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Hard numbers: Myanmar’s military-backed party set to win sham election, Trump threatens to raise tariffs on South Korea, Silver prices spike, & More

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing (R) arrives at a polling station in the Myanmar capital of Naypyitaw on Dec. 28, 2025.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing (R) arrives at a polling station in the Myanmar capital of Naypyitaw on Dec. 28, 2025, for the country's first general election since a 2021 coup.

Kyodo

57: The number of seats – out of 61 – that Myanmar’s military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party has won in the lower house following Sunday’s election, according to a party official. The election, the first since the army seized power in 2021, was widely viewed as a sham, with many townships refusing to vote.


$22 billion: The net outflow from African nations to China from 2020-2024, a reversal from the net inflow of $30 billion over the preceding five-year period. This turnaround reflects rising debt repayments and a sharp drop in the amount of Chinese loans to the continent.

500,000: The number of undocumented migrants who could be granted legal status in Spain, according to the country’s government. It’s a notable move for the fast-growing European economy, and one that stands in contrast to many of its neighbors, which have tightened legal immigration.

25%: The incoming US tariff rate on South Korean imports, after US President Donald Trump vowed to raise duties from 15%. Trump said lawmakers in Seoul were taking too long to enact a trade deal that the two sides had agreed on in July – the deal would have allowed preferential treatment for Korean cars in the US market.

250%: The amount that silver prices have risen over the last year, an astonishing amount that far eclipses the jump in gold prices. The cost of silver now sits around $110 per troy ounce.

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Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema reacts during the announcement of provisional results of the 2025 Gabonese presidential election by the Ministry of the Interior, at the headquaters of the Rassemblement des Batisseurs (RdB), in Libreville, Gabon, April 13, 2025.

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PA via Reuters Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych, with his helmet, which features pictures of people killed in the war with Russia. Heraskevych was ruled out of the Men's Skeleton event by the International Olympic Committee just over an hour before competition began, pictured at the Cortina Sliding Centre, on day six of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Italy. Picture date: Thursday February 12, 2026.

PA via Reuters Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych, with his helmet, which features pictures of people killed in the war with Russia. Heraskevych was ruled out of the Men's Skeleton event by the International Olympic Committee just over an hour before competition began, pictured at the Cortina Sliding Centre, on day six of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Italy. Picture date: Thursday February 12, 2026.

20: The number of fallen Ukrainian athletes and coaches depicted on a Ukrainian skeleton racer’s helmet at the Winter Olympics, which prompted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to disqualify him on Thursday. The IOC said the helmet violated Olympic rules, which prohibit political messaging during games. Critics of the disqualification said [...]