Finland becomes Suomi, Germany is Deutschland, and China is Zhōngguó when their names are expressed in their own languages, showing how the familiar English names of countries can differ sharply from what people living there call them.

These differences are examples of exonyms and endonyms . An endonym is a name used locally for a place, while an exonym is a name used for it in another language. English “Germany”, for example, is an exonym, while German speakers call the country Deutschland.

The same pattern appears across Europe . Finland is Suomi in Finnish, Hungary is Magyarország in Hungarian, Croatia is Hrvatska, Montenegro is Crna Gora, Greece is Elláda or Hellas, and Georgia is Sakartvelo in Georgian.

The differences often reflect centuries of languages borrowing place names from different sources. As a result, the English version does not necessarily derive from the name currently used by the country's own population .

Asia has some of the clearest examples

China is Zhōngguó (中国) in Mandarin, a name commonly translated as “Middle Kingdom” or “Central State”. Japan is Nihon or Nippon (日本) in Japanese, while the English word “Japan” reached European languages through other Asian languages rather than directly from modern Japanese.

India requires more context than the graphic suggests. India and Bharat are both constitutionally recognised names. Article 1 of the country's constitution begins, “India, that is Bharat,” meaning Bharat is not simply an informal local alternative to an otherwise official English name.

Korea is another case where a simple English-to-local translation can hide important differences. South Korea's official Korean name is Daehan Minguk, while Hanguk is commonly used as a shorter name. North Korea uses Chosŏn in its official Korean name.

Bangladesh has the world's highest reported share of agricultural land under irrigation, with nearly nine in every 10 hectares receiving artificially supplied water, according to data published by Our World in Data .

The figures, originally compiled by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and distributed through the World Bank, show 89.04% of Bangladesh's agricultural land is irrigated. Pakistan follows at 54.17%, with India at 44.41%.

The rest of the infographic's top 10 includes Malta at 33.87%, Nepal at 32.29%, Azerbaijan at 30.63%, the United Arab Emirates at 23.99%, Greece at 22.26%, the Netherlands at 21.58% and Ecuador at 21.12%.

Why irrigation matters

Irrigation means deliberately supplying agricultural land with water rather than relying entirely on rainfall. This can include diverting water from rivers and reservoirs, pumping groundwater, controlled flooding and sprinkler or drip systems.

It is particularly important in places where rainfall is seasonal, unreliable or too low to support intensive farming. Our World in Data notes that irrigation has played a major role in increasing agricultural output and making food production more stable.

South Asia stands out. Bangladesh, Pakistan and India all appear near the top, reflecting the importance of irrigation to crop production across the region. Bangladesh also has an unusually large share of its territory devoted to farming, with agricultural land accounting for about 72% of its land area in 2023.

But a high irrigation share does not necessarily mean a country uses more water overall. A smaller country can irrigate a large percentage of its farmland while using much less water than a larger agricultural producer.

Public schools in parts of the United States close for major Jewish holidays , with such closures particularly visible around New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland, as well as in a smaller number of communities elsewhere in the country.

The holidays most commonly involved are Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

New York City provides one of the largest examples. Its public schools closed for both days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur during the 2025-26 school year. For 2026-27, Rosh Hashanah falls on a weekend, so there is no additional weekday closure, while schools will close for Yom Kippur on September 21.

Philadelphia also closes its public schools for Yom Kippur. The district says its calendar is designed to recognise a range of cultural and religious observances; Rosh Hashanah falls on a weekend that year.

The pattern reflects the decentralised nature of American education. There is no nationwide rule requiring US public schools to close for Jewish holidays. Calendars are generally set by states and, more commonly, individual school districts, meaning policies can differ even between neighbouring communities.

It does not mean Jewish holidays are ignored in unshaded areas. Some states protect students who miss school for religious observances without requiring schools themselves to close. New Jersey, for example, publishes an extensive list of religious holidays on which students may have excused absences.

Singapore has the highest share of people who believe their country is heading in the right direction, while a majority across the countries surveyed remain pessimistic about where their nations are going, according to Ipsos polling.

