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Economy & Business
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Back to the 1970s: Flared trousers and tank tops. Is this the result of Trump’s tariff tantrums?
There are somewhere some dreadful photographs of this author wearing what we all once thought were the height of fashion and style. Generally, that...
Economy & Business
Doom, gloom or boom?
While it is an almost painful daily task to ascertain where the Trump administration is positioned on the question of tariff policy, and traders...
Sanctions and related policies
Ahead of nuclear talks, Trump administration orders new sanctions on Iran’s shadow fleet and Chinese refiners
Washington’s sanctions campaign of “maximum pressure on Iran” is intensifying, despite the start of initial discussions between the U.S. and Iran over nuclear issues...
Interviews
Romania utilizing all available resources to boost its energy independence
Romania is using all energy resources available, including natural gas as the country advances rapidly with Neptun Deep gas project and new wind and...
Democracy & Human Rights
U.S. sanctions officials for undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy
The United States has imposed new sanctions on six Hong Kong and Chinese officials to punish China for the ongoing crackdown on democracy advocates...
Europe & Eurasia
Kallas reiterates close cooperation ahead of EU-Central Asia summit
Ahead of the first summit between the leaders of the European Union and the five countries of Central Asia in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on April...
Germany
Germany removes key debt brake budget limits in historic move
Rushing to arrive at a workable arrangement before the new post-election German parliament convened on March 25, Friedrich Merz’s victorious CDU/CSU bloc and the...
Oil & Gas
Apollo Funds to partner with BP on TANAP gas pipeline from Azerbaijan to Turkey
British energy company BP said on March 21 it has reached agreements for Apollo-managed funds to purchase a 25 percent non-controlling stake in BP...
Sanctions and related policies
Ignoring Russia, latest Trump administration Iran sanctions increase pressure on an old enemy
On March 13, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned (“designated” in OFAC language) Iran’s Minister of Petroleum, Mohsen...
Kazakhstan
EU signs critical raw materials, energy and infrastructure deals with Kazakhstan
As part of the visit of EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela to Astana, the European Union and Kazakhstan signed on March 13...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Weaning Europe off its Russian gas addiction
The Viking hero Ragnar Lodbrok once said “don't waste your time looking back. You're not going that way.” The words of the former king...
Sanctions and related policies
Swedish Foxtrot criminal network in Washington’s sanctions crosshairs
The U.S. Treasury is targeting the “Foxtrot Network,” which is one of the most notorious criminal gangs based in Sweden and has conducted shootings,...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Regional Water Forum in Brussels seeks sustainable solutions in the Turkic region
The Regional Water Forum - Brussels 2025, organized by the Drought Prevention Institute (DPI) of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) and the Hungarian...
Kazakhstan
EU-Kazakhstan boost cooperation in energy, raw materials, transport, sustainability
The European Union and Kazakhstan have discussed at a meeting in Brussels the successful implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Central Asian...
Yemen
Washington targets Houthi leaders for terrorism, Russia ties and weapons procurement
Under U.S. President Donald Trump, there is no ambivalence in Washington regarding the Houthis. Handling all of the statutory requirements required to press the...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Tashkent’s busy diplomatic agenda
In the coming months, Uzbekistan will host high-profile summits between Central Asia with the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council. As global geopolitics...
Germany
Despite slippage, Germany’s political center appears to hold
Germany’s February 23 parliamentary elections played out largely along predicted lines, with the main question on election day being how many parties would reach...
Invasion of Ukraine
EU leaders in Kyiv back Ukraine, but Trump won’t blame Russia
On the three-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European leaders travelled to Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and to declare their...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
A Code of Conduct for the HR Outsourcing sector
The quote - often attributed to Deng Xiaoping - runs that when you open a window you let in fresh air, but you also...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Tajikistan: The Battle for Middle Earth’s Resources
Tajikistan is a small land-locked country tucked away in southeast Central Asia. Its capital, Dushanbe, is almost equally distant, at approximately 4,500 kilometers, from...
Critical Infrastructure
Nord Stream: Still searching for pipe dreams
The unexpected and seemingly uncoordinated start of preliminary "peace negotiations" between the U.S., Russia, (and potentially Ukraine) has fuelled speculation about the future of...
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan accelerates digital transformation with new visa options
Upgrading its visa regime for skilled foreign workers and potential investors to world-class standards to support the Central Asia country’s economic development and digital...
Trade
T is for tariffs
If the quick freeze and attempted shut down of American foreign assistance through USAID was not enough, on February 10 U.S. President Donald Trump...
Artificial Intelligence - AI
EU officially implements landmark AI law
The EU officially implemented its new landmark AI law on February 2, aiming to ensure safety and ethical use of Artificial Intelligence. The European...
