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Issue Brief April 1, 2026 • 3:09 pm ET Print this page By Greg Brownstein Bottom lines up front Global payment systems are fragmenting due to market, technological, regulatory, and geopolitical forces, leaving end users with slower, costlier, and less transparent cross-border payments. Geopolitics is an increasingly powerful but underaddressed driver of fragmentation, as states weaponize payment infrastructure and build rival systems outside the dollar-based order.With the G20 Roadmap’s 2027 deadline approaching and little tangible progress for end users, the G20 must shift from setting standards to driving implementation and confronting the geopolitics of payment fragmentation head-on. The global economy…

Wild Cards is the latest card-based title from Avid Games.The gameplay features quicker match times with 12-card decks.The game is free-to-download on Android and iOS platforms. There are a lot of card-based titles out there. But we don’t think any of them have let you pit prolific author Agatha Christie against, er, a Bengal Tiger. Until now. Wild Cards is the newest title on Android and PC from Avid Games – creator of Cards, the Universe and Everything (CUE Cards) – and it’s shaking up the rules of the card game genre. How Wild Cards is different This is a…

The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has triggered one of the Middle East’s long-feared nightmares: a full-blown regional conflagration. The expansion of the conflict has had especially significant consequences for Iran’s western neighbor, Iraq.For the past few years, Iraq had avoided getting entangled in the convulsions that followed Hamas’s attacks on October 7, 2023. Despite its strong ties to Tehran, Baghdad managed to stay largely outside the line of fire, mostly because both the Iranian and Iraqi governments discouraged Iranian-aligned militias in Iraq from joining the fight. These armed groups had emerged as a major force in the country after the…

“I’m not giving him a chance,” Covington told Submission Radio. “Hernandez and Khamzat are completely different levels of grapplers and the way they approach their strategies. So, I think Khamzat’s going to take him down and submit him. ‘Schmo’ went and watched them spar back at Xtreme Couture a couple of years ago, and he pretty much said it wasn’t competitive.”Covington is referring to media personality “The Schmo” who frequently interviews fighters.“Khamzat was just taking him down and submitting him, so I expect that same damn plan,” Covington continued. “He’s not going to be stupid and strike with Sean and…

Hanwha Philly Shipyard. Credit: © Hanwha Group. Hanwha Defense USA (HDUSA) and Hanwha Philly Shipyard, both subsidiaries of South Korea’s Hanwha Group, have secured their first project from the US Navy. The entities will serve as subcontractors to Vard Marine US (VARD) for the Next Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS) programme, also known as the light replenishment oiler (T-AOL), Hanwha said. Discover B2B Marketing That Performs Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms. Find out more Under the terms of the contract, Hanwha will collaborate with VARD to conduct a market survey and…

China has long been dismissed as the world’s factory floor—a country that excels at manufacturing technologies invented elsewhere yet is unable to invent anything radically new on its own. But it has proved in the past decade that it can be an innovation powerhouse. China is now far ahead of the United States in manufacturing and deploying advanced technologies such as electric vehicles, batteries, wireless telecommunications equipment, humanoid robots, and next-generation nuclear power. China’s rapidly growing pharmaceutical sector has nearly caught up to the United States in its pace of introducing new drugs to the market. And China’s military now…

In 2025, J.C. Ellis wrote, “Trump Needs a Plan on Ukraine’s Buried Treasure,” where he argued that Washington should enact a strategy for Ukraine that ensures Ukrainian control and allied access to its storehouse of critical minerals. A year later, after a critical minerals investment plan for Ukraine has been established, we asked J.C. to revisit his original argument.Image: MidjourneyIn your 2025 article, you argued that Washington should enact a strategy for Ukraine that ensures Ukrainian control and allied access to its massive storehouse of critical minerals. A few months after your article was written, the United States and Ukraine…

The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. Iran has asked for a ceasefire, U.S. President Donald Trump says. In a statement on Truth Social today, Trump claimed the request came from “Iran’s New Regime President.” Trump added: “We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!” Trump did not mention the top official by name, but described the individual as “much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors.”…

Photo source: Northrop GrummanDefense Feeds – Northrop Grumman turned heads on March 31 with a stunning display of its Lumberjack Group 3 uncrewed aircraft system during the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division Operation Lethal Eagle exercise.This low-cost attritable drone showcased full autonomous mission control linked to the Army’s Maven Smart System. Army troops got hands-on proof of how the platform runs with minimal human tweaks under oversight.The demo even mimicked launching Northrop’s Hatchet mini precision strike munition a lightweight six-pound weapon packing the punch of bigger guided bombs.Michael Bastin director of distributed systems at Northrop Grumman shared his excitement in…

UFC bantamweight contenders Deiveson Figueiredo and Raul Rosas Jr. will collide in a submission-only grappling match in the co-main event of the upcoming Hype Brazil fight card on April 8 from inside Komplexo Tempo Arena in São Paulo, Brazil.The promotion announced the bout earlier today on social media.Here’s the current Hype Brazil lineup:Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Raul Rosas Jr. — submission onlyCicero Coutinho vs. Marfio Canoletti — bareknuckle boxingLucas Sayajin vs. Thales Adriel — bareknuckle boxingRomero Reis vs. Ricardo Sattelmayer — bareknuckle boxingMatheus Rangel vs. Douglas Mutante — bareknuckle boxingLaysa Silva vs. Bianca Sattelmayer — bareknuckle boxingExpect the Hype Brazil lineup…