This week, U.S. President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian peace proposal and ordered an extension of the blockade on Iranian ports, while Israel resumed military operations in Lebanon. In the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. sanctioned a Chinese importer of Iranian oil, threatening more sanctions against China’s banking sector, while Beijing blocked Meta’s acquisition of a Chinese AI company. In the Russia/Ukraine conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a Victory Day ceasefire on May 9, while in transatlantic relations, Trump stated he was considering withdrawing U.S. troops from Germany amid ongoing diplomatic disagreements.

This week, U.S. President Donald Trump extended the ongoing ceasefire with Iran, while Iran rejected negotiations with U.S. Vice President JD Vance as the U.S. continued its blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. In the Indo-Pacific, Japan removed export bans on lethal weapons, marking a shift in its pacifist policy, while Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te canceled a trip to Eswatini, accusing China of pressuring nearby countries to restrict their airspace. In the Russia/Ukraine conflict, the European Union approved a $106 billion loan to Ukraine, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed calls for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This week, the United States imposed a blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz during the ongoing two-week ceasefire observed by the U.S., , with talks to extend it and resume diplomatic negotiations in Pakistan currently underway. In the Indo-Pacific, the in the South China Sea, while China eased some trade restrictions against Taiwan following last week’s negotiations with In the Russia/Ukraine conflict, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed multiple defense agreements with European countries, and the EU sought to move forward with dispensing a multibillion-dollar loan that had until now been held up by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who lost in last week’s parliamentary elections The U.S. has ramped up its planning for possible military action against Cuba amid continued talks over the country’s leadership.   Marxist Arrow by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This week, the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire following President Donald Trump’s threats of targeting Iran's power plants and other infrastructure, while Israel escalated its bombing campaign against Lebanon. In the Indo-Pacific, South Korea met with representatives from Gulf countries to discuss securing energy supplies, and Taiwan’s opposition leader visited China, stalling Taipei’s efforts to pass a special defense budget. In the Russia/Ukraine conflict, both sides agreed to an Orthodox Easter ceasefire, while Trump met with NATO’s secretary general amid a strain between Washington and the transatlantic alliance. In the U.S., immigration enforcement operations continued despite a recent funding bill restricting funds from reaching border and immigration operations.

Student Fellow Riley Sullivan is joined by Dr. Kseniya Sotnikova, Ax:son Johnson Fellow with the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), to discuss women's roles in the war in Ukraine.  Learn more about Dr. Sotnikova: https://cepa.org/author/kseniya-sotnikova/ Learn more about New Lines' work on CRSV: https://newlinesinstitute.org/project/crsv/ Learn more about New Lines' work on Ukraine: https://newlinesinstitute.org/category/intl-law-peace/

In this episode of Crime Beat Conversations, Rafaella Lipschitz talks to Adam Rousselle, illicit finance expert and founder of Between the Lines, to discuss Chinese money-laundering networks and their role as the financial backbone of Latin America’s drug cartels. They explore how China’s internal capital flight pressures have produced a shadow financial architecture that connects Chinese elites to fentanyl networks in the America’s, and how traditional counter-narcotics enforcement misses the mark in combatting these illicit financial systems. Stay tuned for more from Crime Beat Conversations. Read Adam’s latest piece for the New Lines Institute here: https://newlinesinstitute.org/global-security-mil-priorities/china-cartel-nexus-the-liquidity-architecture-transforming-the-global-drug-economy/ Find Between the Lines here: https://www.btl-research.com/ For more from Adam, follow on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-rousselle-918659188/) and X (https://x.com/rousselle_adam)   A New Lines Institute Mafiacracies Project production: https://newlinesinstitute.org/initiative/mafiacracies-project/   For more from Rafaella, follow on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/rlipschitz) and X (https://x.com/rlipschitz01)   Explore similar analysis and forecasting from New Lines institute: https://newlinesinstitute.org/ Follow our socials for news on upcoming events, analysis, infographics, and more! https://linktr.ee/NewLinesInstitute

In this episode, we continue to highlight our recently published 2026 Q2 forecast report on geopolitical hotspots around the world and their implications on global connectivity themes like trade, technology, energy, and climate. We discuss the internal destabilization happening in Iran, and review some of the main events that happened in Venezuela, the US, Afghanistan/Pakistan, and in conflicts in Africa.

This podcast highlights our recently published 2026 Q2 Forecast report on geopolitical hotspots around the world and their implications on global connectivity themes like trade, technology, energy, and climate. In part 1 of this podcast, we discuss our outlook for global hotspots like the Middle East, Indo-Pacific, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while in part 2 we cover the US/Americas and hotspots elsewhere throughout the world.

This week, the United States and Iran traded proposals for a diplomatic settlement to their war, with Pakistan working as an intermediary, while the U.S. sent an additional 2,000 troops to the region for a possible ground operation into Iran. In the Russia/Ukraine conflict, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that there was “irrefutable evidence” of Russian intelligence aid to Iran, while the U.K. authorized its armed forces to board and seize Russian shadow fleet vessels. In the Indo-Pacific, a member of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces broke into the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo as Japan plans to downgrade relations with China, while the White House confirmed new dates for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The U.S. formally stated it would deny access to a Russian tanker aiming to deliver oil to Cuba, while continuing to allow U.S. suppliers to sell oil to Cuba’s private sector.

This week, the conflict in Iran intensified as the U.S. bombed military facilities on Iran’s Kharg Island and Israel bombed key Iranian energy facilities, with Iran responding with attacks on energy infrastructure in the Gulf. Israel also committed troops for a possible ground invasion of Lebanon.  In the Indo-Pacific, U.S. President Donald Trump formally postponed a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping by a month in light of the Iran conflict, while Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi visited Washington. Ukraine signed an agreement with the U.K. focusing on defense industry cooperation, while Türkiye stated it was willing to host a new round of negotiations between Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. The U.S. continued its pressure campaign on Cuba, with Trump suggesting he wanted to “take” the island, while Russia pledged to deliver oil amid island-wide blackouts caused by the U.S. blockade.    Marxist Arrow by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/