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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.President Trump has instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran, U.S. officials said, targeting the regime’s coffers in a high-risk bid to compel a nuclear capitulation Tehran has long refused.In recent meetings, including a Monday discussion in the Situation Room, Trump opted to continue squeezing Iran’s economy and oil exports by preventing shipping to and from its ports.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The UAE's exit from the global oil cartels may be good for India, the world's third-largest oil buyer, sector experts said.The exit comes at a time when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has been trying to cap production amid a global oil crisis. The UAE decision may weaken Opec's control over oil prices and result in more energy purchases by India, experts said."This decision aligns with the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and the evolution of its energy sector, including accelerating investment in domestic energy production, while reinforcing its commitment to its role as a responsible and reliable producer looking to the future of global energy markets," the Emirates' energy ministry wrote on X.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Once upon a time, a U.S. president asked his aides for one thing before his trip to Beijing: a chance to be seen as a regular guy.It was 2005, a relatively warm chapter in U.S.-China relations, and George W. Bush was a passionate mountain biker.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.WASHINGTON—Hours after gunfire erupted outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Sen. Kevin Cramer called President Trump to check on him.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Federal Reserve succession drama now comes down to a decision only Jerome Powell can make.The Justice Department said on Friday it would halt its criminal investigation of the Fed chair. Initial ambiguity about whether the probe was truly over kept the path uncertain through the weekend.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Xi Jinping had just finished a lunch of herbed-ricotta ravioli at a secluded estate outside San Francisco in 2023 when his security agents sprang into action.Their mission: ensuring no trace of the Chinese leader’s DNA fell into foreign hands. The agents—measuring about 6-foot-3, dressed in identical dark suits—were observed grabbing Xi’s utensils and plate and spraying them with an unidentified liquid.Welcome to the unseen theater of great-power diplomacy, where a meeting of the two most powerful leaders on earth can hinge on the slightest missed protocol, an unexpected miscue or even a bit of saliva left on a fork.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.At the same hotel where then-President Ronald Reagan was shot 45 years ago, it was remarkably easy for a shooter to charge toward a ballroom where President Trump—along with his cabinet members and the reporters who cover his administration—were dining Saturday night.The sprawling Washington Hilton, located about 1½ miles north of the White House, for decades has been home to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner because of its capacity to host a large crowd and the Secret Service’s familiarity with securing it. More than 2,500 people attended the event, including five of the top six officials in the presidential line of succession.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Geography may place India and New Zealand at distant points on the world map, but that distance has never defined their relationship. They have common democratic values, strong people-to-people ties and a deep cultural affinity, which includes their shared love for cricket. Much like their encounters on the pitch, India-New Zealand trade has traditionally resembled a Test match: steady and patient but often lacking in tempo, and has only picked up pace in recent years.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.WASHINGTON—King Charles III arrives in Washington on Monday to publicly celebrate 250 years since a nascent U.S. republic ousted his forebears, and privately ensure that a fraying trans-Atlantic relationship can cope with another two-plus years of President Trump.The four day visit—billed as King Charles’s most high-wire diplomatic act since coming to the throne—will include a speech to Congress, the first time a British monarch has spoken there since 1991, a private audience with Trump and state dinner in Washington, as well as trips to New York and Virginia.The attempted attack at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner cast a shadow over the visit.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Defence profligacy is a prerogative of rich, powerful nations. In 1983, the US embarked on its Strategic Defense Initiative, nicknamed Star Wars after a science-fiction film. Its bizarre cost-benefit equation led to it being binned within a decade.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s presidency of Brics arrives at a consequential moment for the global order. Traditional multilateral institutions are struggling to respond to geopolitical conflict, economic fragmentation and technological disruption.