Hard Numbers: SpaceX has a rocky reentry, Norway to hit NATO target early, British MPs are OOO, Somalia debt is canceled, Berlin techno is protected

​SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket lifts off on its third launch from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight, near Brownsville, Texas, U.S. March 14, 2024.
SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket lifts off on its third launch from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight, near Brownsville, Texas, U.S. March 14, 2024.
REUTERS/Joe Skipper
3: SpaceX launched the third test flight of the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built, Starship, to mixed success. Designed to one day send astronauts to the moon (and beyond), the third test was the most successful yet, flying farther than any previous launch. The spacecraft was lost during atmospheric reentry.


2: Norway announced that the country intends to meet its NATO defense spending target of 2% this year — two years ahead of schedule — citing a “serious” security situation. Sweden, the alliance’s newest member, says it will do the same. The two Nordic states can now rest assured that at least Donald Trump would protect them from a Russian invasion.

49: A new analysis found the workday for members of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s parliament is 49 minutes shorter than the 1997-2023 average, clocking in at only seven hours and nine minutes long. With all that extra time on their hands, Kate Middleton should be found in no time.

99: This week, 99% of Somalia’s debt was canceled by the Paris Club — a group of officials from major creditor countries including the United States, Japan, and Russia. Somalia’s information minister, Daud Aweis, called the move a “big milestone in the country’s journey to financial recovery.”

150: The number of UNESCO heritage sites in Germany rose to 150, with six entities being added this week. Notably, an Intangible Cultural Heritage designation was given to Berlin’s techno scene for its contribution to German culture. Oonts Oonts.

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

Ian Bremmer heads to Washington to sit down with Virginia Senator Mark Warner, a top Democrat pushing back against President Trump’s recent wins—and raising alarms about the politicization of US intelligence and the future of American foreign policy in the Trump era.

Japanese Prime Minister and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba is surrounded by security policemen as he meets with his supporters after he delivered a campaign speech for his party's candidate Masaaki Waki for the Upper House election in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo, Japan, on July 18, 2025.
Yoshio Tsunoda/AFLO

Less than a year after losing its majority in the lower chamber, the Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition government faces another test during the Upper House elections this Sunday.

Members of Syrian security forces ride on a back of a truck after Syrian troops entered the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria July 15, 2025.
REUTERS

Deadly sectarian violence in Syria escalates, leaving over 350 dead. Tensions between Sunni Arabs, Druze, Alawites, Kurds, and Christians threaten post-war stability.