Sanctions and related policies
Trump administration unleashes first sanctions on Iranian shadow fleet
On February 6, the Department of the Treasury unleashed the first wave of the new Trump administration’s economic sanctions using the tried-and-true U.S. Government/Treasury...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Tariff Trouble in Trump Town
President Trump has had many a cartoon about him as a child throwing toys and anything to hand out of the playpen. Now, of...
Economy & Business
Global reaction to Trump tariffs only reinforces his use of this tired and risky strategy
True to form, U.S. President Donald Trump disrupted global markets with a three-day surge of tariff announcements, border security negotiations and ultimately a 30-day...
USA
Donald Trump is inaugurated amidst promises of security, stability and prosperity
After storming a frigid Washington D.C. during his extended inauguration festivities on January 20, Donald J Trump, America’s 47th and 45th President, launched a...
Russia Sanctions
The Biden administration’s parting gift to Russia: Still more sanctions
Clearly working overtime to underscore the Biden administration’s desire to inflict maximum economic pain on Moscow and its coterie of Ukraine invasion supporters outside...
Critical Infrastructure
Undeclared “open season” on energy infrastructure in Europe
Russia is claiming it has shot down nine Ukrainian drones that tried to attack the TurkStream pipeline, which carries Russian gas to Europe through...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Insights from the recent UN-Turkmenistan Dialogue on the International Year of Peace and Trust
The modern world stands at a crossroads, facing unprecedented challenges that range from political conflicts to environmental crises. At the heart of these issues...
Electoral Procedures and Fraud
Righteous indignation over Maduro’s inauguration unlikely to change Venezuela’s dark reality
President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela was sworn in on January 10 for his third six-year term. Promising that his third term would be one...
Russia Sanctions
Stringent new energy sector sanctions on Russia announced
On January 10, the U.S. Government released a massive new listing of over 200 entities and individuals involved in Russia’s energy sector for Ukraine-related...
Kazakhstan
Tokayev: Kazakhstan strengthens foreign policy, economic potential
Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said his primary goal is to strengthen the economic potential, sovereignty, and international standing of his Central Asian country. Since...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Stock Market or Not Market
So, what is a market? Obviously, it is somewhere where you can buy and sell “stuff.” In a successful economy having a market to...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Transforming Central Asia from a frontier market to a stable investment
Central Asia is considered a frontier market. However, at least two of the five countries that constitute this region, namely Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, are...
Critical Infrastructure
NATO and EU strengthen Baltic Sea infrastructure protection after Estlink2 undersea power cable damaged
The damage of an undersea power cable off the coast of Finland in the Baltic Sea is the latest in a series of suspected...
Columns
EU searches for alternatives before Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine stops
The Ukrainian government has repeatedly stated that it will not extend a transit agreement, which has provided political, commercial, technical and legal grounds for...
Zero Tolerance
Is there any hope for a democratic and peaceful Syria?
Most observers will argue that a democratic and peaceful Syria is just a pipedream, but at least in the first weeks since Bashar-al-Assad’s rushed...
EU Institutions
Bulgaria and Romania become full Schengen area countries
As from January 1, 2025, travel will become possible without land border controls to and between Bulgaria and Romania. This follows a unanimous decision...
Global Energy Supplies
OPEC+ postpones plans to increase production over supply unease
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, known collectively as OPEC+, decided on December 5 to delay its planned...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
A Christmas Carol for the new European Commission
In the novel “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens it is noted that “there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Resources for the Common Good: New Taxation in Times of Crisis
Do you wonder whether the world is crumbling before your eyes? If so, you are not alone. The global human rights map is alarming:...
Democracy & Human Rights
Biden administration takes final steps to counter global corruption and human rights abuses
Announcing a global grab-bag of new sanctions, possibly some of its last, the Biden administration took major steps on December 9 by authorizing new...
EU Institutions
Facing mounting challenges, new EU Commission takes office
Amidst global geopolitical turmoil, the European Commission of Ursula von der Leyen officially took office on December 1 with the President pledging that over...
Global Energy Insider
COP29: Multilateral diplomatic stalemate circumvented
COP29 in Baku ended in the early hours of November 24, reaching a compromise deal on finance that will advance the global climate agenda...
Zero Tolerance
Lula’s G20 Rio Summit: Forgettable but not inconsequential
Seen from the perspective of a week after the November 19-20 Rio de Janeiro Summit, but before the event has completely receded into the...
Russia Sanctions
U.S. sanctions Russian banks, finance officials and securities registrars
The U.S. announced on November 21 new sanctions targeting Russia’s largest remaining non-designated bank (Gazprombank), as well as dozens of other financial institutions and...
Terrorism
Washington targets Syrian conglomerate funding Iran and Houthis
On November 14 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 26 companies, individuals, and vessels associated with the...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
The Key Issue for a new Government
After 14 years in the political wilderness, the new UK Labour government could be excused for being somewhat rusty when it comes to running...
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