Libre News of THe World Express Edition. Monday the 14th of April 2025

On this episode of Libre News of The World Express Edition, we journey through the latest wave of global developments shaping geopolitics, climate action, and economic reform. Poland made headlines by unveiling a historic defense budget for 2025—raising military spending to 4.7% of GDP, the highest among NATO allies, in response to heightened regional tensions (apnews.com). In Southeast Asia, Singapore introduced plans to transform Tampines into its first carbon-neutral city district, a flagship project within the Green Plan 2030 that includes distributed district cooling and green mobility networks (greenplan.gov.sg). Thailand hosted a regional summit focused on climate resilience, bringing together leaders and experts to strengthen cooperation on disaster preparedness and sustainable infrastructure (bangkokpost.com). Meanwhile, Malaysia launched a sweeping Digital Economy Blueprint aiming to boost digital GDP contributions to 22.6% and create half a million jobs through digital transformation initiatives (greenplan.gov.sg). Vietnam reported a robust 6.93% GDP growth in Q1 2025—its strongest first-quarter performance in five years—driven by manufacturing, services, and tourism rebound (bangkokpost.com). Indonesia strengthened ties with Africa, signing $3.5 billion in trade and investment deals across energy, health, and aerospace sectors during the second Indonesia-Africa Forum (africa.com). In maritime developments, the Philippines intensified naval patrols in the South China Sea amid ongoing confrontations with China, reinforcing regional cooperation through joint drills with the U.S., Japan, and Australia (apnews.com). Argentina secured a $20 billion deal with the IMF to bolster foreign reserves and stabilize its economy amid sweeping austerity reforms (wsj.com). Pakistan’s migrant policy made waves as it ordered all undocumented Afghans and Afghan Citizen Card holders to leave by March 31, sparking alarm from rights groups over deportations into Taliban-controlled territories (reuters.com). Nigeria, facing a youth unemployment crisis, rolled out a sweeping job creation program to produce 12 million new jobs through vocational training, startup support, and targeted welfare schemes (france24.com). Tragedy struck in Sudan as a paramilitary raid in Darfur left more than 100 dead, including children and aid workers, exacerbating one of the world’s most dire humanitarian crises (france24.com). And finally, diplomatic channels stirred as Iran and the United States agreed to continue indirect nuclear talks after a constructive round in Oman, reviving hopes for de-escalation in a region long marked by tension (france24.com).