By Bruce Pannier The pot is boiling again in Kyrgyzstan. Faced with growing criticism over the terms of a long-awaited border agreement with neighbouring Uzbekistan, the government of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov is detaining opponents of the deal an…
Why the war in Ukraine threatens global food security
By Statista More than six weeks into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there’s no end in sight to the conflict that has shaken the world to its very core. Aside from the immense suffering caused by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, the war is also having maj…
Gunmen commit mass killing at Iranian mausoleum on same day security forces open fire at Mahsa Amini memorial
By bne IntelliNews Iran’s president on October 27 vowed security forces would give a ‘crushing response’ to those who organised an attack by three gunmen that killed at least 13 people at a top tourist site, Shah Cheragh mausoleum in the southern city …
Cost of living crisis wiping out online retailers’ pandemic gains
By bne IntelliNews Online retailers in Central and Southeast Europe got a strong boost from the pandemic, but that proved to be short-lived. Once shops reopened and the risk of infection diminished shoppers went back to bricks and mortar stores; online…
Scholz and von der Leyen propose new Marshall Plan for Ukraine’s reconstruction
By Dominic Culverwell in Berlin Ukraine’s Western allies have proposed a new Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Ukraine, Ukraine Business News reported on October 25. The World Bank estimated that Ukraine’s reconstruction will cost at least €350bn…
EU gas prices tumble in a lull before the storm
By Ben Aris in Berlin Gas prices have been falling fast in the last few weeks as the EU storage tanks are nearly full. Unlike equities, which are priced on a discount to future revenue flow, gas prices are set on the day depending on how much space is …
Why Turkey is going nowhere fast with ‘lira-isation’
By bne IntelIiNews Turkey is getting nowhere fast with its “lira-isation” despite introducing more extreme de-dollarisation policies in recent months. That’s the conclusion of Liam Peach, an emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, who took a l…
Minister hints Westinghouse poised to win contract for Poland’s first nuclear power plant
By bne IntelliNews The US nuclear technology company Westinghouse Electric is closing in on winning the Polish government’s contract to build Poland’s first nuclear power plant, a deputy prime minister hinted on October 24. Nuclear power is the all-imp…
Dirty bombs and exploding dams: Moscow claims Kyiv is plotting to kill its own citizens in baseless false-flag accusation
By Dominic Culverwell in Berlin Moscow is accusing Kyiv of plotting to detonate a “dirty bomb” in a false-flag attack on its own territory, despite not providing any evidence to prove the claim. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke with his cou…
Montenegrin president’s party almost wiped out in local elections
By Denitsa Koseva in Sofia Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic’s Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) lost the local election in 11 out of 14 municipalities on October 23, with the Europe Now movement formed by two former ministers seen as the big wi…