NEO: Why pick-up points for online orders are gaining popularity vs. home delivery
First sighting of Belarusian jailed opposition leader Viktor Babariko in two years
Russia, Belarus make first cross-border digital financial asset transactions
Belarus tests new BUK missile system as a low-key arms race in Eastern Europe gathers momentum
Love in the Baltics in a time of war
UPDATED: Iran, Russia sign long-awaited strategic partnership deal
VTB aims to open first Russian bank in Iran by end of 2025
Iranian president begins Russia visit with wreath-laying ceremony
Zelenskiy seeking security guarantees from European leaders with little luck
CAR mercenary becomes first African to die in Ukraine conflict
What does Ukraine have to offer the deal-loving Trump? $11 trillion worth of strategically important minerals to start with.
British PM Starmer signs '100-year partnership' with Ukraine in Kyiv
Emerging Europe split between eager anticipation and wary acceptance ahead of Trump inauguration
airBaltic CEO and IPO under pressure after flight cancellations
COMMENT: The EU’s Green Deal is a “policy disaster”
Spike in Czech beer exports to Russia highlights cracks in Moscow-bound trade and businesses
Czechia wraps up work on pipeline expansion to end reliance on Russian oil
Czech industry falls by 2.7% y/y in November in another disappointing performance
Analysts ponder why Viktor Orban is skipping Donald Trump’s inauguration
China's Xinzhi creates 900 jobs with €120mn investment in Hungary
Hungary's industry mired in recession in November as October bounce proves one-off
Polish central bank NBP turns up hawkish message as it holds rates at 5.75% again
Polish President Duda says Ukraine should join Nato as soon as possible
Polish current account down slightly in November to 0.2% of GDP on German weakness
Slovakia’s populist PM Fico faces no-confidence motion
Slovakia’s Fico steps up anti-Ukraine rhetoric over gas cut-off
Absent Slovak premier traced to luxury hotel in Vietnam
The EU Council calls for a European geothermal action plan
FDI in Emerging Europe hit by geopolitical uncertainty and German slowdown
Albania, Italy and UAE to build €1bn Adriatic subsea cable
BALKAN BLOG: Trump’s annexation remarks risk reigniting Balkan border disputes
Italy eyes restart of Albania migrant processing scheme despite legal hurdles
EBRD delivers 26% expansion in investments in 2024, commits record €16.6bn across economies
BALKAN BLOG: Mass shootings become a powerful impetus for protest in the Western Balkans
Bulgaria’s new cabinet slammed as ‘Frankenstein’s monster’ by opponents
Inspired by Trump, Bulgarian far-right leader wants to annex North Macedonia and parts of Ukraine
Croatian deputy PM resigns after video shows him firing pistol from car
Dispute with Croatia over Jadran training ship could block Montenegro’s EU entry
Koncar fuels record surge on Zagreb Stock Exchange
Kosovo shuts down Serbian parallel institutions, escalating tensions with Belgrade ahead of elections
Nato chief warns of destabilisation risk around Kosovo's February general election
Leader of Moldova’s separatist Transnistria flies to Moscow to settle energy crisis
Russian presidential adviser warns Moldova may “cease to exist”
BALKAN BLOG: Giving free energy to Transnistria could thwart Russia’s plans for Moldova
Thousands of Montenegrins demand resignation of ministers after Cetinje shooting
North Macedonia's central bank lowers key interest rate by 0.25 pp to 5.55%
Poll reveals dominance of far-right presidential candidates in Romania
Wages in Romania complete two-year growth cycle, but the outlook deteriorates
Car rams into protest in Belgrade, injuring female student
Serbia mulls referendum on its president
Syria says staging grounds for attacks on Turkey will be thing of the past
Number of Turkish energy M&As edges up to 30 in 2024
ISTANBUL BLOG: “Dog bites man” story as Erdogan arrests more mayors, but there’s more here than meets the eye
Turkey's Erdogan threatens to "cut off heads" of terrorist groups in Syria
PANNIER: Tajikistan, Taliban tone down the hostile rhetoric
Central Asia emerges as new e-commerce hub
Growing Islamic finance in Central Asia to unlock GCC investment
CSTO states express serious concern over terrorist threat in Afghanistan
COMMENT: Armenia makes a strategic turn from Russia towards the West
Armenian prime minister discusses EU membership plans with European Council president
OUTLOOK: Caucasus 2025
Armenia approves EU membership bid further straining ties with Russia
