Now that we've become accustomed to Czechia and Türkiye, it's time to embrace Naoero, formerly Nauru.

Singapore is partnering with financial institutions to explore a blended finance vehicle for #climate adaptation in Southeast Asia. Mirroring the US$5 billion FAST-P initiative, it will combine public, private, and philanthropic capital: www.businesstimes.com.sg/esg/singapor...

Singapore working with banks on blended finance vehicle for climate adaptation

Adaptation projects often receive less attention because they lack commercially viable revenue streams Read more at The Business Times.

businesstimes.com.sg

Cybertrucks have gone out of style: www.newsbreak.com/share/478544... #Tesla #ElonMusk

🔥 Tesla's Cybertruck Sales Are in Freefall – So Bad It Invites Ford Edsel Comparisons - NewsBreak

Tesla Cybertruck sales collapsed 48% in 2025 to just 20,237 units, with Q1 2026 hitting a record low of 3,519 deliveries.

newsbreak.com

China is no longer just the world’s factory - it has evolved into a global supply-chain manager. U.S. #tariffs and sanctions have accelerated Beijing’s adaptation, reconfiguring international trade into a #China-centered system of circulation: futureuae.com/en-US/Mainpa...

China and the Restructuring of Global Trade

From Factory of the World to Supply-Chain Manager Future for Advanced Research & Studies

futureuae.com

In America today, the wealthiest 1% is now worth more than the entire American middle class. That never happened before.

UK: A new National Risk Register (NRR) has been published today, including the introduction of 7 new risks, bringing the total included to "87 standalone risks, & 8 linked scenarios for a total of 95 risks"... #nationalresilience www.gov.uk/government/p...

National Risk Register 2026

The National Risk Register outlines the most serious risks facing the United Kingdom

gov.uk

Thomas Massie: “It’s ironic that we control the House, Senate, Supreme Court, and the White House, and we’re yelling ‘election fraud’? We won all the damn elections.”

Guy on the radio earlier saying we should all save our shower water and use that to flush the toilet. Around 60 companies are responsible for 80% of all global carbon emissions; telling us as individuals to do something without addressing that is just gaslighting and guilt tripping.

Canada is leading all others in the #WorldCup.

How can Canada keep its Indo-Pacific Strategy relevant in a rapidly changing world? I addressed that question (and others!) in this interview recorded in #Singapore: www.asiapacific.ca/podcast/ciac... @asiapacificfdn.bsky.social #ASEAN #scenarios #China

CIAC Conversations: A Conversation with Bart Édes

In this episode of CIAC Conversations, we sit down with Bart Édes, a policy analyst, commentator, and author, on the sidelines of CIAC2026.

asiapacific.ca

The traditional technology-for-market exchange with Chinese firms has flipped. MNEs now partner with #China to leverage its rapid innovation engine and globalize its tech, requiring leaders to completely rethink their corporate strategy for a new era: www.bcg.com/publications...

The Logic of Partnerships with Chinese Firms Has Flipped

Chinese companies now bring frontier tech, manufacturing expertise, supply chains, and speed to cross-border ventures, while multinational enterprises open doors to global markets.

bcg.com

During his recent visit to Beijing, President Donald Trump defended Chinese purchases of U.S. farmland, arguing that restricting foreign ownership would hurt American farmers by driving down land values: www.agriculture.com/partners-tru...

Trump Defends Chinese Purchases of U.S. Farmland

Newsweek’s Jesus Mesa reported that “President Donald Trump defended Chinese purchases of U.S. farmland during a trip to Beijing (last) week, arguing that restricting foreign ownership would hurt Amer...

agriculture.com

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will provide up to $10B in exceptional financing support to its members/clients affected by the conflict in the Middle East to bolster energy security, food security & economic resilience: www.aiib.org/en/news-even.... @hidayj.bsky.social #AIIB

AIIB Launches Energy, Food Security and Economic Resilience Facility

AIIB today launched an Energy, Food Security and Economic Resilience Facility to support members whose development may be affected by the conflict in the Middle East.

