50,000: Every day is women’s day in Ukraine’s defense against Russia. As many as 50,000 women are currently serving in the Ukrainian military, more than triple the number when Russia first invaded in 2014.
799,728: After nearly a decade of steady decline, the number of babies born in Japan last year reached a record low of just 799,728 last year, prompting an adviser to PM Fumio Kishida to warn that “if we go on like this, the country will disappear.” Read our recent piece on why Japan is having so few babies, and what the government wants to do about it.
2.9 billion: Finally, a lifeline for Sri Lanka. The island nation, battered by the worst economic crisis in its history, is set to receive a $2.9 billion loan from the IMF later this month. Sri Lanka is already past due in paying China back nearly three times that amount, but Beijing recently agreed to a two-year pause on the payback.
2: Two of the four Americans kidnapped by heavily armed men in a northern Mexico border town have been found dead, and the remaining two have been rescued and returned to the US. The abduction may have been a case of mistaken identity: The gunmen reportedly mistook the travelers for Haitian drug smugglers, when they were really part of a group of friends who traveled to the town of Matamoros for affordable cosmetic surgery.
It's been a busy year for SCOTUS, and some major Court rulings are still looming. Yale legal scholar Emily Bazelon previews the cases that could reshape presidential power.
South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung's Democratic Party is poised to win 11 of 16 municipal races, a reversal from four years ago when the now-disgraced PPP dominated. But Lee’s surging popularity has foreign policy ramifications.
As America approaches its 250th anniversary, Bank of America is investing in the legacy of leadership — committing $5M to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and conserving 110 presidential portraits at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, so the history of leaders who defined our nation is preserved for generations to come. Learn more here.
Chris, an Army veteran, started his Walmart journey over 25 years ago as an hourly associate. Today, he manages a Distribution Center and serves as a mentor, helping others navigate their own paths to success. At Walmart, associates have the opportunity to take advantage of the pathways, perks, and pay that come with the job — with or without a college degree. In fact, more than 75% of Walmart management started as hourly associates. Learn more about how over 130,000 associates were promoted into roles of greater responsibility and higher pay in FY25.