The February 2026 Ipsos What Worries the World survey found that 86% of respondents in Singapore believed their country was heading in the right direction, compared with just 14% who thought it was on the wrong track. Malaysia ranked second at 74%, followed by India at 69%.

Thailand and Indonesia were tied at 62%, while South Korea stood at 58% and Argentina at 55%. These were the only seven countries in the graphic where more than half of respondents believed things were moving in the right direction.

The results show a particularly strong concentration of positive sentiment in Asia, with six of the seven countries above 50% coming from the region.

Most countries remain pessimistic

The broader picture was much less positive. Across the countries surveyed, the global country average was 41% saying their country was heading in the right direction and 59% saying it was on the wrong track.

Views were divided in several major economies. Canada recorded 45% positive sentiment, Australia 44%, Japan 41% and the United States 40%.

At the lower end of the ranking, just 10% of respondents in France said the country was heading in the right direction, meaning 90% believed it was on the wrong track. Peru was second-lowest at 15%, followed by Great Britain at 21%. Germany, Hungary and South Africa each recorded 23%.

The figures also move significantly from month to month. By July 2026, for example, Singapore still led the Ipsos survey, but its right-direction score had fallen to 80%, while the global country average had declined to 38%.

What does “right direction” actually mean?

The figures measure public sentiment rather than an objective assessment of how well a country is performing. Ipsos asks respondents whether they think things in their country are heading in the right direction or are off on the wrong track.

That means the results should not be interpreted as a ranking of the world's best- or worst-performing countries. People's answers can reflect their views about the economy, politics, public services, security and other national issues.

There is another important limitation. Ipsos notes that samples in countries including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and several others can be more urban, educated or affluent than their overall populations, meaning they more closely represent the views of their more connected populations. The global figure is also a simple country average and is not weighted according to each country's population.

Poland’s economy reached roughly $1.04 trillion in nominal GDP in 2025, putting its output close to the combined size of eight countries to its east and north, according to World Bank data .

The comparison brings together Ukraine , Romania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Moldova. The infographic puts their combined GDP at about $1.076 trillion, compared with $1.036 trillion for Poland.

That makes the headline slightly overstated. The eight economies were collectively about $40 billion larger than Poland, so it is more accurate to say Poland’s economy was almost as large as the eight combined, rather than exactly equal to them.

Poland has become a trillion-dollar economy

Poland has emerged as one of Europe’s largest economies after decades of economic expansion. In 2025, its nominal GDP was around $1.04 trillion, placing it among the continent’s 10 largest economies when measured at current US dollar exchange rates.

The comparison is striking partly because the eight countries together have a much larger population . The infographic estimates their combined population at about 77.5 million, compared with around 36.4 million in Poland.

That helps explain the difference in income per person. The graphic puts Poland’s nominal GDP per capita at roughly $27,600, almost twice the combined group's average of about $13,900.

Romania is by far the largest economy among the eight, at roughly $428 billion in 2025, followed by Ukraine at around $213 billion. Bulgaria was about $131 billion, Lithuania $95 billion and Belarus $93 billion.

The smaller Baltic economies also contribute to the total, with Latvia at around $48.6 billion and Estonia at $47 billion, while Moldova was about $20.3 billion.

Muslim-ruled states governed territories stretching from the Iberian Peninsula and West Africa to South and Central Asia at different points over the past 1,400 years , although their borders and periods of control varied considerably.

The expansion began in the seventh century and involved many different caliphates, sultanates, emirates and empires. Parts of the Middle East and North Africa experienced Muslim rule for more than 1,000 years, but this was not continuous rule by one empire or dynasty.

Using today's national borders can also make the history look simpler than it was. A modern country shaded on the map may contain regions that experienced Muslim rule for very different lengths of time.

India shows why modern borders can mislead

Muslim political rule reached the Indian subcontinent in the early eighth century when Arab forces established control in Sindh, most of which is now in Pakistan rather than India.

Muslim dynasties later controlled large parts of present-day India, particularly under the Delhi Sultanate from 1206 and the Mughal Empire from 1526. But their territory expanded and contracted, and other kingdoms continued to control different parts of the subcontinent.

