Bartapest

Technology and communications consultant Shelley Palmer shares his "AI Apocalypse Playbook": shellypalmer.com/2026/10/your... #AI #cyberattack @newhousesu.bsky.social

What might the world look like in 2036? Check out the latest 10-year forecasts of the @iftf.org: www.iftf.org/projects/ift...

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank commits up to $100M to the TPG Rise Climate Global South Initiative Fund & co-investments to scale private #climate finance across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, targeting energy transition, green mobility & resilience.

The World Bank tripled its private capital mobilization to $112B in FY2026, up from $35B in FY2022. However, funding for the poorest nations remained flat at just $3B: www.ft.com/content/0e57...

The UN Secretary-General has proposed a 2027 regular budget of around $3.3 billion, down from 2026. This is roughly equivalent to the municipal budget of Charlotte, NC, and pales in comparison to New York City’s $125+ billion 2027 budget: sdg.iisd.org/news/secreta... #UN #diplomacy #foreignaffairs

Germany has become the world’s largest bilateral donor for the first time in 65 years, with €25.8 billion (about US$29.6 billion) in aid in 2025. -Devex

Detailed description of the U.S.-China “30-for-30” framework on #trade: agupdate.com/agriview/new... #China #tariffs #agriculture #farming

Sea arrivals of migrants & asylum seekers to Europe dropped nearly 40% (to 60,000) in the first 9 months of 2026, according to #UN Migration (IOM) . Total irregular crossings fell below 200k in 2025, far under 2015 peaks: www.iom.int/news/new-iom... @iomchief.iom.int #migration #Syria

China’s central committee and State Council jointly issued a set of “opinions” on “new quality productive forces”, which included a call to “actively advance the energy revolution”, reports BJX News (in Chinese): news.bjx.com.cn/html/2026100... #NetZero #sustainability #emissions

Vietnam has achieved FTSE Russell Secondary Emerging Market status, fundamentally changing its position in global capital markets: www.mondaq.com/financial-se... #Vietnam #ASEAN #economy #RCEP #CPTPP

Women living on the frontlines of nickel mining and processing in Southeast and Central Sulawesi, #Indonesia, are experiencing severe and disproportionate impacts on their health, cultural traditions, and livelihoods: cri.org/story/busy-s... @climaterights.bsky.social

Laos' Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce Manothong Vongsay calls for connecting Azerbaijani ports with Southeast Asian markets through regional transport infrastructure, including the #Laos–#China railway: report.az/en/infrastru...

Canada's International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu was in Mumbai and Bengaluru last week with nearly 300 Canadian business leaders, on a mission to sell Canadian energy and aerospace technology as Ottawa races to close a long-awaited trade agreement with New Delhi.

Japan's population continues to decline and now rests just below 123 million: www.nippon.com/en/japan-dat... #aging

Tech founder and longevity influencer Bryan Johnson plans to live forever and would never trust his health to an AI: www.axios.com/2026/10/08/b... h/t @axios.com

Ahead of its 2027 ASEAN chairmanship, Singapore plans to drive deeper regional economic integration, harness AI and tech growth, and expand global partnerships across Canada, Africa, and South America, says Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan: www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/vi...

Blended Finance, private sector financing in blended finance transactions increased 27% in 2025, helping the market remain resilient despite historic cuts to official development assistance: www.convergence.finance/resource/sta...

AI could save railways $80 billion and boost revenues by $50 billion annually. While operators are eager to tap into dozens of apps, most are still stuck in pilot mode and need better internal capabilities: www.bcg.com/publications...

Professor Jean Oi finds cash-strapped Chinese localities ditching land finance for new models: building industrial park ecosystems, acting as venture capitalists, and leveraging Belt and Road funding to drive growth: aparc.fsi.stanford.edu/news/how-chi... @stanforduniversity.bsky.social #BRI #China

The LNG Canada Phase 2 expansion project in Kitimat, British Columbia has the potential to generate more than C$50 billion in government revenues over the life of the project: www.lngcanada.ca/news/lng-can...

As the Trump administration ratchets up its economic attack on #Canada with a ban on selected imports, it is promoting planned tariff cuts on USD 60 billion in bilateral #trade with #China. Go figure. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...

Indonesia is currently responding to its worst wildfire season in years. Agricultural slash-and-burn practices routinely cause uncontrolled seasonal fires across the archipelagic nation. Following years of worsening burn seasons, a severe El Niño in 2026 is expected to set new historical highs.

YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook are reportedly unwilling to accept paid advertising for Alex Gibney’s movie #Musk. Here's the trailer in case you're interested: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp5W.... @alexgibneyfilm.bsky.social #Elon #Tesla #SpaceX

The Center for Global Development is hosting a panel discussion on new research mapping #China's engagement across the multilateral development banks, the vertical funds and the UN system: www.cgdev.org/event/new-er... @cgdev.org @adb.org

The @oecd-ocde.bsky.social assesses that #Malaysia's strong growth has boosted living standards, but further progress requires education reforms, productivity-enhancing regulations, and fiscal consolidation - including subsidy rationalization and tax reforms: www.oecd.org/en/topics/su...

