A group photograph with BRICS leaders on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi on September 12, 2026 -- Prime Minister's Office (GODL-India), via Wikimedia Commons By Busani Ngcaweni The enlargement of BRICS presents Africa with a wider field of economic possibilities by bringing the continent into closer relationship with some of the world’s largest markets, important sources of development finance and countries possessing substantial capabi

Once one of the world’s most militarized frontiers, the Russia-China border along the Amur River Basin shows how a long-running territorial dispute can evolve from confrontation to integration. No. 41 Boundary Marker at China–Russia Border -- Ncysea, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By John P. Ruehl Since the early 1990s, the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk, located on the Amur River, has steadily reemerged as one of Russia’s most important “border trade hubs.” Sitting dir

Russia’s challenge to prevailing IP and copyright norms is central to its pursuit of technological sovereignty. Global fragmentation and Western divisions have given Moscow space to test the system’s limits without fully abandoning it. General view of Red Square, 2025 -- Юрий Д.К., CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By John P. Ruehl Taking an invention and claiming it as yours is called intellectual property, based on practices followed by US and European businesses. But what h

Bats pollinate wild agave plants, sustaining desert ecosystems and preserving the genetic diversity that supports tequila and mezcal production. Mexican Long-nosed Bat (Leptonycteris nivalis) in Mexico -- David Cervantes Vlogs, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Reynard Loki Bats move through desert night skies with a purpose that is easy to overlook and difficult to replace. As they travel from plant to plant, feeding on nectar, they are also performing one of the most impo

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and U.S. President Donald Trump pose after signing the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade in Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2026. -- image via the U.S. Trade Representative on X/public domain By Airlangga Pribadi Kusman and Peiman Salehi More than sixty years ago, Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno, warned that political independence meant little without economic sovereignty. In his famous Trisakti doctrine, announced during the 1964 Independenc

Trump is flouting regulations to reap billions for himself, as ordinary Americans teeter on the edge of economic ruin. Trump on May 19 -- public domain image By Sonali Kolhatkar President Donald Trump has brazenly engaged in what appears to be insider trading. A bombshell story published in Bloomberg on May 14, 2026, revealed that Trump made thousands of stock trades in the first quarter of this year with companies connected to the government. This isn’t fake news. Bloomberg

Often promoted as sustainable, fish farming can increase pressure on wild fisheries, deepen global food inequities, and damage marine ecosystems. Asc1733, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Laura Lee Cascada Fish farming, a form of aquaculture, is now the fastest-growing form of factory farming worldwide. This rapid expansion can be attributed to the industry’s emphasis on buzzwords such as “climate,” “conservation,” and “sustainability.” While discussions about land-base

Göbeklitepe dig, 2015 -- public domain image By Erdem Denk In the heart of Ankara, less than a kilometer apart, stand two pillars of Turkish academia: the Faculty of Political Science ( Mülkiye ) and the Faculty of Language and History-Geography ( DTCF ). Mülkiye was established in 1859 to navigate the Ottoman Empire’s diplomatic relations with the West, while DTCF was founded by the first president of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in 1935 to create the historical and lingui

The Cayman Islands sits at the heart of a network of British financial jurisdictions. Together, they manage trillions in assets, influencing global capital flows and investment networks. Flag of the Cayman Islands -- Dickelbers, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By John P. Ruehl China, which was the largest holder of U.S. government debt as recently as 2019 , has cut its holdings to the lowest level since 2008 , driven by changing trade patterns, geopolitical concerns, and

U.S. military action is disrupting key energy suppliers, putting China’s reliance on foreign sources to the test. Even as Beijing strengthens domestic capacity and diversifies imports, the crisis exposes the limits of its energy strategy. A tanker docked in the Chinese port of Qingdao -- Benlisquare, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Brittani Banks (WP User) and John P. Ruehl China’s energy security may be put to its first true test in 2026 with the seizure of Venezuelan

The arrest of a drug kingpin in Mexico has reignited debate over how active U.S. military and intelligence forces are in Mexico and where they might be headed. Marco Rubio meets with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City, Mexico, September 3, 2025 -- public domain image By John P. Ruehl FBI Director Kash Patel’s announcement on January 23 regarding the arrest of Canadian drug trafficker Ryan Wedding in Mexico led to immediate diplomatic tension between Washingto

Trump and Xi Jinping, October 30, 2025 -- public domain image By Prabir Purkayastha The Trump-Xi meeting in Busan, South Korea today —30 October 2025— may have brought about a temporary relief in the US-China trade war. But unless we see the fine print of the agreement, it is difficult to assess whether this is a temporary truce or the beginning of a real rapprochement between the two nations. The jury is still out on that one and we will wait for a better understanding of wh

Washington’s unease is rising as Brazil’s Pix bypasses U.S.-dominated payment networks. The country’s digital payment revolution may soon be impossible to contain as other countries adapt their own models. By John P. Ruehl The Trump administration’s July 2025 decision to have the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) investigate Brazil’s “ attacks on American social media companies as well as other unfair trading practices ,” followed by the launch of 50 percent tari

Far-Right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at a signing ceremony in India, September, 2025 -- image via X By Sudhanva Deshpande...

BRICS leaders in Brazil, July 06, 2025 -- Prime Minister's Office (GODL-India), via Wikimedia Commons By Giovani Vastida and Steven Lee...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on August 31, 2025 -- Prime Minister's Office (GODL-India),...

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Shot from the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China -- public domain image By Shiran Illanperuma China’s modernisation...

Marek Slusarczyk, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Vijay Prashad and Grieve Chelwa On 8 July 2025, the IMF published a brief blog post...

By Dae-Han Song If you look at the news, the media treats the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum more like a gala than a...