It would therefore be misleading to say that all of modern India was under Muslim rule for more than 1,000 years. Different regions experienced Muslim-led governments at different times and for different periods.

Muslim rule in Iberia also changed dramatically

The Iberian Peninsula provides another example. Muslim forces entered in 711 and established control over most of the peninsula, but that territory gradually contracted as Christian kingdoms expanded.

By the 13th century, Muslim political control was largely confined to the Emirate of Granada, which survived until 1492.

So although Muslim-ruled states existed somewhere on the Iberian Peninsula for nearly eight centuries, not every part of modern Spain and Portugal was under Muslim rule for that entire period.

The same caution applies across the map. It is best understood as showing regions that experienced Muslim rule at some point in history, with the duration varying within today's national borders.

Movements seeking to redraw Europe’s borders range from established constitutional projects to small nationalist campaigns, meaning the continent’s various “unification movements” differ sharply in their political support, legal status and prospects.

The map includes proposals for a united Ireland, a Russia-Belarus union, Romania and Moldova reunification, a Greater Netherlands, Iberian unity, Greater Albania, Greater Serbia, France-Belgium “Rattachism” and Enosis involving Greece and Cyprus.

But grouping them can be misleading. Some have formal political or legal foundations, while others are mainly historical ideas or are promoted by relatively limited political movements.

Irish unity has a legal route

A united Ireland is one of the clearest examples of a territorial change for which an established democratic mechanism exists.

Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom unless a majority there votes to change its constitutional status. The agreement therefore provides a peaceful democratic route towards Irish reunification while equally protecting the right to remain in the UK unless voters decide otherwise.

If reunification took place under the agreement, the whole island would form part of the European Union because the Republic of Ireland is already an EU member.

Russia and Belarus are already formally linked

The Russia-Belarus case is different because the two countries already belong to the Union State, established by a treaty signed in December 1999 and in force since January 2000.

The arrangement has developed common programmes covering economic integration and coordination in areas including foreign and defence policy . Integration has continued, with the two governments working on hundreds of measures extending through 2026.

However, Russia and Belarus remain separate sovereign countries. Even official Russian descriptions of the Union State say the integration process preserves the sovereignty of both states.

Other movements are much less straightforward

The remaining ideas on the map should not be interpreted as equally active or likely political projects.

Greater Netherlands generally refers to proposals linking the Netherlands with Dutch-speaking Flanders. Iberianism has historically advocated closer political or cultural union between Spain and Portugal, while Rattachism refers to the idea of French-speaking Wallonia becoming part of France.

In southeastern Europe, ideas described as Greater Albania and Greater Serbia involve politically sensitive territorial claims crossing existing borders. Enosis, meaning union, is historically associated with the campaign for Cyprus to join Greece. These concepts have played very different roles at different points in European history and should not be presented as equivalent current government policies.

The same caution applies to possible Romanian-Moldovan reunification. The two countries share close linguistic, cultural and historical ties, and reunification has supporters, but Moldova remains an independent sovereign state.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government has become the country’s longest-serving uninterrupted administration since World War Two, setting a new record in a political system known for frequent changes of government.

Meloni took office on October 22, 2022, becoming Italy’s first female prime minister. On September 4, 2026, her government reached 1,413 days in office, surpassing the 1,412-day record set by Silvio Berlusconi’s second government between 2001 and 2005.

The milestone is notable in Italy, which has had 68 governments since 1946. Reuters calculates that Italian governments have lasted about 14 months on average, although the figure varies depending on how caretaker periods are counted.

Berlusconi still holds another record

While Meloni now leads the longest-lasting single government, Berlusconi remains Italy’s longest-serving prime minister overall. He spent about nine years in office across four separate governments between 1994 and 2011.

Before Meloni, Berlusconi's second government was the longest at 1,412 days. His fourth government lasted 1,287 days, followed by Bettino Craxi's first government at 1,093 days and Matteo Renzi's government at 1,024 days, according to Reuters.

