Leon Hadar

Perhaps the most striking dimension of Trump’s push is the appeal to China, a country he has spent years framing as a strategic adversary.
THE BOTTOM LINE

The Hormuz gamble: Trump’s coalition dream and its hard realities

Gap between Trump’s claims and silence of the countries he is counting on speaks volumes about limits of pressure-based multilateralism

From left: US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet for three days from Mar 31 to Apr 2.
THE BOTTOM LINE

Deals over principles: Trump’s China gambit in the shadow of Iran

Can the two great powers arrive at an agreement at the upcoming bilateral summit in Beijing?

US consumers are seeing petrol prices rise US$0.05 to US$0.10 per gallon daily, and those increases ripple far beyond the forecourt.
THE BOTTOM LINE

Price of war: How the conflict with Iran is hitting the US economy

A longer-lasting escalation would shrink America’s forecasted expansion by more than half

Anthropic argued that mass domestic surveillance likely violates the Fourth Amendment.
THINKING ALOUD

When principle meets power: the Anthropic-Pentagon stand-off

What is the future of AI governance – especially in military and national security contexts?

Damaged residential buildings in Manama, Bahrain's capital, following an Iranian drone attack on Mar 2.

From targeted strike to regional firestorm: how the US-Israeli attack on Iran escalated

It is now a regional war – fought across at least seven countries, with missiles falling on civilian airports, naval headquarters and...

The joint strikes targeted Iran’s military infrastructure, nuclear programme and ultimately its head of state.

US-Israeli strikes on Iran: a reckoning with no clear ending

The joint military attacks have created a political vacuum and could create further hardship on the ground

US President Donald Trump himself announced a US$10 billion US contribution, calling it a bargain compared to the cost of continued war.

The Board of Peace: Bold vision, uncertain future

It is a fundamentally different kind of institution – one whose rules, norms and accountability mechanisms are still being written

US President Donald Trump's response to the Supreme Court ruling was characteristically defiant, ordering a new 10  per cent global tariff, that was quickly raised to 15 per cent.

The court says no: the Supreme Court’s rebuke of Trump’s tariff gambit

The ruling is a victory for the rule of law, but it is not the end of the trade war

The Washington Post headquarters in Washington.
THINKING ALOUD

Requiem for The Washington Post

The newspaper that brought down a president is dying in darkness – and its billionaire owner lit the match

The Epstein case shows up an uncomfortable realisty: that the current US legal system too often allows those with resources and connections to evade consequences that others cannot.
THE BOTTOM LINE

The Epstein files: Accountability and the question of elite impunity

Jeffery Epstein’s ability to operate for decades, despite credible allegations, points to failures across multiple institutions