The State of the Mind

Energy Russia boosts discounted crude to India; Urals and ESPO grades now exceed 38 % of India’s 2025 oil imports • Commodities Gold steadies near $3 482 / oz as central banks add reserves; China, Russia and Türkiye drive record accumulation • Africa South Africa’s fiscal deficit narrows to 4.4 % of GDP; Moody’s revises outlook to stable on reform progress • Geopolitics BRICS Forum on the New Industrial Revolution opens in Shanghai; digital-sovereignty and AI ethics top agenda • Trade Brazil soybean exports to China reach 43.1 Mt (Jan–Sep 2025), eclipsing U.S. flows by over 2 : 1 • Climate BRICS + nations call for a Global South Climate Fund with direct access for least-developed states

Dispatches

The War Ledger: Weapons, Poverty, and Lost Futures

Cross-currents between arms flows, deprivation, and generational cost.

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UN46 Series

Country Report: Burkina Faso

Conflict, macro pressures, and social resilience.

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Africa

The Forgotten War: DRC’s 27-Year Conflict and Africa’s Fragmentation

A long war’s regional spillovers and the political economy of disorder.

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BRICS

BRICS and the De-Dollarization Drive

Signals versus substance in currency blocs and trade settlement.

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Indian Ocean

The Mirage Unmasked: Mauritius’ Fiscal Reckoning

Debt, growth optics, and what the current account is really saying.

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Indian Ocean

Maldives Eyes Financial Future: Offshore Hub Takes Shape

Signals, incentives, and constraints of a small-island finance pivot.

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Dispatches

Madagascar: When the Lights Go Out

Electricity reliability, fiscal strain, and the social cost of outages.

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UN46 Series

Country Report: Angola

A data-driven profile from the UN46 series.

By TSOTM~6 min Read →

UN46 Series

Country Report: Benin

Key indicators, risks and reform signals.

By TSOTM~6 min Read →

UN46 Series

Country Report: Burkina Faso

Conflict, macro pressures, and social resilience.

By TSOTM~6 min Read →

UN46 Series

Country Report: Burundi

Demographics, vulnerabilities, and pathways forward.

By TSOTM~6 min Read →

UN46 Series

Country Report: Central African Republic

Fragility, minerals, and post-conflict recovery dynamics.

By TSOTM~6 min Read →

Investigation

Madagascar: When the Lights Go Out

Power cuts, broken utilities, and a generation raised in blackout — the human cost of a failing grid.

By TSOTM~4 min Read →

Commentary

Passage to Nowhere: The State Cancels the Civil Service Holiday and Keeps the Chauffeur

Austerity theatre meets elite privilege — optics without reform.

By TSOTM~3 min Read →

Investigation

Pakistan: A State of Weaponized Faith and Manufactured Crisis

From terror proxies to digital repression — an anatomy of systematic persecution.

By TSOTM~6 min Read →

Indian OceanFinance

Maldives Eyes Financial Future: Offshore Finance Hub Takes Shape

A new offshore play meets fragile island economics — what the region should watch.

By TSOTM~4 min Read →

AfricaEnergy

Nigeria’s Refinery Drama: The Mirage of Energy Independence

Promises of energy sovereignty clash with corruption, delays, and dependency realities.

By TSOTM~5 min Read →

GlobalConflict

The War Ledger: Weapons, Poverty & Lost Futures

How arms economies hollow out societies and compound generational loss.

By TSOTM~5 min Read →

Indian OceanEconomy

The Food Cartel in Mauritius: Imports, Prices & Hidden Hunger

How concentrated import power shapes prices—and hunger—behind paradise.

By TSOTM~6 min Read →

AfricaConflict

The Forgotten War: DRC’s 27-Year Conflict & Africa’s Fragmentation

How a chronic war economy reshaped a nation—and the continent’s security map.

By TSOTM~7 min Read →

BRICS • FinanceAnalysis

BRICS & the De-Dollarization Drive

Settlement in local currencies and commodity invoicing: how the bloc chips at dollar primacy.

By TSOTM~4 min Read →

BRICS • CommoditiesAnalysis

BRICS Expansion & the Commodity Axis

From oil to minerals, an enlarged bloc consolidates supply chains and price power.