Italy's Senate records confirm that the Meloni government has been in office continuously since October 22, 2022.

Meloni has presented the longevity of her coalition as evidence of greater political stability. Speaking after reaching the milestone, she said stability allowed Italy to plan and make longer-term decisions. Critics, meanwhile, have disputed the government's broader record and argued that longevity alone is not a measure of policy success.

More than half of renters across nearly 30 countries say they do not believe they will ever be able to afford their own home, highlighting widespread anxiety over housing costs even as homeownership remains a goal for many.

The Ipsos Housing Monitor 2025 found that 56% of renters on average believed they would never be able to afford to buy a home. That contrasts with the 71% who said they would like to own one, showing a large gap between the desire for homeownership and expectations of achieving it.

Germany recorded the highest level of pessimism, with 70% of renters saying they did not believe they would ever be able to afford a home. Australia followed at 69% and Japan at 68%. The Netherlands and Türkiye were both at 65%, while Ireland stood at 64%.

The concern extends beyond those countries. The infographic, based on Ipsos data, shows 61% in Canada, 60% in Great Britain, 59% in South Korea and 58% in the United States saying they doubt they will ever be able to afford a home.

At the other end, renters were less pessimistic in Brazil, where the figure was 36%, followed by Colombia and South Africa at 38%. That does not necessarily mean homes are more affordable in those countries, however. The survey measures people's expectations about their ability to buy, rather than comparing house prices with incomes.

Housing costs have climbed

The pessimism comes after substantial increases in housing costs in many economies.

In the European Union, house prices rose 53% between 2010 and 2024, according to Eurostat. By the first quarter of 2026, prices were another 5.1% higher than a year earlier, while rents had risen 3%.

The pressure is also evident in the United States. Harvard University's Joint Centre for Housing Studies reported that the median existing-home price reached a record $412,500 in 2024, while the typical monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home reached $2,560. A record 22.6 million renter households were also spending more than 30% of their income on housing and utilities.

Data from the National Association of Realtors show how the difficulties are affecting entry into the US housing market. First-time buyers accounted for just 21% of home purchases in its 2025 survey, the lowest share since the organisation began tracking the figure in 1981. Their median age reached a record 40.

A global affordability problem

The Ipsos findings suggest that housing concerns go beyond current rent or mortgage payments. Seven in ten people across 30 countries said that even young people who work hard and secure good jobs will have difficulty getting the housing they need.

Housing markets differ sharply between countries, and factors such as wages, interest rates, housing supply, mortgage rules and government support all affect affordability. The OECD has similarly highlighted housing affordability as a challenge across many member countries, particularly for younger and lower-income households.

India withdraws more freshwater each year than any other country, with agriculture accounting for about nine-tenths of its total, according to data compiled from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s AQUASTAT database and the World Bank.

The data used in the graphic put India’s annual freshwater withdrawals at about 761 billion cubic metres, ahead of China at 581 billion and the United States at 444 billion. Indonesia ranks fourth at 223 billion cubic metres, followed by Pakistan at 183 billion.

FAO data support the 761 billion cubic metre figure for India, including about 688 billion cubic metres used by agriculture.

Agriculture dominates water demand

The figures show a sharp difference in how countries use freshwater. Agriculture accounts for 90.4% of withdrawals in India, while the graphic puts the share at 94.3% in Pakistan, 92.2% in Iran and 92.1% in Indonesia .

Vietnam has the highest agricultural share among the 10 countries shown, at 94.8%, with total withdrawals of about 82 billion cubic metres a year. FAO data similarly put Vietnam’s agricultural share at roughly 95%.

AQUASTAT defines agricultural withdrawals as water used for activities including irrigation and livestock production. Water withdrawal refers to water removed from rivers, lakes and aquifers for use; it is not the same as water permanently consumed, because some withdrawn water eventually returns to the environment.

US stands out for industrial use

The United States has a very different pattern. According to the graphic, 45.3% of US freshwater withdrawals go to industry, compared with 39.7% for agriculture and 15% for domestic use.

China sits between the two patterns, with agriculture accounting for 62.1% of its withdrawals, industry 20.1% and domestic use 17.8%.

