• Tue-01-2025
Kyrgyzstan Struggles with Enforcing Western Sanctions on Russia (December 27, 2024, RegTech Times)

Kyrgyzstan is struggling to enforce Western sanctions against Russia. Despite efforts to stop the flow of goods that could support Russia’s defense sector, the country faces major challenges due to business interests, limited government resources, and its close relationship with Russia.

  • Tue-01-2025
COME ON JAPANESE YEN: What Will it Look Like in 2025, and What Can We Students Do About It? (January 3, 2025, Her Campus)

Japan’s extravagant Christmas celebrations drive short-term spending but promote unsustainable consumerism. While it’s beautiful and so much fun, I think it’s worth asking: Do we need these many items? This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at ICU (Japan) chapter.

  • Tue-01-2025
Lebanon’s Economy Reels From War: ‘We Are Starting From Zero’ (December 30, 2024, The New York Times) (Subscription required)

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah may be suspended, but the damage is immense. “We came out of this war with nothing,” one man said.

  • Tue-01-2025
How Asian supervisors are building the future foundations of banking (January 2, 2024, The Banker)

Celebrating Asia’s position as a location for banking innovation has almost become a cliche. The region is known for pioneering the use of mobile QR code payments and has seen the rise of numerous “superapps.” Yet what is often missing from the discussion of Asia’s rise in innovation is how the environment enabled these projects to thrive.

  • Sat-12-2024
Morocco Remains Africa’s Top Performer in Attractiveness and Stability (December 24, 2024, Morocco World News)

The report emphasizes Morocco’s unique achievement as “the only North African country to be firmly anchored in the continental ‘Top 5’ of the Stability Index since its creation.”

  • Sat-12-2024
Asia’s Year-End Travel Boom: Bangkok And Tokyo Top Christmas And New Year Lists (December 20, 2024, Travel and Tour World)

Move aside, Tokyo—Bangkok is claiming the crown this festive season! According to Agoda’s latest insights, Thailand’s vibrant capital has become the world’s top destination for international travelers this Christmas. A 14% increase in accommodation searches compared to last year has propelled Bangkok past Tokyo, making it a must-visit for holidaymakers.

  • Tue-01-2025
Five things at the top of China’s agenda for 2025 (January 2, 2025, Asia Times)

The year 2024 has been a challenging one for China. As its government has tackled economic problems at home, internationally it has handled the complexities of an alliance with Russia. And, while China has continued to play a significant role in the global economy, there are five possible areas that could derail its plans in 2025.

  • Tue-01-2025
China's overqualified youth taking jobs as drivers, labourers and film extras (January 4, 2025, BBC)

China is now a country where a high-school handyman has a master's degree in physics; a cleaner is qualified in environmental planning; a delivery driver studied philosophy, and a PhD graduate from the prestigious Tsinghua University ends up applying to work as an auxiliary police officer. These are real cases in a struggling economy - and it is not hard to find more like them.

  • Tue-01-2025
Doomed to fail? Hong Kong’s attempt to tackle ‘shoebox housing’ runs into trouble (January 3, 2025, The Guardian)

Hong Kong is famous for its cramped and tiny apartments, or “shoebox housing”, a name that somehow still doesn’t fully convey the claustrophobic nature of the spaces. New reforms announced this year attempt to tackle the problem by mandating major improvements and regulations to be in place by the end of 2026.

  • Sat-12-2024
From gym closures to rotten tofu, Hong Kong consumers faced a year of scams (December 26, 2024, South China Morning Post)

Residents were beset by shoddy deals and blatant cons in 2024. The Post recounts some of the biggest cases that hit consumers this year.