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ASEAN rejects a Russia-free Asian order

Scott Foster argues that ASEAN’s summit with Russia underscored Southeast Asia’s determination to preserve a multipolar regional order rather than align exclusively with either Washington or Beijing. Expanding energy ties with Moscow reflects a pragmatic pursuit of strategic autonomy amid growing global fragmentation.

Germany’s pension overhaul comes at everyone’s expense

Diego Faßnacht writes that Germany’s proposed pension overhaul asks workers, employers, retirees and the self-employed to share the costs of demographic decline without addressing its root causes. The reforms buy time but leave the country facing slower growth, higher labor costs and deeper political polarization.

Ukraine tries to convince the West the tide has turned

James Davis reports that while Russia continues to make gradual battlefield gains, Kiev is intensifying long-range strikes and strategic messaging to persuade Western leaders that momentum is shifting. The competing narratives are hardening divisions in Moscow and raising the risk that miscalculation could drive a broader escalation.