Japan has the largest domestic share among the countries shown, at 18.9%, while agriculture still accounts for 68%.

The differences reflect how economies use water for farming, households, manufacturing and activities such as electricity generation. The World Bank's freshwater indicators are sourced from FAO AQUASTAT and separate withdrawals into agricultural, industrial and domestic uses.

Two of the Middle East’s most important shipping routes are under mounting pressure, while the shutdown of a major Saudi oil pipeline has reduced options for moving crude around the disrupted Strait of Hormuz .

Saudi Arabia temporarily shut its 1,200-km East-West pipeline after drone attacks damaged the route in September. The pipeline links oil-producing areas in the east with the Red Sea port of Yanbu and had become increasingly important as tanker traffic through Hormuz fell. Saudi Arabia said the closure was a precautionary measure.

The pipeline can carry as much as 7 million barrels of crude a day, although it had been transporting about 4 million to 5 million barrels a day earlier in the conflict before flows fell. Its closure removes one of Saudi Arabia’s main ways of bypassing Hormuz.

Hormuz remains a major pressure point

The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea, is one of the world's most important energy chokepoints.

Before the current disruption, more than 20 million barrels of oil a day regularly moved through the strait. US Energy Information Administration data show flows fell from 21.6 million barrels a day in the fourth quarter of 2025 to just 4.9 million barrels a day in the second quarter of 2026.

That matters because Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates rely on Gulf export routes, although some have pipelines that can bypass Hormuz.

Red Sea route also under pressure

Sending Saudi crude west through the East-West pipeline normally provides an alternative. Oil arriving at Yanbu can travel north towards the Suez Canal and Mediterranean or south through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait towards Asian markets.

But the southern route is also facing security problems. Houthi activity around Yemen and attacks on shipping have made parts of the Red Sea more dangerous, pushing some vessels onto the much longer journey around Africa's Cape of Good Hope.

The pressure has increased in recent weeks. Ship traffic through Bab al-Mandeb fell sharply after Houthi forces expanded their control around strategically important areas near the strait, adding to concerns over shipping costs, insurance and the risk of further attacks.

The EIA said Saudi exports from Yanbu were already down by about half in August from July and that the kingdom had increased shipments north through the Suez Canal, a longer and more expensive option for oil destined for Asia .

Why the two chokepoints matter

Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb sit on opposite sides of the Arabian Peninsula, making them crucial to the movement of Middle Eastern energy. Disruption at one can sometimes be managed by redirecting oil through pipelines and alternative shipping routes. Pressure on both at the same time makes that much harder.

Saudi Arabia is not completely cut off from world markets, and the Suez Canal, existing inventories and routes around Africa provide alternatives. But those options can take longer and cost more, increasing the risk of higher freight, insurance and ultimately energy costs if disruptions persist.

Canada could become the European Union ’s first “associate member” under a proposal unveiled by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, potentially creating a new level of cooperation between the 27-member bloc and one of its closest non-European partners.

Von der Leyen raised the idea in her State of the Union address on September 16, 2026, attended by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. She said the EU wanted to take relations with Canada to the “highest level possible” and proposed opening the door to Canada becoming the bloc’s first associate member.

The proposal does not mean Canada is joining the European Union. No formal associate membership structure currently exists, and von der Leyen did not set out what rights, obligations or access such a status would give Canada.

Carney has also said Canada is not seeking full EU membership, instead describing the goal as a “unique alliance” with Europe. Details are expected to be developed through further talks, with the next EU-Canada summit scheduled for October 29-30 in Montreal.

Canada and EU are already moving closer

The proposal comes after a series of agreements that have brought Canada deeper into European economic, research and security programmes.

Canada already has a comprehensive trade agreement with the EU through CETA and has been associated with part of the EU’s Horizon Europe research programme since 2024. The two sides have also expanded cooperation on digital trade, critical minerals , economic security and defence.

In June 2026, Canada became the first non-European country to formally participate in the EU’s SAFE defence procurement instrument, following an agreement signed in February. The programme allows greater participation by Canadian companies in joint European defence procurement.