Gas exports to Europe to boost Azerbaijan's growth over next decade
Azerbaijan’s Aliyev sees potential alignment with Trump, criticises Biden administration
Thousands of Georgians walk out of work in three-hour "warning" strike
Georgians still resisting: the view from Rustaveli
Georgian Dream MPs attack Georgian citizen in Abu Dhabi restaurant
Kazakh services conclude 2024 with marginal drop in activity, PMI shows
OUTLOOK: Kazakhstan 2025
Central Asian leaders look to expand mutual trade
China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway officially launched, but sidetracked at least until summer
Angry Mongolians take to streets in public backlash over taxes and smog
Mongolia revives traditional "Ghengis Khan" script bichig
Smog back with a vengeance in Ulaanbaatar
Iran, Tajikistan sign 23 cooperation agreements in landmark visit
A tale of two Tajikistans: the macro and micro realities
PANNIER: Why the Turkmenistan, Iran gas “friendship” is back on
Uzbekistan privatises HUMO, Paynet succeeds with $65mn bid
Russia’s war machine fed by free-flowing exports of Uzbek “guncotton” pulp, say reports
Sanctioned Russian cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean after explosion
Russia's budget oil breakeven price world’s second lowest as oil revenues recover
Southeast European countries look to Algeria to diversify energy supplies
Slovenia turns back to Algerian gas after flirtation with Russian supplies
IEA: Access to energy improving worldwide, driven by renewables
The hurricane season in 2024 was weird
Global warming will increase crop yields in Global North, but reduce them in Global South
Hundreds of millions on verge of starvation, billions more undernourished as Climate Crisis droughts take their toll
Global access to energy starts to fall for the first time in a decade, says IEA
Saudi Arabia hosts kingdom's first Africa summit, to boost ties, promote stability
Putin at 2023 Africa-Russia summit: Wiping debts, donating grain and boosting co-operation
Botswana throws the diamond industry a lifeline
Nelson Mandela worried about natural diamonds, Leonardo di Caprio defended them, makers of lab-grown stones demonise them
Botswana’s 2,492-carat diamond discovery is golden opportunity to replicate legendary Jonker diamond's global legacy
Kamikaze marketing: how the natural diamond industry could have reacted to the lab-grown threat
Russia’s Rosatom to support nuclear projects across Africa at AEW2024
JPMorgan, Chase and HSBC reportedly unwittingly processed payments for Wagner warlord Prigozhin
Burkina Faso the latest African country to enter nuclear power plant construction talks with Russia
IMF: China’s slowdown will hit sub-Saharan growth
Moscow unlikely to give up Niger toehold as threat of ECOWAS military action looms
Overcoming insecurity to unlock the Central African Republic’s mineral riches
Rain, rain go away
Africa, Asia most people living in extreme poverty
10 African countries to experience world’s fastest population growth to 2100
EM winners and losers from the global green transformation
Russia seeks to expand its nuclear energy dominance with new international projects
EBRD warns of risks for emerging markets pursuing industrial policies
Russia blocks UN Security Council resolution on Sudan humanitarian crisis
G20 summit wraps up with a joint statement strong on sentiment, but short on specifics
SDS storms fed by sand and dust equal in weight to 350 Great Pyramids of Giza, says UNCCD
Southern Africa has 'enormous' potential for green hydrogen production, study finds
Malaysia seeks BRICS membership
Kazakhstan has no plans to join BRICS, says Astana
Sri Lanka to apply for BRICS membership
From oil to minerals: Gabon’s ambitious mining transition
How France is losing Africa
Guinea grants final approvals to Rio Tinto for $11.6bn Simandou iron-ore project
Kenya’s untapped mineral wealth holds the promise of economic transformation
US adds 17 Liberian-flagged bulk carriers and oil tankers to Russian sanctions-busting blacklist
Panama and Liberia vying for largest maritime registry
Force majeure at Libya’s Zawiya Refinery threatens exports and oil expansion plans
Russia, facing loss of Syrian base for Africa operations, seen turning to war-torn Sudan or divided Libya
Libya’s mineral riches: unlocking a future beyond oil
Russia funding war in Ukraine via illegal gold mining in Africa – WGC report
Ukraine claims it was behind massacre of Wagner Group mercenaries in Mali
Can Morocco's phosphate wealth put it at the centre of the global battery supply chain?
