22,000: Taiwan has mobilised 22,000 reservists to carry out its largest-ever military drills this week, with surface-to-air missiles and US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems as part of the maneuvers. When asked about the drills on Tuesday, the foreign ministry in Beijing – which considers self-governing Taiwan a part of China – called the exercises “nothing but a bluff.”
50%: US copper prices surged after President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to impose 50% tariffs on the metal. Copper is essential for home construction, car manufacturing, energy infrastructure, and data centers.
728: Russia launched a record 728 drones at Ukraine overnight, marking the third time in the last two weeks that Moscow has outdone itself. Last night’s attack came after Trump resumed shipments of critical air-defense weapons to Ukraine and declared he was tired of Putin’s “bullsh*t” on Tuesday.
400: A massive wildfire has reached the outskirts of Marseille, France’s second-largest city, prompting the evacuation of at least 400 people and injuring nine firefighters. At its peak, the fire spread at 1.2 kilometers per minute, driven by strong winds, dense vegetation, and steep terrain. Over 1,000 firefighters have been deployed to battle the blaze, which continues to threaten the area.
Quantum computing is moving closer to real-world applications, but making the technology understandable remains a challenge.
Ukraine has spent years trying to convince the West that it could survive and, eventually, prevail against Russia. This summer, that argument may finally be gaining traction.
On Monday, President Donald Trump announced the United States would reimpose its naval blockade of Iran, effective Tuesday afternoon. Iran responded by declaring the Strait of Hormuz closed to all traffic that does not route through its preferred corridor.
People can now travel freely between Spain and British overseas territory of Gibraltar, after the European Union and the United Kingdom clinched a deal last year that facilitated the fall of the border wall between the two countries on Tuesday.