Von der Leyen said the next stage could include closer cooperation in advanced manufacturing, technology, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cybersecurity, critical minerals, batteries, defence and the Arctic.

What would associate membership mean?

For now, that is the biggest unanswered question.

The EU treaties allow a European state to apply for full membership, creating an obvious legal obstacle to Canada becoming an ordinary EU member. The proposed associate status could instead offer Canada a specially designed relationship without making it one of the bloc’s 27 member states.

Exactly how that would work, including whether Canada would gain additional access to the EU single market, institutions or programmes, has not yet been decided publicly.

Mental health has become the health issue people are most concerned about worldwide, overtaking cancer as worries about the Covid-19 pandemic continue to fade, according to Ipsos’ Health Service Report 2024 .

Across the 31 countries surveyed, 45% of adults named mental health as one of the biggest health problems facing their country. Cancer followed at 38%, while 31% selected stress. Obesity was cited by 26% and drug abuse by 21%.

The findings mark a significant change from the pandemic years. In 2021, 70% identified coronavirus as a major health problem. By 2023, that had dropped to 15%, and in the 2024 survey only 11% mentioned Covid-19, placing it 10th among the 13 health issues measured.

Mental health has now ranked as the leading health concern for three consecutive years in the Ipsos survey. The share identifying it as a major problem rose from 31% in 2021 to 44% in 2023 and 45% in 2024.

Concern is particularly high among younger women. 55% of Gen Z women identified mental health as a major health problem, compared with 37% of Gen Z men. Across all age groups, 51% of women selected mental health, 11 percentage points higher than men.

Older people see the picture differently. Cancer was the leading concern among Baby Boomers, with 46% identifying it as a major health problem. They were the only generation in the survey for whom mental health did not rank first.

Ipsos surveyed 23,667 adults across 31 countries between July 26 and August 9, 2024. The global country average gives each surveyed country equal weight rather than weighting results according to population size.

The World Bank has had 1 4 presidents since it began operations in 1946 , and every one of them has been a US national, reflecting a longstanding pattern in the leadership of one of the world's most influential development institutions.

The tradition began with Eugene Meyer, who became the Bank's first president in June 1946. It continues with Ajay Banga, whom the World Bank's executive directors selected as its 14th president in 2023. The Bank identified Banga as a US national during the selection process.

Banga was born in India and later became a US citizen. He began his five-year term on June 2, 2023, succeeding David Malpass, another US national who led the institution from 2019 to 2023.

The pattern means that although the World Bank has 189 member countries, its permanent presidency has never been held by a national of another country.

One brief exception

There has been one temporary break from the pattern.

Kristalina Georgieva, a Bulgarian economist, became interim World Bank Group president on February 1, 2019, after Jim Yong Kim stepped down before completing his term. She served until David Malpass took office on April 9.

Georgieva therefore led the institution temporarily but was not selected as a permanent World Bank president. She later became managing director of the International Monetary Fund in October 2019.

The Bank's own historical records list 13 former presidents from Eugene Meyer through David Malpass, with Banga serving as the 14th.

Why has every president been American?

The pattern stems from an informal convention, rather than a rule requiring the president to be American. Since the World Bank and IMF were created at Bretton Woods, the United States has traditionally put forward the candidate to lead the World Bank, while a European has traditionally headed the IMF.

The World Bank's executive directors formally select the president. In Banga's case, he was the only nominee submitted during the 2023 selection process before being chosen for a five-year term.

A bicycle may be a bicicleta in standard Spanish, but travel across Latin America and the same two-wheeled vehicle can pick up a surprisingly different name.

The most familiar shortened form is bici, which is used across much of the Spanish-speaking world . But regional speech has produced alternatives including cicla, ciclo, cleta, bicla, baica, chiva and burra. FundéuRAE, which advises on Spanish usage, confirms that bici, ciclo and cicla are established shortened forms, while more colloquial words include baica and cleta.

In Colombia , cicla is a familiar alternative to bici, while burra is also used informally for a bicycle. Colombian public broadcaster Señal Colombia describes burra as a popular name for a bike.

