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News

India is in continuing talks with Iran and the US over the future of Chabahar port, with the expiry of a sanctions waiver and the regional conflict adding complexity.

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.

An 89-year-old man opened fire at an EFKA social security office in Athens on April 28, wounding an employee, before travelling by taxi to the Athens Court of Appeals where he shot four more people.

Iran's deputy parliament speaker Ali Nikzad has warned of possible further US military action but argued direct confrontation, economic siege, proxy warfare and media pressure would all backfire on Washington given Iran's deterrent capability.

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.

Tech

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 two largest online marketplaces, Wildberries and Ozon, will reach a combined 77% market share by end-2026, but their year-on-year growth has slowed sharply as consumers cut non-food spending and sellers exit the platforms.

Iran's nationwide internet blackout has run since February 28 and remains largely in place after the April 7 ceasefire, with global access available only via a paid "Pro" tier.

Kuwait is accelerating the rollout of its Government Cyber Shield, offering 24/7 monitoring and free penetration testing to all ministries, as Iran-linked hacking groups including Handala step up cyberattacks on Gulf infrastructure during the war.

UK Biobank de-identified participant data was listed for sale on Alibaba-owned Chinese consumer website by three academic institutions in breach of contract.

Opinion

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 deepening entanglement in the crisis around Iran is delivering short-term geopolitical dividends, but at a potentially high strategic cost.

Granted candidate status in 2005, North Macedonia was once considered a frontrunner among Western Balkan aspirants. However, a series of bilateral disputes has repeatedly derailed its progress.

Expectations that Budapest will pivot sharply away from Russia and back a more assertive European Union policy on Ukraine post-election may prove misplaced, says commentary by Carnegie Politika.

Armenia's fragmented, pro-Russia opposition appears ill-equipped to convert discontent with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan into progress in the polls, says Carnegie Politika comment.

Data

Poland’s population is projected to decline to 25.6mn by 2100, the third-largest drop in the European Union, with only Lithuania and Latvia expected to record steeper declines.

The record-breaking performance masks a deepening fracture in the Korean financial landscape: while parent groups are thriving, core banking units are hitting a wall.

Corporate market reaches record size of UZS 5.28 trillion ($437mn).

The outlook revision reflects uncertainty over CPC’s ability to restore interest coverage above 4.0x, amid higher oil prices and limited cost pass-through.

South Korea’s economy rebounded sharply in the first quarter, driven by strong semiconductor demand, though policymakers are warning that a global energy shock is likely to weigh on activity in the months ahead.

Features

Gulf crude oil production could recover to close to pre-war levels within a few months of the Strait of Hormuz safely reopening, according to Goldman Sachs.

Saudi Arabia has launched its most intensive diplomatic engagement with Lebanon in years, deploying a royal envoy to Beirut, coordinating with Washington on ceasefire terms and invoking a 35-year-old Saudi-brokered accord as the political framework.

Military expenditure the Asia-Pacific region increased sharply in the last year, reaching a total of $681bn - an increase of 8.1% year on year and the largest annual expansion in military spending since 2009

The investigation has moved into what is being called the "forensic truth" phase. This follows a year of legal stalemate where a previous impeachment attempt was blocked by a Supreme Court ruling on the "one-year bar" rule.

By contrast, China operates over 60 submarines, including at least 12 nuclear-powered vessels and by 2035 half of Beijing’s projected fleet of around 80 attack submarines could be nuclear-powered.

Blogs

Phew. That was an effort. EU leaders met in Brussels yesterday and signed off on releasing the €90bn loan for Ukraine that will keep it in the fight with Russia for another two years. They also passed the twentieth sanctions package on Russia,

Rumours have swirled for months that Kazakhstan’s president wants to succeed Antonio Guterres. An appearance at an event in Turkey did his chances no harm at all.

Party leader Ozgur Ozel has so far proven so ineffective that president Erdogan finds him entirely tolerable outside of a prison cell.

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.

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.

bneGREEN

With investments into renewables accelerating, the region faces a widening gap between labour market needs and available skills.

47 civil society organisations call on Western Balkan governments to abandon plans for new gas infrastructure, warning the region risks becoming locked into costly fossil fuel dependence.

Greater regional coordination seen as key to solving conundrum.

The UAE has launched a National Initiative for the Adoption of Climate-Smart Crops, targeting millet, sorghum and salinity-tolerant feed grass to cut import reliance and build drought-resilient food production under the 2051 food security strategy.

Regional authorities across South Korea are currently engaged in a high-stakes struggle to secure the nation's debut small modular reactor installation, lured by the promise of vast financial dividends.

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