By Stephen M. Bland Uzbekistan is on track to be one of the five fastest-growing economies in the broader Europe and Central Asia region next year, according to the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, Fall 2025. The report projects Uzbekistan’s gross domestic product will expand by about 6.2% in 2025 – well […]
Read MorePakistan said on Wednesday it agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire with Afghanistan following days of violence that have killed dozens of people on both sides of the border. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the ceasefire was at Afghanistan’s request. Moments later, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the truce was at “the insistence” of […]
Read MoreFormer South Korean first couple Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Keon-hee requested special treatment for their pets from South Korea’s embassy in Paris during their visits to France in 2023, an opposition lawmaker has revealed. The couple “planned to bring their dogs on two visits to France in 2023 and asked the embassy to prepare protocol […]
Read MoreBy Resty Woro Yuniar Indonesia’s plan to join the Brics-led New Development Bank (NDB) and fulfil a payment requirement for membership has spurred a debate on whether the move is feasible given the country’s strained finances to fund President Prabowo Subianto’s priority projects. Earlier this year, Prabowo announced that Indonesia was planning to join the […]
Read MoreMalaysia will hold talks with the US secretary of commerce on sectoral tariffs, including on semiconductors, during a meeting of the ASEAN regional bloc next week, Malaysian state media reported on Wednesday, citing the trade minister. President Donald Trump’s administration in August imposed a tariff of 19% on Malaysian exports to the United States, though […]
Read MoreThe International Monetary Fund edged up its 2025 global growth forecast on Tuesday as tariff shocks and financial conditions have proven more benign than expected, but warned that a renewed US-China trade war threatened by President Donald Trump could slow output significantly. The IMF said in its World Economic Outlook that recent trade deals between […]
Read MoreShock and disbelief spread in Washington DC’s policy circles on Tuesday as the US government accused foreign policy expert Ashley Tellis of unlawfully holding classified national security documents. Law enforcement authorities stated that Tellis, who has been arrested by law enforcement agencies, repeatedly met Chinese officials over the last four years and could face a […]
Read MoreThe elite Central Committee of China’s ruling Communist Party will hold a closed-door meeting from Monday to Thursday to discuss, among other things, the country’s 15th five-year development plan. The meeting, known as a plenum, is the fourth since the 2022 Party Congress. Here is what it all means: WHAT’S A PLENUM? The Central Committee […]
Read MoreMore than 12 civilians were killed in Afghanistan as fresh fighting broke out between Afghan and Pakistani forces on Wednesday, the Taliban said, rupturing a fragile peace that had briefly taken hold after weekend clashes between the countries killed dozens. Once allies, the recent friction between the South Asian nations erupted after Islamabad demanded that […]
Read MoreUnited Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said today the initiation of proceedings against those accused of carrying out enforced disappearances and torture under the previous government in Bangladesh was an important step towards accountability. “This marks the first time that formal charges have been brought for enforced disappearances in the country. It is a […]
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