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Central Asia
February 11, 2026 Under the EU’s Global Gateway strategy, the Cross-Regional Connectivity Agenda aims to improve links between the EU and Central Asia through Türkiye and the South Caucasus by coordinating strategic investments and regulations. The objective is to boost trade and socio-economic development. The Connectivity Agenda was launched at the Cross-regional Security and Connectivity Ministerial Meeting in Luxembourg on 20 October 2025 and further advanced at the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor and Connectivity Investors Forum in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on 27 November 2025. Reflecting geopolitical shifts and vulnerabilities in the Northern Corridor, the Trans-Caspian Corridor, a route of railways and ports linking Europe, Türkiye, the rest of the Black Sea, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia is becoming an alternative trade route connecting both continents. Since 2022, trade on the route has quadrupled. With the right investments, it can triple by 2030. The European Commission has published an EU-funded meta-study that highlights where investment is needed to strengthen transport, trade, energy and digital connections along the corridor, in line with the EU’s plans to rebuild trade routes to Central Asia via the South Caucasus. The study highlights key stretches where infrastructure is missing, outdated or not fit for today’s volumes. It provides a practical guidance for investment which will give governments and the private sector a clear picture of where their capital can make the biggest difference in building modern and reliable infrastructure, upgrades to rail, ports, border procedures, energy links and digital connectivity. Much of the infrastructure is old and outdated, so investment is urgently needed. Public-private partnerships are essential to modernising infrastructure along the corridor. The meta-study is structured around three core pillars: transport and trade, energy, and digital. The Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor has strategic importance as a reliable alternative trade route to Asia. It recommends smoother, more aligned border rules. Following the European Council conclusions of June, October and December 2024 on political developments in Georgia, ’the European Commission suspended financial bilateral assistance directly benefiting Georgian authorities’, whilst projects related to regional connectivity are being assessed on a case-by-case basis. The study also notes ’the growing role of Ukraine and Moldova in Europe’s efforts to diversify and strengthen its wider transport network’. It identifies opportunities to diversify energy links, ensure reliable electricity connections, and support decarbonization efforts by stronger, modernized grids, alongside greater use of renewables. The study underlines the growing strategic importance of secure data routes improving cybersecurity, following European and international standards, and supporting for emerging technologies, such as AI. It calls for alternative fibre-optic corridors, fibre installation alongside energy and transport projects, and the creation of new internet exchange points. Satellite links are also highlighted as a resilience tool in areas where ground networks are weak. The EU4Digital Initiative is the EU’s regional programme supporting digital transformation and the harmonization of digital markets in countries included in the Eastern Partnership. It aims to support interoperability, cross border data exchange and regulatory harmonisation in alignment with EU standards. (Source: EU Reporter - based in Brussels, Belgium; ultimate beneficiary in Ireland)
China
February 10, 2026, 1:45 PM We are moving into a world of issues-based cooperation. This is perhaps clearest from the cavalcade of leaders who are visiting Beijing. Already, French President Macron, South Korean President Lee, Taoiseach of Ireland Micheál Martin, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer have all visited China in recent months. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to begin his visit in February. Even U.S. President Trump is set to visit in April. These visits are a response to the erosion of the post-Cold War order, whose death became the main topic of discussion at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with Washington no longer serving as a reliable steward of the multilateral system. The European Union’s long-standing pursuit of strategic autonomy ’is moving from rhetoric to practice’ - an independent pole, defined by regulatory power, economic gravity, and normative influence. For much of the post-Cold War period, ’perceptions of shared values’ sustained bloc loyalty, even when material interests diverged. That created the G-7 and NATO, that saw much of the Western world intervene together in the Balkans in 1999, fight in Afghanistan together after 9/11, and join forces to support Ukraine. Over the past decade, this same Euro-Atlantic community was gradually moving toward a consensus that China was hostile to the community of liberal Western states and should be isolated with a cordon sanitaire. That unity, such as it was, is now at an end. With Washington attacking Europe rather than trying to rally it, Canada, the U.K., and the EU have all begun to reach out to China to engage on their own terms. The world is entering a contested phase of multipolar governance without bloc-based communities - different coalitions for different issues based on common interests. Climate cooperation does not need to follow security alliances. Trade governance does not align neatly with bloc-based technological standards. Artificial intelligence, supply chains, and health security each generate their own constellations of cooperation. China’s green industrial capacity - spanning solar, wind, batteries, electric mobility, and grid equipment - has driven global decarbonization. Yet for years, the United States cajoled its allies to limit uptake of Chinese green technology. Now, Europe and Canada are freed from the blinders of bloc-shaped politics and increasingly able engage with Chinese capacity and expertise wholly on their own terms. Similarly, the European Union and China both maintain that they share a responsibility to uphold an international rules-based order rooted in the United Nations and in advancing reform of the World Trade Organization, such as the restoration of its dispute settlement function, including the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement. Areas of divergence remain, including trade remedies, market access, and industrial policy. The member nations of the EU still maintain security ties with the Washington, and the EU itself is engaging on its own terms with China rather than joining a new camp. The EU can hold on to the values that it does not share with China while still cooperating on shared interests. This new configuration increasingly resembles a Romance of the Three Kingdoms-style balance. In this classic Chinese narrative, no single kingdom is able to dominate outright, and power remains contested. A growing field of middle powers with their own agency shaping the state of play results a setting where all are compelled to negotiate, hedge, and adapt, whether small or large. ’China remains deeply embedded in global supply chains and consistently engaged in multilateral institutions. ’For decades, China has been happy to work with countries across the global south without conditions while advocating consistently for multilateralism, sovereignty, stability, and impartiality in trade relations. ’For those who must now hedge against an increasingly transactional Washington, Beijing’s stability offers a welcome relief - especially as smaller states need not chain themselves to Beijing’s anchor to benefit from the stability that it provides. Middle powers are waking up to a future where they must pick interests rather than picking sides. ’While this carries risks, by cutting through camp-based constraints, the world can better address the climate crisis, facilitate cooperation on human development, and promote a more inclusive new equilibrium. (Source: Foreign Policy - U.S.)