By TSOTM~4 min Read →

BRICS • World AffairsAnalysis

BRICS Rising: The New Center of Gravity

The alliance commands 41% of global GDP (PPP) and is building alternative institutions.

By TSOTM~5 min Read →

ClimateAnalysis

Super Typhoon Ragasa: Asia's Climate Vulnerability Crisis Exposed

Record winds, mass evacuations, and the high cost of adaptation failures across Asia.

By TSOTM~4 min Read →

EssayCommentary

The Folly of Human Hatred

On the cost of grievance politics and what it steals from our common future.

By TSOTM~3 min Read →

PolicyEconomy

Mass Deportation Price Tag: £20–35B & Years of Gridlock

The real cost of maximalist enforcement: budgets, courts, and national logistics.

By TSOTM~4 min Read →

Copper outlook dims as Grasberg and Chile output disruptions cut global supply by 510,000 tonnes in 2025 Commodities enter renewed super-cycle; resource nationalism reshapes African and Latin American mining laws Brazil and India spearhead BRICS+ trade settlement pilot using non-USD digital instruments BRICS bloc renews call for IMF quota and governance reform, demanding parity in voting rights by 2026 G7 tariff escalation triggers counter-tariffs from BRICS+ states, straining global supply chains Global food index remains 18 % above 2019 levels amid El Niño-linked harvest stress and energy shocks Gold at $3 480 / oz; silver surges 11 % YTD as investors hedge against currency volatility

AFRICA

News & Analysis

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ASIA

News & Analysis

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INDIAN OCEAN

News & Analysis

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Nigeria moves to consolidate control over oil production contracts under new Petroleum Industry governance act AFRIPERF launched in Abuja as continental energy regulators push for unified compliance standards Kenya targets final U.S. trade pact by mid-2025; Washington signals possible AGOA renewal extension Dangote refinery resumes operations after temporary gas supply halt linked to labor dispute resolution Shell and Eni complete acquisition of TotalEnergies’ Bonga stake, reshaping Nigeria’s offshore balance Rwanda’s fiscal deficit narrows to 3.8 % of GDP; IMF cites strong governance and debt management Sudan’s Darfur violence escalates; humanitarian agencies warn of 400 000 displaced since August Zambia debt restructuring advances as Chinese lenders approve updated repayment framework

Gold

$3,482.60

▲ +0.7%

Central banks sustain record reserve buying

Silver

$43.45

▲ +1.1%

Industrial demand and green tech boost

Brent Crude

$84.32

–0.2%

Supply cuts balanced by weak China data

WTI Crude

$79.18

–0.3%

Refinery demand softens into Q4

Natural Gas

$2.91

▼ –1.4%

High inventories cap prices

Wheat

¢567.40

▲ +2.1%

Export curbs from Russia tighten supply

Coffee (Arabica)

$2.32

▼ –1.7%

Brazil harvest eases supply pressure

Lithium (LFP)

$10,210

▲ +0.6%

Spot demand rebounds from EV sector

EUR/USD

1.0843

▲ +0.3%

Euro steadies after ECB inflation pause

GBP/USD

1.2691

▲ +0.4%

Pound gains on stronger services PMI

USD/JPY

148.62

–0.1%

Yen holds near intervention threshold

BTC/USD

$68,420

▲ +1.9%

ETF inflows and halving momentum persist

The War Ledger: Weapons, Poverty, and Lost Futures

Country Report: Burkina Faso

The Forgotten War: DRC’s 27-Year Conflict and Africa’s Fragmentation

BRICS and the De-Dollarization Drive

The Mirage Unmasked: Mauritius’ Fiscal Reckoning

Maldives Eyes Financial Future: Offshore Hub Takes Shape

Madagascar: When the Lights Go Out

Country Report: Angola

Country Report: Benin

Country Report: Burkina Faso

Country Report: Burundi

Country Report: Central African Republic

Madagascar: When the Lights Go Out

Passage to Nowhere: The State Cancels the Civil Service Holiday and Keeps the Chauffeur

