As fighting between two rival army factions in Sudan rages on, the spillover effects on the restive Darfur region are getting worse.
The flare-up has drawn in local militias in Western Darfur, resulting in hundreds of deaths in the city of El-Geneina this week alone, while thousands have also been displaced.
Hospitals and markets in the region were also burned down by Arab militias and African insurgent groups that have remained at loggerheads since 2003, when Sudan's then-President Omar al-Bashir waged a deadly crackdown to quash an ethnic revolt, killing some 300,000 people.
Many of those fleeing the violence in Western Darfur are now crossing over into Chad, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis in one of the world’s poorest countries.
Meanwhile, the UN said on Wednesday that more than half of Sudan’s population – around 25 million – now relies on aid, up from 15 million, and has called on member states to raise $3 billion to help the war-torn country. But if the crisis in Yemen is anything to go by – the UN’s Humanitarian Response Plan there remains grossly underfunded – Sudan might not get what it needs from the international community anytime soon.
In this Quick Take, Ian Bremmer weighs in on the politicization of the Olympics after comments by Team USA freestyle skier Hunter Hess sparked backlash about patriotism and national representation.
100 million: The number of people expected to watch the Super Bowl halftime performance with Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican superstar and newly minted Album of the Year winner at the Grammys.
Brazilian skiers, American ICE agents, Israeli bobsledders – this is just a smattering of the fascinating characters that will be present at this year’s Winter Olympics. Yet the focus will be a different country, one that isn’t formally competing: Russia.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), appeals for a candidate during a street speech of the House of Representatives Election Campaign in Shintomi Town, Miyazaki Prefecture on February 6, 2026. The Lower House election will feature voting and counting on February 8th.
Japanese voters head to the polls on Sunday in a snap election for the national legislature’s lower house, called just three months into Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s tenure.