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The fight against Russia in Ukraine is now firmly Europe’s war.The European Union this week signed off on the equivalent of $105 billion in loans to keep Kyiv afloat through the end of next year—but officials warned that it may not be enough.With Russia determined to continue its four-year invasion until it dominates its neighbor, and President Trump pulling back from Europe and focused on the Middle East, Ukraine finds itself reliant on the traditionally gun-shy EU in its war for survival.The confirmation of the loan ahead of a summit in Cyprus on Thursday, long blocked by recently ousted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, marked a fresh sign of resolve and unity in the bloc.“For the first time in years there are no Russians in the room,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media, an apparent reference to Orbán, who had warm ties with Moscow but stayed away from the EU summit after recently losing an election. “Huge relief,” Tusk added.The funding decision, which Orban cleared this week following his election defeat, comes at a critical moment for Ukraine, which needs the cash to sustain its economy and its military amid relentless Russian assaults as Moscow seeks to grab more land in its neighbor’s east.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.President Donald Trump has named Christopher Phelan as his next chief economist, an increasingly important role as the White House focuses on affordability and employment ahead of the midterm elections.Assuming he is confirmed, Phelan will become chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, counseling the president on economic matters. He will replace acting CEA Chief Pierre Yared.Yared is standing in for Stephen Miran, who left the CEA in September when Trump appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Federal Reserve Board.“Miran was an ideological ally,” says Jacob Bastian, a senior economist at CEA during the Biden administration and an assistant professor of economics at Rutgers University.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.With equity markets roiled by the West Asia war and sharp swings in mid- and small-caps, investors are grappling with how to position portfolios.In an interaction with Mint, Trideep Bhattacharya, president and chief investment officer-equities, Edelweiss Mutual Fund, with average assets under management of ₹1.65 trillion in the March quarter, shares why he remains cautiously optimistic and how investors should navigate the current phase. Edited excerpts:Where do you see markets heading from here, given the recent volatility?We are incrementally positive on markets, particularly from a near-term perspective.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.WASHINGTON—The U.S. has burned through so many munitions in Iran that some administration officials increasingly assess that America couldn’t fully execute contingency plans to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion if it occurred in the near term, U.S. officials said.The U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.With the dollar’s early war premium largely faded, the trajectory of the conflict in Iran is now a bigger driver than underlying economic data.The U.S. dollar index—a gauge measuring the dollar’s value against its key rivals—rose 2.41% in March, when uncertainty about the war was at its peak.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Iranian-flagged oil tanker Dorena slipped past a U.S. Navy cordon and was headed out into the Indian Ocean when it switched off its location signal and went dark.The ship, whose movements were tracked by shipping-intelligence firm Kpler, is one of hundreds of sanctions-evading ghost-fleet vessels playing a game of cat-and-mouse as the U.S. tries to lock down Iran’s oil trade and pressure the country to agree to President Trump’s terms for peace.This time, the U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.John Phelan sat in the lobby of the West Wing for more than an hour Wednesday night, waiting to see if his longtime friend and neighbor, President Trump, would save his job. He would leave disappointed.That afternoon, Phelan, the Navy secretary, had received a phone call from his boss, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, asking for his resignation.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The sudden exit of a chairperson is often accompanied by off-the-shelf explanations like ‘personal reasons’, ‘strategic realignment’ or the pursuit of ‘other opportunities.’ The recent abrupt resignation of HDFC Bank’s chair was a reminder that at the summit of corporate power, where the air is thin and minutes are curated, such reasons are rarely taken at face value.This is curious because a corporate organization chart resembles something between a pyramid and a theological hierarchy. At the base: employees. Above them: managers.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.US President Donald Trump’s nominee for Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh is facing the heat before he even gets to that hot seat. On Tuesday, Senate Banking Committee members lobbed a fiery attack on him during his scheduled confirmation hearing over myriad issues, but most critically over whether he would work independently of the White House.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.IN THE RUN-UP to Israel’s independence day, the motorway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv is always festooned with flags. But this year, between the blue-and-white Israeli pennants hangs a another kind of star-spangled banner: that of America. Israel’s government had hoped that Donald Trump, the American president, would arrive on April 22nd to celebrate the 78th anniversary of its independence.