Hajj aftermath: deaths, disappearances and detentions spark investigations across world
Sri Lanka's LTL Holdings targets African power sector
Russia's nuclear diplomacy binding emerging markets to the Kremlin
Can Niger's military junta seize the country's uranium opportunity?
Disaster season: heat waves sweep the world – in charts and maps
AI will be a major source of GHGs by 2030, says Morgan Stanley
Niger and beyond: Francophone credit delivers coup de grâce
EBRD 2023: Bank to expand into the whole of Africa plus Iraq
Global coal trade approaches its peak
The world has passed peak per capital CO₂ emissions, but overall emissions are still rising
Trump threatens BRICS with tariffs if they dump the dollar
SITREP: Middle East rapidly destabilised by a week of missile strikes
Colombian mercenaries trapped in Sudan’s conflict
Air France diverts Red Sea flights after crew spots 'luminous object'
COMMENT: Tunisia on the brink of collapse
Tunisian President Kais Saied re-elected for second term
WHO declares "global public health emergency" owing to mpox outbreak in Central Africa, new virus strain
Climate crisis-driven global food security deteriorated between 2019 and 2022 and is even affecting the US
Cost of repairing Syria’s power infrastructure put at $40bn by electricity minister
Indian banks' profitability to moderate in FY26
Former chief of the Bank of Japan sees more rate hikes on the horizon
Is China ready for Trump’s tariff threats?
Google enters India’s carbon removal market with biochar deal with Varaha
Renewables Down Under, and under the Long White Cloud
CHN Energy connects Rudong Solar Hydrogen-Storage project to the grid in China
Microsoft to invest $3bn in India
International highway tears through Bosnia’s rural heartlands
Japan’s ramen shops face crisis as rising costs push more to bankruptcy
Seoul-listed DoubleU acquires 60% stake in Turkey’s Paxie Games for $27mn
Singapore’s PacificLight Power embarks on $735mn hydrogen power plant project
India's Competition Commission approves major steel industry acquisition
Trump vows to block Nippon Steel's $14bn bid for US Steel
HESS: Mongolia’s unique success story between rock and a hard place at risk
Mongolia copper-gold discovery hailed for “globally significant” prospects
Starlink satellite internet has more than 30,000 users in Iran
Russia sells stakes in Kazakhstan uranium JVs to China
COMMENT: Gulf states court Russia but stop short of strategic shift
Bahrain's security chief meets Syrian commander amid diplomatic push
Bahrain and Iran to begin talks on normalising relations
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait set to offer Russians visa-free entry
Iraq's London moment marks its post-Saddam era's coming of age
Iraq, BP to sign major Kirkuk fields deal worth over $27bn
UK crime agency helps Iraqi forces arrest three Kurds over people smuggling
Israeli military seizes large weapons cache in Syrian territory
Israel and Hamas reach agreement on hostage deal, Trump confirms
Israel and Hamas near hostage deal as mediators report breakthrough
Damascus International Airport resumes operations
Turkey, Syria tandem could mean piped Qatari gas for Europe and a supercharged Middle East clean energy transition
Qatar-Turkey-Europe gas pipeline ambition could be back on following fall of Assad
As jubilant Syrian refugees in Turkey celebrate Assad downfall, analysts wonder what comes next in power vacuum
Syrian foreign ministry urges Kuwait to reopen embassy in Damascus
Kuwait greenlights tax deal with Iraq to prevent double taxation
Iran demands 'equal footing' with Kuwaiti and Saudi plans to drill for gas in Gulf
French president in Lebanon to meet the country's new leaders
ICJ's Nawaf Salam appointed as Lebanon's new Prime Minister
Lebanon faces a new phase: will Hezbollah surrender its weapons to the state?
