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Tariffs – opportunities amid the chaos?

On the back of President Trump’s tariff announcement (“Independence Day”), a massive dive across the world’s stock markets drove panic to huge levels. But was that panic really necessary? So many experts have claimed for years that trade tariffs were the worst thing a country could possibly do against its own economy, yet, if the [...]

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Portugal’s Quiet Climb in Deep Tech and Bio Innovation

With advantageous visa programs, substantial government support, and funding from the European Union, Portugal is emerging as a cost-effective innovation hub for biotechnology, space technology, and ocean sciences. Deep tech is undeniably a significant driving force behind Portugal’s economy, paralleling trends seen in other European nations. Deep Tech The term "Deep Tech" refers to technologies

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ASEAN and the Gulf States, or is it Gulf-Asia?

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN’s) foundation came about as a result of a reconciliation peace process between Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, which had been brokered by Thailand. In fact, it was the Thai Foreign Minister, Thanat Khoman, who first proposed the idea for the association on the back of that peace agreement,

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While the West struggles, Southeast Asia grows

No matter the source, the news bombarding people in the West today is, almost, a permanent diet of negativity; businesses collapsing, lost jobs with more to follow, tax rises and wars – both economic and physical. The impression is that the world is falling apart, but is there any good news for business out there?

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The Tripolar Era: Trump’s bold moves, Xi’s strategy, and Europe’s fight for relevance

The world economy is entering a new era - one in which power is increasingly divided among three major continental blocs: the US, China and Europe. No longer a uni-polar world under post-Cold War US hegemony, the current landscape is defined by conflicting regulatory frameworks, trade policies and geopolitical ambitions. At the forefront of these

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Maximum Pressure – the USA’s stance in the Middle East

In his second term, President Donald Trump has embarked on a series of assertive foreign policy shifts that are reshaping US engagement with the Middle East. Emphasising an "America First" agenda, the administration has adopted a more unilateral approach, re-evaluating traditional alliances and international commitments. ​A notable aspect of this strategy is the intensified ‘maximum

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Breaking out: Is Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham moving away from Jihad and Sharia law?

As Syria’s new Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led-government tentatively explores governance away from jihad and strict Sharia law, the reactions from extremist factions have been notably severe and revealing. Sami al-'Uraydi, leader of Syria's Tanzim Hurras al-Din (sometimes referred to as Al-Qaeda in Syria), has vocally opposed any deviation from Sharia, embodying a "Sharia or

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Hybrid Warfare II – the forgotten social engineers

The over-emphasis on cyber threats in modern warfare and corporate espionage has created a false sense of security, often sidelining traditional methods like human intelligence (HUMINT). While cyber tactics, such as hacking and malware deployment, remain effective, social engineering techniques are still very much in use by both state and commercial actors to gather intelligence.

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Sanctions and Secondary Risks: lessons from Russia, Iran and China

Originally aimed at punishing specific nations, sanctions have evolved into a tool for influencing global behaviour, particularly in high-stakes countries like Russia, China and Iran. With the increasing complications of international trade and finance, sanctions have, for some time, not been limited to direct penalties on the targeted countries; they now extend to businesses, their

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The Rise of Economic Nationalism: how protectionist policies are ending globalism

Global trade’s share of economic output has decreased, while industrial policies focused on bolstering domestic industries are increasing, especially in wealthier countries. This change has since last year been dubbed "slowbalisation", signalling a slowdown in globalisation. However, rather than indicating a complete reversal, this shift reflects a growing emphasis on the protection of domestic industries,

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