aiib.org

Multiple disruptive forces will converge by #2028 - toxic political fragmentation, superintelligent #AI & a platform shift bigger than social media - hitting simultaneously: www.axios.com/2026/05/25/2... #inequality #poltiics #Trump #debt #China #energy #climate #war h/t Jim VandeHei

Axios C-Suite: Everything converges in 2028

Big things are coming: toxic political fragmentation, superintelligent AI and a platform shift bigger than social media.

axios.com

Putin’s attempt to erase Ukraine backfired. Instead, he forged a formidable, tech-forward military power and drone manufacturer. This battle-hardened #Ukraine is now Europe's vital strategic asset, securing a major victory for democracy and continental defense. #SlavaUkraïni

I spoke with Luke Hunt of @thediplomat.com about outcomes and implications of the Xi-Trump meeting in Beijing last week: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppq3...

Trump and Xi: The Impact on Southeast Asia

YouTube video by The Diplomat

youtube.com

At TED 2026, venture capitalist D. Scott Phoenix opined that humans and #AI are merging. He predicted that brain implants will become inevitable as the workplace advantages of Neuralink-style chips make it impossible to compete without them. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Silicon Valley wants inside your head

politico.com

According to @gallup.com, #India's employee engagement hit a four-year low in 2025, costing the economy $351B in lost workplace productivity, nearly 9% of the country's GDP.

Chinese manufacturers of electric vehicles, batteries & #solar panels have been wooing nations looking to wean themselves off costly fuel imports since the Iran war triggered a global energy shock: www.straitstimes.com/business/com... @bloomberg.com #sustainability #renewables #EVs #China #energy

China green tech titans woo new consumers hit by Iran war energy shock

A total of 50 countries had record solar imports from China in March. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

straitstimes.com

The U.S. does not need to agree with #China to understand it. But it does need broad, real-time awareness to compete effectively. Without it, even the most carefully managed relationship risks being built on guesswork rather than insight: thehill.com/opinion/inte... @harvardkennedy.bsky.social

Our China problem isn’t strength: It’s distance

What does the United States miss as academic exchange, business presence and research engagement with China have sharply declined?

thehill.com

Developing countries are grappling with a tidal wave of debt repayments and interest costs to #China: www.msn.com/en-in/news/w... #BRI #infrastructure #mining @lowyinstitute.bsky.social

Conflicting U.S. success claims and the suspension of "Project Freedom" highlight the strategic failure of America's war on #Iran: theconversation.com/trump-admini...

Trump administration claiming a ‘win’ against Iran – here’s a report card

This conflict is fast becoming a catestrophic US failure which could define Trump’s second presidency.

theconversation.com

Waymo is less than a year from becoming a verb.

Companies are talking about what #AI can really do for them.

According to Mark Cancian, retired Marine colonel and a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the USA spent about $28 billion during the first 40 days of the war on #Iran. That’s about as much as it would have cost to extend ACA health subsidies through 2026. #Choices

ASEAN finance ministers and central bank governors just met and released a joint statement that warns of policy uncertainty arising from tariff measures, geoeconomic fragmentation, capital flow volatility, climate-related shocks and debt vulnerabilities: asean.org/wp-content/u...

Global spending on data centers could reach US$7 trillion by 2030, estimates McKinsey & Co. #AI #energy #inflation

This past March was the USA's hottest in 132 years of recordkeeping, according to new federal climate data. Six of the country's 10 hottest months on record have come in the last decade.

China's trade surplus with #Africa continues to grow - and grow: chinaglobalsouth.com/analysis/chi...

China’s Zero-Tariff Promise to Africa Masks a Deepening Trade Imbalance

In a message to African heads of state gathered in Addis Ababa for the African Union's 39th summit last February, Xi Jinping announced that beginning May 1st, China would implement a “zero tariff” pol...

chinaglobalsouth.com