Opinion
COMMENT: In recognising Taliban, Moscow had one eye on rise in Afghanistan of terrorist ISIS-K
Concerns that the jihadist group is operating near borders with Central Asia “helped shift Russia’s strategic calculus”.
COMMENT: Trump’s Brazil tariffs are a dangerous assault on judicial sovereignty
Trump draws a line in the sand: 50% tariffs on Brazil unless it drops charges against Bolsonaro. The ultimatum sets up a high-stakes test of sovereignty between the hemisphere's top economies, with Brazil vowing to fight back.
BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Make no mistake. What we have here is an Erdogan, PKK coalition
As usual, Turkey’s wily leader is running circles around the media monkeys.
COMMENT: Trump at his most pro-Ukraine yet, but still no sanctions action
US President Donald Trump made his most pro-Ukraine, anti-Russia comments on his presidency to date this week, but he has yet to impose any new sanctions on Russia whatsoever, or follow through on his promises to restart weapons deliveries to Kyiv.
COMMENT: How close to a crisis is Russia's banking sector?
The Russian banking sector, once buoyed by record profits and wartime stimulus, is now showing growing signs of financial strain, leading some to ask if a crisis is looming?
ING: National Bank of Poland press conference, hawkish start to dovish end
President of the National Bank of Poland says latest rate cut is an adjustment, not the beginning of a cycle of cuts.
COMMENT: Iran's 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.
Belarus bargains for relevance, and Washington plays along
In a surprising turn of diplomacy, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg, met with Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on June 21,and 14 political prisoners were subsequently set free from Belarussian prison.
COMMENT: The long road to a BRICS-led world order hits familiar obstacles
Brazil's upcoming BRICS summit exposes the bloc's growing pains as 21 members wrestle with deep divisions. The group's ambitious challenge to US financial dominance hits reality as internal disagreements threaten its push for global clout.
MACRO ADVISORY: Uzbekistan is in need of another gear
Uzbekistan has recorded remarkable growth over the past six years. GDP doubled, average incomes have risen three-fold. The president wants to double the economy again, but to do that, it needs to go up another gear: privatisation needs to accelerate.
COMMENT: Black Sea becomes central to Europe’s evolving security order
As the war in Ukraine grinds on, the Black Sea is emerging as the key theatre in Europe’s long-term security contest with Russia, according to political analyst Dimitar Bechev of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Remember that fellow Imamoglu?
As the world moves on to other matters, the operation that aims to keep the main political threat to Turkey’s Erdogan behind bars is still going strong.
COMMENT: Georgia goes from sanctions-dodging transit country to Russia’s oil export backdoor into Europe
Georgia has long been suspected of being a major transit country for European sanctioned goods travelling to Russia, but now it appears the trade is flowing in the other direction: Georgia has become a major backdoor into the EU for Russian oil.
COMMENT: weighing up the economic cost of the Israel-Iran war
“The longer and more intense the conflict becomes, the greater the economic cost,” said James Swanston, a Middle East and North Africa economist with Capital Economics, in a note.
Central Asia has become “like a girl whose house is full of suitors”, analyst says
Powers including China, Russia, the US and the EU “all promise something to the bride” in scramble for resources such as critical minerals.
COMMENT: Four scenarios of how the Israel-Iran conflict might play out from Capital Economics
As the conflict between Israel and Iran continues to unfold, the geopolitical uncertainty has prompted wide-ranging assessments of how it might play out. Analysts at Capital Economics have outlined four plausible scenarios.