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Central Asia is adjusting quickly as the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran continues to unfold.   No country in the region wants direct involvement. But the conflict is already forcing governments to rethink trade routes, manage economic shocks, and recalibrate their diplomatic positions.   What is emerging is not a single response, but a shared pattern: contain the fallout, avoid escalation, and preserve flexibility i...

The Philippines is not simply short of jobs. It is short of jobs that let people live. In 2026, that distinction matters more than ever. With wages lagging and costs rising, millions of Filipinos are technically employed but still unable to keep up. In an economy where even an energy shock hits harder because so many households are already stretched thin, the real crisis is no longer whether people work, but whether that work provides a livable w...

France has just put one of the strangest geopolitical ideas in the West back on the table: Canada joining the European Union.   It sounds absurd at first. Canada is not in Europe. But European leaders are starting to treat Ottawa less like a distant partner and more like a potential European sibling.   French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot did not present Canadian EU membership as a formal plan but did say Canada could &ldqu...

The Strait of Hormuz closure is becoming a poverty trap for the Global South. What began as a war shock in the Gulf is now moving through fertilizer markets and straight into the food chain, threatening planting seasons, harvests, and household budgets across countries already dangerously exposed to imported inputs. The stakes are high: at least 30 million people could be pushed into poverty if the disruption keeps spreading.   A Gulf War ...

From the Bahamas to Guyana and Suriname, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) brings together 21 countries, including 15 member states and six associate members. Its population is small by global standards, around 16 million people, but it is young, diverse, and strategically exposed to some of the most volatile dynamics in global trade, climate, and security.   That is why CARICOM still matters more than five decades after its creation. It i...