May 19, 2020
The head of the IMF has already warned that the state of the global economy is "worse than our already pessimistic projections." But while the pandemic is taking a huge economic toll on every country in the world, many emerging-market economies, which currently owe a collective $8.4 trillion in foreign debt, face a particularly grim tradeoff between paying their bondholders or funding their hospitals. Even before the coronavirus crisis, 64 countries spent more money annually servicing their external debt payments than they did on healthcare. Now, the global health emergency is taxing their underfunded healthcare systems, complicating attempts to contain the virus. Many countries have already pleaded for emergency debt relief. Here's a look at the countries that spend more on annual debt servicing than on healthcare.
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In this Quick Take, Ian Bremmer examines the second week of the US-Israel war with Iran and warns that the conflict risks spiraling into a longer and more destabilizing situation.
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What might Iran look like a year from now? Ian Bremmer and Brooking’s Thomas Wright discuss possible outcomes.
Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, on March 6, 2026.
REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
The Lebanese militant group’s strikes against Israel on Monday appear to have given the Israelis the pretext to launch a massive counter-attack, with the ultimate aim being to disarm the Iran-backed group once and for all.
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Cargo ships are unloading newly arrived chemical fertilizers at the port terminal in Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu province, on February 27, 2024.
(Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto)
Disruptions to a key Gulf waterway in the Iran conflict aren't just threatening the world’s oil and gas supplies; they could also cause a food security crisis.
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