Hard Numbers

300 million: Since its February 15 release, a new Chinese sci-fi blockbuster, Wandering Earth, has brought in more than $300 million at the box office, making it one of the highest grossing films in the country's history. The movie details efforts by Earth's governments to save the planet from an unstable sun by attaching thrusters to the planet and ejecting it into another part of the universe in search of a new home. We leave it to you to decide what world leader the film's writers may have had metaphorically in mind.

$240,500: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is sporting a fancy new limousine just weeks ahead of his second summit with President Trump. The Mercedes Maybach S-600 will doubtless impress Mr. Trump, but we can't help noting that 2018 model's retail price of $240,500 is almost 200 times the per capita income of Mr. Kim's country.

1,000: After winning power in Madya Pradesh, India's fifth largest state, the opposition Congress party announced a plan to build 1,000 new shelters there for cows, an animal widely revered by Hindus. As national elections approach later this year, the resurgent Congress party is trying to chip away at the ruling BJP's bona fides among Hindu nationalists.

86: As he starts his third month in office, Mexico's new president, the left-wing nationalist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, boasts an enviable 86 percent approval rating. His policy of going after fuel thieves remains his most popular initiative.

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Brazil’s Supreme Court has sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for plotting to overturn the 2022 election and allegedly conspiring to assassinate President Lula. In this week's "ask ian," Ian Bremmer says the verdict highlights how “your response… has nothing to do with rule of law. It has everything to do with tribal political affiliation.”

Supporters of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) attend a rally to protest against the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and main rival of President Tayyip Erdogan, a day after the removal of the CHP's Istanbul provincial head Ozgur Celik by a court over alleged irregularities in a 2023 CHP provincial congress, in Istanbul, Turkey, September 3, 2025.
REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

After a weekend of mass protests in Turkey, a court in Ankara has postponed its decision in a highly charged case that could oust Turkey’s main opposition leader – and boost the fortunes of long-time President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.