U.S. health secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. called the World Economic Forum a “billionaires’ boys club” imposing totalitarian controls. Indeed, since 1971, the elite platform shaped geopolitics. But its Western-centricism kept out the concerns of the rest. This gave rise to alternative forums, which look beyond financial agendas to the perspectives shaping the Global South. Here are 45 of biggest, half of which began just two decades ago.

The world is facing multiple crises which are shaking the foundations of multilateralism. The West’s structures are faltering, and the need for effective and equitable cooperation is greater than ever. Seventy years after the 1955 Bandung Conference, its principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, cooperation and solidarity remain vital. This report revisits Bandung’s relevance for today’s reform efforts, urging renewed Global South–Europe collaboration for a sustainable global future.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is in India Oct 8-9, to discuss geopolitics with his Indian counterpart and also to boost bilateral trade. The UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) signed in July 2025 marks a milestone in the relationship. The deal, however, omits reference to the creative industries which contribute significantly to UK GDP and play a vital role in the UK-India corridor.

Each autumn, Russia convenes its flagship Annual Summit — a gathering of global leaders, business elites and intellectuals. Often compared in scale to Davos or Shangri-La, what sets Valdai apart is President Vladimir Putin’s extended, unscripted dialogue with the audience. Over the years, India has moved to the centre of this dialogue, reflecting its strategic weight and offering rare insight into Moscow’s evolving worldview.

The year 2025 is often compared to the Bandung moment of 1955, and for good reason. With the U.S. reordering traditional relationships, the opportunity for greater emphasis on the Global South is now. It is therefore time for India, Africa and ASEAN among others to re-burnish their Global South credentials and use that identity as a platform to engage each other more deeply.

In this book, author Ram Madhav refers to “order” not simply in terms of politics and power, but as the outcome of inventions, industries, and ideologies that have shaped human civilisation. He blends the lens of an Indian scholar with that of a seasoned politician, tracing turning points in history and highlighting the roles of non-state actors, technological revolutions, and the moral and ethical dimensions of order.

America’s allies say they will recognise a Palestinian state by September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire and a two-state solution. Apart from rewarding Hamas, creating a new state has multiple legal, cartographic, social and military implications that have not been considered. Better to provide much-needed food and medical aid for now, than posture for a solution.

There was much at stake for the U.S.-Russia summit at Alaska – more than just the future of Ukraine. It will put the world back on economic track, and ease East-West relations, under stress for an on-going tariff war. For now, diplomacy has played a successful hand.

India-U.S. trade negotiations have faltered. India stepped outside its comfort zone to offer zero tariffs on industrial goods that form 40% of U.S. exports to India, but the additional 25% tariffs have rendered most Indian exports noncompetitive. Only a carefully balanced, incremental negotiating framework blending economic pragmatism with protection of core domestic interests backed by political will, stands a realistic chance of bridging the current impasse.

Set in the 1930s, when Britain was trying to appease Hitler, The Spy and the Devil follows Baltic aristocrat-turned-MI6 agent Baron Wilhelm “Bill” de Ropp, who infiltrated Hitler’s inner circle through Nazi ideologue Alfred Rosenberg. Through Rosenberg he met Hitler and became one of the few Westerners with inside access to his court. The author weaves espionage, British foreign policy, MI6’s evolution into a compelling narrative.