1: Israel on Thursday pounded south Lebanon with airstrikes in the heaviest bombardment there since a truce largely halted its war with Hezbollah last year. At least one person was reported dead in the strikes, which Israel said had targeted Hezbollah installations in the area that are banned under the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire. Hezbollah denied those allegations.
8,000: Clashes between India and Pakistan extended into a third day on Friday, with each side accusing the other of launching drone and artillery attacks along their shared border. Meanwhile, as both sides seek to control the information environment, X has complied with an order from New Delhi to block 8,000 accounts belonging to “international news organizations and prominent X users.”
200 billion: Philanthropist Bill Gateshas pledged to give away $200 billion over the next quarter of a century. Gates, who made his fortune as the co-founder of Microsoft, said the money would go towards reducing poverty, stamping out diseases like polio and malaria, and ending preventable deaths among women and children. The move comes as the Trump Administration continues to cut US development assistance. Gates accused DOGE czar Elon Musk, who is overseeing the cuts, of “killing the world’s poorest children.”
95 billion: The EU is readying tariffs on €95 billion ($107 billion) worth of US cars in the event that talks with the Trump administration fail to end the burgeoning transatlantic trade war. The US currently has a 10% tariff on nearly all EU exports, which could double in early July.
30: Donald Trump on Thursday demanded a 30-day unconditional ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, warning that otherwise the US would “impose further sanctions.” He spoke after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has pushed for a 30-day truce that would “show real movement toward peace.” Russia is currently observing a unilateral ceasefire of only three days — timed to coincide with Moscow’s celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Allies’ triumph over Nazi Germany — though there are some doubts over whether they are holding true to this.
The trade deal between the European Union and South America’s Mercosur bloc is on the chopping block, facing an end-of-year deadline to be approved or shelved until 2028.
With the year's end fast approaching, it's time to look ahead to the elections that could reshuffle global power dynamics in 2026. Here are a few you should keep an eye on.