans-Afghan transport routes could split Central Asia

Central Asia is bottled up by an unstable Afghanistan. It would dearly love to open a southern corridor that leads to the huge and lucrative markets of Southeast Asia that could transform the economy of the region.

MACRO ADVISORY: Silk Roads for Gen Z and the fate of the Middle Corridor

Sanctions against Russia and the voluntary boycott of Russian ports and transit routes by major global transport and logistic companies, created the need for alternative routes to carry the growing volume of trade between China and Europe.

COMMENT: Why business needs steady captains in crisis

Iran’s business leaders now face a critical juncture. This moment of ceasefire gives us the space to pause, to evaluate, adjust course and prepare for multiple eventualities.

Poland’s NBP cuts by 25bp, more cuts likely

The National Bank of Poland’s (NBP) decision to cut its main policy rate by 25 basis points on July 3, bringing it to 5.00%, caught most analysts off guard. Yet, for those watching closely, the signals were already there.

Hungary meets nearly entire annual financing plan by June

Hungarian Debt Management Agency (AKK) said the 2025 financing plan was fulfilled on a prorated basis in H1, with 96% of the full-year net issuance target completed by end-June.

Czech PMI rises above 50 for the first time in over three years

Czechia’s manufacturing PMI index, compiled monthly by the S&P Global market intelligence company, posted 50.2 in June, returning above the 50-point mark separating growth and decline for the first time in over three years.

Polish manufacturing suffers sharp contraction to 44.8 in June as new orders slump

The Polish manufacturing sector faced its steepest contraction in over two-and-a-half years in June, with a sharp decline in both output and new orders, according to S&P Global's latest Purchasing Managers’ Index survey published in June.

Russian manufacturing contracts in June decline at fastest rate in three years to 47.5

Russia’s manufacturing sector recorded its sharpest downturn in more than three years in June, as weak domestic and international demand triggered renewed declines in new orders and output, S&P Global reported on June 30.

A perfect storm as Israel’s war on Iran pushes the Taliban towards total collapse

The convergence of Israel’s military strikes on Tehran has created a catastrophic domino effect of potential regime collapse in Afghanistan, not Iran.

PANNIER: Strongman Rahmon’s actions towards Tajikistan’s Pamiri people nothing less than a cultural genocide

Yet hardly any outcry is heard from the international community.

INTERVIEW: Can Milei break Argentina's IMF doom loop?

Milei's radical reforms have won over the Fund, but currency controls and election risks cloud the path ahead, according to Professor Diego Crochi from UCA Buenos Aires.

EU eyes new Asian trade alliances to offset US trade war risks

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is pushing for closer ties with Asia as part of a new EU trade strategy to offset the growing trade war risks with the Trump administration and reforming the global trade system.

INTERVIEW: Uzbekistan’s privatisation taking off as Franklin Templeton manages IPOs worth billions of the National Investment Fund in 1H26

Uzbekistan’s government has launched an ambitious privatisation programme aimed at reshaping its economy and capital markets. US fund Franklin Templeton is managing a $1.68bn portfolio of 18 companies in the Uzbekistan National Investment Fund.

CENTRAL ASIA BLOG: Kazakhstan’s uneven transformation

There have been dramatic changes in Kazakhstan over the last decade, with a thriving fintech sector and an embrace of green technologies, but the country is still grappling with familiar political and economic challenges.

CAUCASUS BLOG: Politicians take on Emerging Europe’s powerful churches at their peril


Armenian PM offered to show the head of the church his penis to prove a point in their ongoing row. But past experience shows it’s difficult for politicians to win a church vs state standoff.

BALKAN BLOG: Western Balkans military build-up continues as the world looks elsewhere

As the world’s attention remains focused on the wars in Ukraine and, more recently, the Middle East, several countries in the Western Balkans are ramping up their military capacities.

TEHRAN BLOG: British nationals stranded in Iran criticise London's lack of support

British nationals remaining in Tehran have criticised the UK government for providing no assistance or instructions following Israeli attacks on Iran.

CAUCASUS BLOG: Baku's performance art of multilateralism

A critical look at Azerbaijan's Global South agenda.

Short-term forecast for global offshore wind downgraded, says industry report

The Global Wind Energy Council has downgraded its short-term forecast by 24% for 2025-2029 compared with its prediction last year.

COMMENT: Critical minerals pose new test for global energy security

As the world’s energy system transforms at unprecedented speed, so too must our understanding of energy security. While governments continue to focus on securing supplies of traditional fuels, new critical mineral vulnerabilities are emerging.

Europe swelters in historic heatwave

Record-breaking temperatures for the time of year are likely to occur across a large part of western Europe in the coming days as a historically unprecedented heatwave intensifies.

East Asia’s regional embrace of nuclear power sees Taiwan sitting alone in the corner

In a baffling turn, Taiwan, long a technological and economic powerhouse, has allowed populist politics to sideline science and logic.

East Asia’s petrochemical industry: stuck between tradition and transition

As the global economy begins its gradual but determined pivot towards decarbonisation and renewable energy, East Asia's petrochemical giants now find themselves straddling two competing imperatives – legacy industries and a low-carbon future.