An electoral tsunami swept away Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, ending 60 years of rule by the United Malays National Organization, UMNO. The outcome was welcomed at home as well as abroad – viewed as a democratic system asserting itself against corruption and erosion of the rule of law and perhaps presaging the decline of race-based politics.

Two post-Soviet Caspian Sea sub-regions – Central Asia and the South Caucasus – have experienced different conflict scenarios.

Political uncertainty and over-reliance on external borrowing make the country more vulnerable than lower-rated sovereigns.

If Astana and Tashkent can tackle long-term obstacles to growth, there’s great potential in the region.

Kazakhstan’s government is asking an appeals court to throw out a decision that allowed BNY Mellon to freeze about $22 billion of assets in the country’s oil fund as part of a dispute over an unpaid arbitration award.

Earlier this month, the UK’s parliament backed a change to legislation that would force the government to push offshore tax havens to boost transparency in an effort to tackle corruption and money laundering. Without much enthusiasm, the government has announced not to oppose a cross-party amendment, writes Bill Wirtz.