262: Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party won a better-than-expected 262 out of 465 seats up for grabs in the lower house of parliament in Sunday's election. Although the party shed some seats compared to the previous vote in 2017, its "super majority" will again be sufficient for the LDP to easily pass laws without outside support.
1: The Taliban's antisocial supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, was seen in public for the first time since the group took over Afghanistan in August. Akhundzada has captained the Taliban since 2016, when they finally admitted the death of Mullah Omar, their previous longtime and equally camera-shy leader.
45 billion: Argentina won't pay back the $45 billion it owes the International Monetary Fund, $19 billion of which is due next year, according to a former IMF official who used to oversee Argentina's debt before stepping down recently. The current debt restructuring talks, he says, are merely a Band-Aid because the Argentine government isn't serious about economic reforms, and the IMF's biggest debtor will see a run on banks once Argentina defaults (again) within months.
7: Turkey plans to deport at least seven Syrians for… eating bananas on TikTok. Ankara claims the Syrians "humiliated" Turks after mocking a man who complained he couldn't afford bananas due to sky-high inflation while Syrian refugees in Turkey live in luxury (they don't).The Pentagon is going all-in on AI warfare. Ian Bremmer breaks down what that means, how it happened, and what's at stake when machines start making targeting decisions.
Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.
Israel’s right-wing government has overseen a record expansion of settlements in the West Bank in recent years. The settlements, which are illegal under international law, are driving the displacement of Palestinians. One proposal the government is now advancing is the controversial E1 settlement plan, which would effectively slice the West Bank in two and severely undermine Palestinian aspirations for a contiguous state.
More than 70% of the earth’s surface is covered in good old H2O, so it would seem there’s plenty to go around. But the vast majority, at least 97%, is contained in the oceans as saltwater. The growing scarcity of freshwater for drinking, cooking, industrial, and agricultural uses is quickly moving water up as a global risk. In fact, our parent company, Eurasia Group, added it to its Top Risks list for 2026 as “The water weapon.”