Lebanon ends two-year void with military chief Aoun as president
US winds down Guantanamo Bay with removal of Yemenis to Oman
So you want to get on the right side of Donald Trump? Try gift-wrapping a hotel
ANALYSIS: Regional escalation on the table following Israeli strike on Iran
Biden imposes chip export controls on Israel in final days
Syria seeks Qatar support in rebuilding effort as ministers meet in Doha
Qatar joins regional powers in Damascus diplomatic outreach
Yemen launches missile at Israeli base amid US-UK airstrikes escalation
Iran's former foreign minister proposes new MWADA regional security framework
Germany ignored multiple warnings by Saudi Arabia before Magdeburg attack
Dubai's Damac plans $20bn US data centre investment
Israel launches biggest strike in Yemen, killing 40 people
Argentina announces ambitious nuclear programme linked to AI development
Latin America set for tepid growth as Trump tariff threat looms, ECLAC says
Latin America urged to boost tax take and private investment to close development gap
IMF: Breaking Latin America’s cycle of low growth and violence
COMMENT: Trump’s White House picks signal rocky start with Latin America
Latin America trapped in low growth cycle, ECLAC warns
Bolivian President Arce declares "coca is not cocaine" as country expands coca industry
Bolivia's lithium deals with Russia, China raise sovereignty concerns as state bears heavy risks
Bolivian ex-president Evo Morales faces formal charges of human trafficking
Brazil court blocks Bolsonaro from attending Trump inauguration over flight risk fears
Geothermal energy poised for major global expansion, says IEA chief Fatih Birol
Iranian influx to Venezuela via Colombia triggers regional security fears
Cuba prisoner release after terror delisting marks last-gasp reset in US ties before Trump return
Brutal gang violence over failed voodoo spell claims nearly 200 lives in Haiti's capital
Amazon Web Services to invest $5bn in Mexico digital hub push
Mexico unveils curbs on Chinese imports in overture to Trump
Russian exiles flee war and persecution, seeking refuge in Mexico
Mexico's new leader enjoys strong public backing despite security woes
Panama rejects Trump's military threats over canal control
Paraguay stands firm with Taiwan amid growing Chinese pressure
Peruvian president's secret plastic surgery ignites scandal
Murder exposes secret prostitution ring in Peruvian Congress
BRICS bank chief touts Uruguay membership in Montevideo talks
Italian aid worker held without charge in Venezuela for two months
Venezuela’s Maduro sworn in for third term as international criticism mounts
Venezuelan opposition leader Machado released after brief detention
Bangladesh’s BNP urges interim government to expedite elections
Bangladesh revokes former Prime Minister Hasina’s passport
Bangladesh explores tank purchase from Turkey as India receives request for Hasina’s extradition
Controversial 10-GW hydropower project in Tibet greenlit by Beijing
China's coast guard deployment raises tensions in South China Sea, Philippines protests
Balancing growth and sustainability: Southeast Asia’s energy dilemma
US imposes preliminary duties on Southeast Asian solar imports
Angkor Archaeological Park attracts nearly 700,000 foreign tourists in nine months
Japan establishes diplomatic mission to NATO as ties to Russia, China deteriorate
China signals willingness for dialogue with US as Beijing accepts invite to attend Trump’s inauguration
Trump to give thumbs up on expedited arms supply to Taiwan
Peru's APEC summit exposes trade tug-of-war between Beijing and Washington
Rising gold ETF inflows set to drive global bullion prices
Russian exports of diamonds to Hong Kong up 18-fold in 5M24
Gazli Gas responds to reports on Uzbekistan project, refutes any suggestion sanctioned individuals are involved
Trump Tantrum impact on the Indian rupee expected to be temporary
Navigating the four year long India-China border standoff
Russia backs Vietnam's bid to join BRICS
Indonesia joins BRICS despite concerns over potential Trump threats