by Wang, the founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization, a ’nongovernmental’ think tank based in Beijing. Wang often advises the Chinese government.
Iran
February 10, 2026, 11:14 AM According to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), as of yesterday, more than 6,400 protesters have been killed and over 51,500 arrested on charges linked to the demonstrations. Over 11,000 more related deaths remain under review. Farsi-language social media remains flooded with images of the dead, missing and detained. Videos show families grieving loved ones killed in the streets, while others are pleas from relatives searching for missing family members in morgues and prisons, or seeking legal support for those behind bars. Many wounded protesters still seek medical advice from doctors on social media on how to treat their injuries at home, because they fear getting arrested in hospitals by regime forces, who closely monitor hospitals in order to track wounded protesters. An Iranian lawyer told last week that several of doctors who provided home treatment to wounded protesters have been arrested. The volume of such social media posts has shown no sign of slowing. According to HRANA, at least 331 forced confessions related to the protests have been broadcast so far. The Iranian regime also arrested several prominent reformist figures yesterday, according to Fars News, after they allegedly criticized the authorities’ handling of the protests. They face charges including attacking national unity and coordinating with enemy propaganda,”according to Fars News. (Source: ABC News - U.S.)
Iraq
10:14-10 February 2026 As part of a US operation to relocate isis group detainees, ’suspected’ extremists have been transferred from Syria. The detainees are among around 7,000 suspects the US military began transferring last month after Syrian government forces captured Kurdish-held territory where they had been held by Kurdish fighters. The SDF went on to jail thousands of ’suspected’ extremists and detain tens of thousands of their relatives in camps. They include Syrians, Iraqis and Europeans, among other nationalities. Maan, a spokesperson for the Iraqi government's security information unit told today that 4,583 detainees had been brought to Iraq so far. Isis committed massacres across Syria and Iraq in 2014. Iraq proclaimed the defeat of isis in 2017. In neighboring Syria the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces ultimately beat back the group two years later. In Iraq many prisons are packed with isis suspects. Courts have handed down hundreds of death sentences and life terms to those convicted of terrorism offences, including many foreign fighters. This month Iraq's judiciary said it had begun investigations into detainees transferred from Syria. (Source: Asharq Al-Awsat – Headquartered in London, England, owned by a member of the Saudi royal family.)
Strait of Hormuz
13:24, 10/02/2026, Tuesday Tensions spike in Hormuz. The United States has issued an emergency warning for commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran fortifies nuclear sites. The moves point to heightened military preparations amid stalled nuclear negotiations and regional uncertainty, even as fragile indirect diplomatic talks, nuclear negotiations continue between Washington and Tehran in Oman. In a new guidance, the U.S. administration advised that U.S.-flagged commercial ships should avoid Iran's territorial waters, „as far away as possible" while transiting the Strait, a passage vital for global energy supplies. The advisory explicitly instructed crews not to forcibly resist if boarded by Iranian forces, emphasizing this does not imply consent. Satellite images published by Israeli media suggest Tehran is reinforcing its nuclear facilities. Imagery of tunnel entrances being sealed with earth at Iran's Isfahan nuclear complex has fueled speculation of preparations against a potential attack. Analysts suggest this could be a defensive measure to protect enriched uranium stocks and limit damage in the event of an air strike. Speaking in Armenia, U.S. Vice President Vance stated the U.S. administration believes a constructive agreement would benefit both sides, but the talks remain deadlocked over the scope of issues, with the U.S. insisting on including Iran's missile program and regional activities. He indicated that demands in the negotiations would remain confidential and that any deal would require President Trump's approval. (Source: Yeni Şafak - Turkey)
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