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Strait of Hormuz.The nuclear question is the oldest and most fundamental source of Western suspicion. Iran insists it has never sought to build a bomb.

For centuries the so-called cannon shot rule determined who controlled the seas. The legal concept, codified by Dutch jurist Cornelius van Bynkershoek in 1702, was simple: The distance a cannonball reached from shore set the maritime boundary of a coastal state.

The US-Iran ceasefire, framed as a two-week conditional truce, offers relief but is less of a resolution than a pause in a fast-escalating crisis. It follows nearly 40 days of sustained US-Israeli military pressure on Iran, itself an extension of the unresolved tensions that persisted after the 2025 Iran-Israel confrontation. In that sense, this ceasefire is simply a momentary recalibration in a longer strategic contest.At its core, the arrangement reflects a transactional bargain.

The turmoil of the last year-and-a half— tariff wars and physical wars (Iran, Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine), the abduction of a head of state and assassination of another, territorial ambitions and tattered alliances—has led to claims that the Pax Americana of stable global institutions managing commerce and conflict has ended. If that is true, what comes next? This uncertainty has fostered many forecasts of the future of global politics by policy pundits.Consider the analysis of Hal Brands, a historian at Johns Hopkins University and the American Enterprise Institute.

the New York Times. This is to give Trump additional military options even as he weighs a new diplomatic initiative with the Islamic republic, according to the report.“About 2,300 Marines from the 31st Expeditionary Unit are scheduled to arrive in the Middle East later this week, and U.S.

The US Department of Labor has proposed new rules with a near 11% increase in base wages for new H-1B visa applicants, a move that could raise costs for large information technology (IT) services firms which deploy significant visa-linked talent.As per a 26 March notification, the changes would lift pay benchmarks by at least $14,500 across entry-level and experienced hires, as Washington said it looks to curb “misuse” of the visa programme and bring foreign worker wages closer to parity with those of US employees. Going by this, an employee working on an H-1B visa in the US, who earned a base wage of $133,850 last fiscal year, would now earn about $148,439.The department has invited feedback on the new rules on or before 60 days of publishing of the draft.H-1B visas are non-immigrant visas that allow foreign nationals to temporarily work in the US in specialized occupations, including IT services-related work.The US department said the move aims to curb abuse of such visas "by reducing the incentive to displace American workers with low-wage foreign visa holders.”“This proposed rule will help ensure that employers pay foreign workers wages that reflect the real market value of their labor, in addition to protecting the wages and job opportunities of American workers," said Lori Chavez-DeRemer, US Secretary of Labour, as part of the Labour Department’s press release dated 26 March.

There is a paradox at the heart of the US economy. As the federal government imposes sweeping tariffs, signals hostility to multilateral trade and unnerves long-term investors with erratic policymaking, one state has emerged as the most reliable US address for global capital: California, the world’s fourth-largest economy and America’s second-largest exporting state with $188 billion in annual goods exports.

The international system is entering a phase that increasingly resembles an earlier era of geopolitics—one defined less by shared rules and more by competing spheres of influence. Signals emerging from Washington’s strategic thinking, particularly during the presidency of Donald Trump, point to a worldview in which power, leverage and bilateral bargaining take precedence over the norms and institutions that have guided global governance for decades.With the next Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) approaching, the future of multilateralism is in the spotlight.

was killed along with his 44 top leaders. The US and Israel thought that like in Iraq, people would revolt in Iran. But the reverse happened.People took to the streets to mourn Khamenei’s death.

Those who view President Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran as a blow to China should think again. Beijing will manage any potential leadership change in Tehran as long as the oil keeps flowing, a summit with Trump and President Xi Jinping stays on track, and Washington handles Taiwan—China’s most sensitive red line—with care. Xi’s strategy is closer to the ancient Chinese phrase that notes the benefit of sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight: conserve strength while others exhaust themselves, and intervene only if core interests are directly threatened.Beijing doesn’t think of alliances the way the US does.

speech last September. Then, he told his parliament that Washington’s aim for denuclearization was a “delusional obsession.”The two leaders haven’t met since 2019, and the North Korean leader ignored an offer to reconnect when Trump visited South Korea last fall. The Kim regime hasn’t held formal nuclear talks with the U.S.

After reaching a framework for a trade deal with India that raised the hope of bilateral ties settling down, Washington has thrown a fresh curve ball. On Tuesday, the US commerce department announced varying import duties on solar panels from three Asian countries, including a whopping 126% on those from India. The other two, Indonesia and Laos, also face similarly high tariffs.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Indian equities may attempt a relief rally this week, but renewed uncertainty around US trade policy is likely to keep investors on their toes. A weekend of sharp tariff moves from Washington has once again clouded the outlook for global markets, including India.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: India and the US have postponed talks on the proposed interim bilateral trade agreement following recent developments in Washington, including the US Supreme Court striking down the reciprocal tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump and the subsequent imposition of a new 15% universal tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. HONG KONG—In his two decades at Silicon Valley venture-capital titan Sequoia, Neil Shen made billions by identifying and investing in every major tech company to emerge in China. Now, the Chinese billionaire is betting big on artificial intelligence, using American capital to fund Chinese firms competing in the global AI race.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. WASHINGTON—President Trump is at a crossroads that could define his legacy: He could sign a deal that curbs Iran’s nuclear program, or launch a war with hard-to-control consequences for the U.S. and the Middle East.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. WASHINGTON—President Trump delivered what his advisers billed as a marquee speech about the economy on Thursday afternoon. But for much of the day, Trump had other matters on his mind.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is not in retreat, although many have been predicting its untimely demise for some time. Far from shrinking, President Xi Jinping’s signature lending plan is adapting, and in doing so becoming harder to counter. It’s shifting from financing megaprojects to becoming a long-term development partner, particularly for fast-growing economies in the Global South.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Syrian government is moving to close a detention camp that held tens of thousands of people including family members of suspected Islamic State fighters, after unrest threatened its grip on the facility just weeks after taking it over. Responsibility for the al-Hol detention camp changed hands in January, when the Syrian government launched an offensive that routed the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led militia that had controlled it along with much of northeastern Syria.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. MUNICH—Ask a European official who attended this weekend’s Munich Security Conference about the state of the trans-Atlantic relationship, and you’re likely to hear metaphors about dealing with a troubled, possibly abusive, spouse. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a less pugnacious message when compared with last year’s Munich conference.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. WASHINGTON—Tim and Sheri Lilley watched as a video on a large screen displayed the final seconds of their son’s life. Gray shading marked the contours of a cockpit window.