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COMMENT: Could the US strike a deal to restart Nord Stream gas pipeline?

US President Donald Trump has made it clear that he wants to do business with Russia and tap into its vast raw material resources. But restarting the Nord Stream gas pipeline is the only US-Russian business project that looks viable.

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BALKAN BLOG: Albania’s moment to make a push for EU accession

Albania and Montenegro are now seen as having a realistic chance of accession by the end of this decade.

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Dollar falls 3% in Iran as nuclear talks with US conclude in Oman

Foreign exchange rates in Tehran’s open market mostly declined on April 12, as Iranian and US officials began negotiations in Oman.

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Erdogan opponent Imamoglu attends first court hearing, held in Silivri prison

Case concerns alleged insult he directed at Istanbul's chief prosecutor.

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Indonesia’s new laws spark fears of media suppression

Following mass protests over Indonesia’s recently passed Military Law, fresh concerns are emerging about the state of media freedom - with a particular point of concern a clause prohibiting the exclusive airing of investigative journalism.

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UPDATE: Hungary blocks EU sanctions on Serbia's deputy PM

Vulin claims Hungary and Slovakia have blocked EU sanctions on him after he made a series of controversial remarks in the European Parliament earlier this week.

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Serbia's Vucic mobilises supporters for weekend rally in the capital

President seeks to display strength following months of protests and dwindling support.

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China ups tariffs on US goods to 125% - Trump's move!

China has sharply increased tariffs on US goods, raising levies from 84% to 125% in a direct response to the latest round of tariff hikes introduced by US President Donald Trump.

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Asian giants thrive in Russia despite sanctions

Maintaining a complex balance between profit, geopolitical alignment and risk management, the presence of Asian nations in Russia reveals a divergence between Western corporate exodus and Eastern mercantile strategy.

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News

Iran and the United States have concluded high-level nuclear talks in Oman, with Trump's special envoy and Iran's foreign minister briefly talking.

Iran and the United States are holding high-level talks in Oman aimed at restarting negotiations over Tehran's nuclear programme as part of a potential breakthrough in relations.

Despite annual decline, gasoline price in Turkey still compares a few times higher than the seven liras seen in 2021.

Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party chair Ozgur Ozel has hit out at the UK’s PM and Labour Party chair, Sir Keir Starmer, for keeping mum amid attacks on its sister party.

Ecuador is preparing for a crucial presidential run-off between Daniel Noboa and Luisa González on April 13, with the National Electoral Council implementing advanced security measures to ensure election integrity.

Tech

As discussions intensify around the possible return of Western companies to Russia, the domestic IT industry is increasingly concerned that renewed competition from foreign firms could deal a serious low to local tech players.

PM Edi Rama hopes new tech park to ultimately bring €0.5bn in budget revenues by backing Albanian tech talent.

Video sharing network reveals the scale of online manipulation around Romania's cancelled 2024 presidential election, with nearly 100,000 fake accounts blocked.

Tether cryptocurrency has reached a new record high of IRR 1.04mn, surpassing Ferdowsi Street's hard dollar exchange rate on March 30 as people dump the rial further weakening the national currency.

Value of country's startup ecosystem soared to $26bn in 2024, up 18-fold since 2019, says Dealroom.co and Astana Hub analysis.

Opinion

US Treasuries are not behaving as a safe haven. They have cheapened versus the risk free rate, in a significant manner. The 3yr auction was a mess. There is now heightened nervousness ahead of the 10yr auction. Is 'sell America' a thing now?

Erdogan's trolls must have been splitting their sides as CHP leader got himself re-elected unopposed.

Serbia's long path to EU membership remains uncertain under its current leadership, which “sits in four chairs”, according to the European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia, Tonino Picula.

“Just as certain classes of medication are sometimes in vogue and prescribed to help with all kinds of ailments, it seems that US President Donald Trump and his team have stumbled upon a magical remedy for all the world’s problems: tariffs.”

US President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs on European imports – set at 20% for EU member states and 10% for the UK – are poised to curtail revenue and profitability growth across several corporate sectors in Europe, according Fitch.

Data

Romania’s rapidly rising public debt (chart) remained steady through January, ending the month at RON964.4bn (€193.8bn), or 46.8% of GDP, according to data published by the Finance Ministry.

Romania’s foreign trade (chart) deficit widened by 32% year on year in February 2025, reaching €2.74bn, as export volumes declined and imports continued to rise, according to figures published by the National Institute of Statistics.

South Korea's central bank is leaning towards reducing interest rates this April, even as the national currency hits its weakest point since 2009.

Consumer price inflation in India held largely steady in March, following four straight months of decline, as surging gold prices offset stable food costs.

Russia posted a RUB500bn ($5.4bn) federal budget surplus in March 2025 amid falling oil revenues, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance.

Features

Russian officials have confirmed a steady flow of Syrian refugees that have begun settling in the Perm region of the country as sectarian attacks continue to target religious minorities, including Alawites.

Thanks to the tangible thaw in US-Russian relations, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to work out the conditions for firms to return. The list is ready, The Bell reported on April 10.

Even as the world reacts to a 90-day pause on tariffs for most countries, the impact of possible future US tariffs on Indian exports varies significantly across sectors.

When the US administration under President Donald Trump announced sweeping import tariffs on ASEAN nations, it triggered an immediate ripple across Southeast Asia’s export-dependent economies.

The Trump Administration’s clumsy introduction of punitive tariffs recalls the days when similarly capricious sanctions wreaked havoc over Moscow food supplies that ended up in a shuttle trade in cheese.

Blogs

President Xi made no mention of long-standing territorial issues with China’s closest neighbours including Japan, South Korea and the self-governing country long claimed as an integral part of China by Beijing: Taiwan.

Israel’s PM arrives at White House having just bombed into ground Syrian military air base Turkish president Erdogan wanted to take over.

The international community will have to step up to prevent new clashes in Bosnia.

Days earlier, French leader took aim at Turkish government for carrying out "systematic attacks" on freedoms. And referred to some mysterious "democratic path".

Reporter Mark Lowen has talked about press freedom and democracy. His comments in the context of the realities of the Erdogan regime are laughable.

bneGREEN

World Bank’s financing role facing scrutiny.

Thailand’s Ministry of Transport on April 10 inaugurated the Rama VII Smart Pier, a solar-powered facility aimed at advancing sustainable water transport along the Chao Phraya River.

Forget the damage US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” will do to the international trade system or slowing global growth. The real threat to global economic activity is his decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.

The world is heating up. By the 2010s, the global average temperature of the air above the surface was about 1°C higher than in the 1940s. But some regions are warming much faster.

India surpassed Germany in 2024 to become the world’s third-largest generator of electricity from wind and solar as output in the country nearly doubled over the five years to 2024, rising from 110 TWh to 215 TWh.

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In this episode of the Emerging Global Podcast, Ruthie Blum, former advisor to the Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netan....

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