Signals from today's meeting of China's State Council Executive Meeting suggest that the leadership is now worried about economic performance for the rest of the year and may be looking at a Q4 supplementary stimulus, per Bill Bishop @sinocism.com.web.brid.gy

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has asked for a temporary injunction against #OpenAI and #ChatGPT, claiming the company doesn't have the ability to properly regulate its own technology. The legal fight could further test how far states can go to restrict AI companies.

No leading politician in the USA lies like Donald Trump: www.cnn.com/2026/09/27/p...

Analysis of the #AI buildout shows its huge scale: $10.3 trillion in estimated AI infrastructure investment through 2032. That's 3.6% of GDP a year, dwarfing the investment booms that built the USA's railroads, highways, electric grid & telecom networks: www.brookings.edu/articles/fin...

South Korea’s National Learning Card integrates training support for employed and unemployed workers into a single 5-year grant - expanding access to #digital skills and lifelong learning in a changing #labor market: development.asia/case-study/h... #aging #education

China’s #AI surge looks less like a coordinated state strategy than a brutal domestic race. Despite major constraints - chips, compute & capital - stiff competition, cheap energy, open models & strong hardware capabilities are producing great innovation: earnedintuition.substack.com/p/involution...

Kazakhstan plans to introduce a driverless taxi service in 2027, with an autonomous vehicle already undergoing testing in Almaty and a pilot project underway in three cities: astanatimes.com/2026/09/kaza...

Commemorating 30 years of independent accountability, the Asian Development Bank has just published the Accountability Mechanism (AM) Annual Report, highlighting how the AM gives project-affected communities a voice and promotes sustainable development: www.adb.org/sites/defaul... @adb.org #finance

China’s new 134km Pinglu Canal creates a direct river-to-sea gateway to #ASEAN, cutting shipping routes by 560km and logistics costs up to 30% - a game-changer connecting Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Chongqing to booming regional #trade: www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/... #China #Vietnam

A clean #energy surge halted CO2 emission growth in India’s power sector from 1H 2024 to 1H 2026 - marking the first two-year period with zero coal power growth in over 50 years: www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-ind.... @carbonbrief.org #emissions #renewables #India

China aims for cars that use alternative clean energy sources to hit 70% of new car sales and 40% of commercial sales by 2030, according to a new five-year plan. Analysts suggest #EV and hybrid adoption could even reach 80%, up from 65% today.

China has implemented strict new overseas travel controls for civil servants, party cadres, state-enterprise staff, and sensitive-sector private citizens to protect state secrets, penalizing violations with fines and exit bans: www.ft.com/content/3f2b... #HotelCalifornia #CCP #PRC

The @gatesfoundation is investing US$1 billion in #AI for health, education, and agriculture, with 40% targeted at healthcare tools, diagnostics, and decision-making support for frontline workers in maternal and newborn care: www.geekwire.com/2026/gates-f...

Bell Canada’s #AI data centre near Regina is expanding to a projected C$50B investment and 1.2GW hub under Saskatchewan’s “Bring Your Own Power” policy. PM Carney, SK Premier Moe, and Bell Canada CEO Bibic announced the quadrupled project at the #Canada Investment Summit.

Alex Gibney’s nearly four-hour documentary "Musk" unsparingly dismantles Elon #Musk, framing the trillionaire not as a visionary savior, but as a dangerous, volatile confidence man with a god complex, inflated stocks, and toxic, unchecked power. Hits the theaters on October 16.

Asia-Pacific #SDG progress shows notable gains in poverty reduction, health, and clean energy, though results remain uneven. Geopolitical tensions, climate shocks, entrenched gender gaps, and transport disruptions threaten long-term regional development: sdg.iisd.org/commentary/g... @iisd.org

Despite growing competition from Western initiatives, #China’s Belt and Road Initiative continues to be very influential. The #BRI is adapting by pivoting toward renewable #energy and digital infrastructure to meet changing global conditions: www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion-feat... #infrastructure

Driven by rising global fuel prices, #China’s Belt and Road Initiative directed a record $20.1bn into green energy financing in early 2026, with private companies increasingly steering investments toward commercial opportunities: www.ft.com/content/221a... #BRI #oil

Asian growth faces mounting headwinds from slowing productivity, rapid population #aging, #trade fragmentation & energy vulnerabilities. To sustain momentum, policymakers must navigate these disruptions while harnessing #AI to drive inclusive innovation: www.imf.org/en/publicati...

Gartner warns that using AI primarily to cut jobs is a short-sighted trap. By 2029, 30% of workers laid off for AI will need to be rehired at higher costs: www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/...

Over. mastermindquotes.com/5-times-that...

"The people building #AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade." -Jacob Coxon, who just resigned from @anthropic.com

To sustain growth amid aging populations and trade fragmentation, Asian policymakers must pivot toward productivity, deepen regional trade ties, and leverage #AI while expanding digital access and energy security, argues IMF's Director of Asia/Pac: www.imf.org/en/publicati...

Southeast Asian nations have emerged as key drivers of China's clean-energy export boom, with the region making record purchases of #energy storage batteries, grid equipment, electric vehicles and clean-power generation components so far this year: www.reuters.com/commentary/r... #ASEAN