In January 2025, Indonesia – the world’s fourth-largest country by population (282 million) with the seventh-largest Gross Domestic Product by purchasing power parity – joined the BRICS+ bloc.  Eleven countries are now in this expanded grouping. The original...

Since US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February to impose a 10% tariff on all imports, the world has witnessed a confounding series of unilateral tariffs placed on both friends and foes of the US. On self-declared ‘Liberation Day’, on...

As the political West struggles to maintain cohesion in what often resembles a dysfunctional marriage – one seemingly heading toward an inevitable divorce – events unfolding on the other side of the world are fostering optimism and belief...

On Thursday, 3 April, Sri Lankans woke up to the alarming news that the United States, the country’s single largest export destination, would be applying 44% tariffs. These tariffs will hit Sri Lanka just months after it officially exited sovereign default status in December 2024. ...

In the past two decades, the external debt of developing countries has quadrupled to $11.4 trillion (2023). It is important to understand that this money owed to foreign creditors is equivalent to 99% of the export earnings of the developing countries. This means that...

Just days before its dissolution, Germany’s outgoing parliament rushed through a revision of the constitution and a massive spending package to facilitate unlimited borrowing for militarisation. Half a trillion euros have been earmarked for the vague category of ‘infrastructure and climate neutrality’, while increased military...

Trump 2.0 has had a tumultuous start. While Trump has always been erratic and almost deliberately unpredictable, the scope and magnitude of changes being ushered in this Trump 2.0 administration are qualitatively different. An ambitious attempt is being made to restructure the US state, military,...

US President Donald Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin and told him that the US government is committed to a peace process in Ukraine. As part of the deal, Trump’s administration made it clear that sections of eastern Ukraine and the Crimea would remain in...

On 17 February 2025, Sri Lanka’s Anura Kumara Dissanayake delivered his maiden budget speech. Dissanayake, who is both president and finance minister, stated that the budget was based on principles of productive growth, active public engagement, and equitable distribution. ...

On a clear morning in June 2023, I arrived in the city of Dali, located in China’s southwestern province of Yunnan, and was received by He Licheng, a local resident and farmer from nearby Gusheng Village. Like others of older generations of the region, He...