Pakistan: A State of Weaponized Faith and Manufactured Crisis

Maldives Eyes Financial Future: Offshore Finance Hub Takes Shape

Nigeria’s Refinery Drama: The Mirage of Energy Independence

The War Ledger: Weapons, Poverty & Lost Futures

The Food Cartel in Mauritius: Imports, Prices & Hidden Hunger

The Forgotten War: DRC’s 27-Year Conflict & Africa’s Fragmentation

BRICS & the De-Dollarization Drive

BRICS Expansion & the Commodity Axis

BRICS Rising: The New Center of Gravity

Super Typhoon Ragasa: Asia's Climate Vulnerability Crisis Exposed

The Folly of Human Hatred

Mass Deportation Price Tag: £20–35B & Years of Gridlock

AFRICA

ASIA

INDIAN OCEAN

The £15.3 Billion Immigration Con: How Britain’s Elite Profit From Your Fear

Three Wars, 300,000 Displaced: The Conflicts the World Isn't Watching

Why Africa Is Poor (and Why That’s the Wrong Question)

Africa’s Debt Reckoning: Capture, Relief, and Lost Futures

India’s $680M Bet on Mauritius: Fragility and Influence

Asia’s Debt Reckoning: India, China, and the New Geometry of Dependence

Mauritius’ Peculiar Democracy — Winners Too Big, Losers by Nature

The Regional Integration Blueprint

The Word the World Dreads: UN Declares Israel’s War in Gaza a Genocide

Paradise Lost: The Island Economy Crisis — The Technology Mirage

The Revolt of the Global Middle: From Kathmandu to Colombo to London

Paradise Lost: The Brain Drain Acceleration

Paradise Lost: The Island Economy Crisis — The Shipping Cartel

The New Colonialism: How Food Import Dependency Creates Political Vulnerability

Madagascar’s Missed Billions: Inside Africa’s Greatest Agricultural Failure

The Climate Tipping Point: When Indian Ocean Islands Become Uninhabitable

The Import Trap: How Small Island States Face Economic Reckoning

The Real Emergency — When Minerals Run Dry

China’s Clean Tech Empire — Energy as the New Gold

Mozambique Embraces a $6 Billion Power Giant — Energy as the New Gold

Mauritius: Paradise with Termites in the Rafters

The First Lawsuit Against Democracy Fraud

Maldives Airport Expansion Stalls as $1bn Debt Raises IMF and China Concerns

Mauritius Central Bank Scandal Exposes Risks to Financial Hub Status

China’s Property Defaults Seep into Local Banks

Philippines Feels the Peso Strain as Remittances Dip

Kenya Clears Its Eurobond Hurdle — But at a Steep Cost

The Naira Is Bleeding, and Oil Cannot Save It

Indian Ocean Weekly News — 02 September 2025

Asia Weekly News — 2 September 2025

Africa Weekly News — 01 September 2025

Why Central Asia, not Moscow or Beijing, may decide the SCO’s future

Kenya’s Interest Rate Dilemma Amidst Rising Debt and Fragile Growth

The Great Mauritian Burn: Monetary Fraud, Fiscal Shell Games

The Southern Caliphate? ISIS in Somalia, South Africa, and Mauritius’ Fragile Periphery

Bangladesh's Dollar Drought: Factories in the Dark, Workers in the Cold

Indonesia’s Green Nickel Trap: The Hidden Cost of a Global Battery Boom

Vietnam’s Real Estate Meltdown: Asia’s Silent Crisis Unfolds

Malaysia’s Fiscal Mirage: A Quiet Reckoning in ASEAN’s Fault Line

The Mirage of Stability: How Botswana's Diamond Boom Became a Healthcare Bust

Mauritius, India, and the Fine-Tuned Treaty: A Credibility Test Beyond Clauses

The Chagos Archipelago: A Colonial Reckoning in Slow Motion

Geopolitical Crossroads: Mauritius as Maritime Pawn or Partner?

Gaza in Collapse: 83% of Those Killed Are Civilians

The Republic of Offshore: Mauritius’ Fragile Financial State

Africa’s Fragile Resilience: Capital Markets & Currency Volatility

Mauritius: The Exporter Who Imports Hunger

Drowning in Plain Sight: Mumbai’s Floods of 2025