Japan moves to compensate victims of forced sterilisation
North Korea issues warning in response to air drills with B-1B bombers
BCPG to invest $945mn in power projects, prioritising clean energy
Hundreds of children killed or injured in Myanmar in 2024: UNICEF
Myanmar junta to allow observers for controversial 2025 election amid ongoing conflict
Over 120 dead as powerful tremor hits Tibet
Nepal floods - death toll rises to 209
Kolkata hospital rape and murder case sparks international outcry, raises questions
South Asia hit by floods and landslides after heavy rainfall
North Korea escalates tensions with ballistic missile launch ahead of Trump's inauguration
Prosecution, overthrow or death – how most South Korean presidents have met their political end
North Korea claims breakthrough with new hypersonic missile test
Russia’s arms exports slump, Kremlin preparing for possible war with Nato
Security personnel dead as Imran Khan’s supporters breach Islamabad lockdown
Pakistan could quit TAPI as India now “extremely lukewarm” on gas pipeline project, says report
Papua New Guinea tribal conflict leaves 30 dead amid gold mine dispute
Extreme weather surges in 2024
ING: India is likely to remain the region's fastest growing country in 2025
Kamala Harris to visit Singapore, Bahrain and Germany on final vice-presidential overseas trip
South Korea’s central bank freezes rates amid weakened economy and political turmoil
Korean president cites health concerns in bid to avoid further questioning
Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports in October up 18.22%
Taiwan's first execution in five years sparks human rights backlash
A surge in influenza cases, rare COVID symptom hit Taiwan as Lunar New Year approaches
BRICS expands membership, adding Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand
German Prosecutors Confirm Termination of Money Laundering Investigation Against Alisher Usmanov
Comments by President of the Russian Fertilizers Producers Association Andrey Guryev on bilateral meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin
PhosAgro/UNESCO/IUPAC green chemistry research grants awarded for the 8th time to world's best young scientists
PhosAgro Tops RAEX ESG Ranking
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Serbia’s finance ministry said on April 28 it agreed a new guarantee scheme with the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which foresees the DFC to provide $400mn as guarantees for Serbian banks to approve loans to local companies.
The guarantee scheme arrangement is part of the Washington agreement signed by Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic and former US president Donald Trump in September 2020.
Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said in the statement that the official signing of the agreement on the new guarantee scheme, as well as the completion of the DFC agreement with the banks in Serbia, is expected soon.
“We managed to conclude a final agreement with the DFC on the first $400mn for the Serbian economy. Last week, two new guarantee schemes of additional €1bn were adopted in addition to the existing guarantee schemes, which Serbia will use in cooperation with the banks to mitigate the negative consequences of the pandemic,” Mali said in the statement.
Following the signing, the money will be available as loans to local companies for liquidity, innovation and investment.
Serbia is the first country in the region, and among the first in the world, to conclude such an agreement with DFC.
Azerbaijan’s banking sector demonstrated strong performance in 2024, with substantial growth in loans, assets and deposits across leading financial institutions. While most banks saw profitability ... more
With an end-of-the-year campaign of placing massive volumes of floating-coupon bonds at high interest, ... more
Iranian banks faced massive queues and public frustration on December 17 as widespread branch closures due to gas shortages entered their second week, causing significant disruption to business ... more
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