Chile is particularly associated with cleta, a shortened form of bicicleta. In Mexico , cyclists may hear bici, bicla, baica or cleta, among other local expressions. Baica or baika appears to have developed from the English word bike.

Other expressions become even more local. Chiva is used for a bicycle in Uruguay, for example, while cycling sources also document cicla and burra in Colombia and cleta in Argentina and Chile.

Brazil stands out for another reason. Its national language is Portuguese rather than Spanish, and the standard word is bicicleta. The English borrowing bike is also widely used, alongside Brazilian slang such as magrela and camelo.

The variety shows how one standard word can change as it moves through different countries and communities. Even within a single country, vocabulary can vary by city, generation and social group, so there is rarely one exclusive national word for a bicycle.

Coca-Cola, Red Bull and Monster Energy are sold across much of the world, but their global footprints are not identical, with Coca-Cola operating on the broadest scale and the two energy-drink businesses continuing to expand internationally.

The maps show all three brands reaching most of Europe, the Americas and large parts of Africa and Asia. However, official company information suggests some of the country-by-country shading should be treated cautiously because distribution changes and companies do not publish identical measures of availability.

The Coca-Cola Company says beverages carrying its trademarks are sold in more than 200 countries and territories . Its vast distribution network includes more than 200 bottling partners and over 950 production facilities worldwide, helping deliver about 2.2 billion servings each day.

That does not necessarily mean every Coca-Cola product is available everywhere. The company's portfolio contains around 200 brands, and the drinks sold differ from market to market.

Red Bull reaches 178 countries

Red Bull also has a large international presence . The Austrian company says the energy drink was sold in 178 countries at the end of 2025.

Its worldwide sales reached a record 13.969 billion cans in 2025, up 10.2% from 2024. Revenue increased 8.6% to €12.196 billion.

Red Bull's international expansion is notable given its relatively recent history. The drink was first launched in Austria in 1987, decades after Coca-Cola had already developed a large international distribution network.

Monster continues international expansion

Monster Beverage has a slightly smaller but still extensive footprint. Its 2025 annual report says one or more of its products are distributed in approximately 158 countries and territories.

International business is also becoming increasingly important to the company. Sales to customers outside the United States reached $3.44 billion in 2025, accounting for about 41% of total net sales, up from 38% in 2023.

Monster's international distribution is closely linked to Coca-Cola. The companies have distribution agreements under which Coca-Cola's network of bottlers distributes Monster products in many markets. Monster says substantially all of its international distribution territories have transitioned to Coca-Cola network bottlers and distributors.

The world's biggest economies have changed substantially since 2000, with China and India recording some of the largest jumps while the United States remains firmly in first place, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF's April 2026 World Economic Outlook projects US nominal GDP at about $32.38 trillion in 2026, making it the world's largest economy at current US dollar exchange rates. China follows at $20.85 trillion, while Germany ranks third at about $5.45 trillion.

Japan, once the world's second-largest economy, is projected to rank fourth at $4.38 trillion, narrowly ahead of the United Kingdom at $4.26 trillion. India follows at $4.15 trillion, ahead of France and Italy.

China and India make the biggest advances

The change since 2000 is particularly striking for Asia's two most populous countries.

China was the sixth-largest economy in 2000, with a nominal GDP of roughly $1.22 trillion. It is projected to rank second in 2026, an increase of four places.

India has moved even further up the table. It ranked 13th in 2000, with a GDP of about $468 billion, but is projected to reach sixth place in 2026. That represents a seven-place rise.

Russia also shows a large change in the graphic, moving from 20th in 2000 to a projected ninth in 2026. Australia rises from 16th to 12th.

Meanwhile, several established advanced economies have slipped in relative position. Japan falls from second to fourth, France from fifth to seventh, Canada from eighth to 11th and Spain from 11th to 14th.

Türkiye, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia are projected to be among the top 20 in 2026 after sitting outside it in 2000. Iran, Taiwan and Argentina , which were among the 20 largest economies at the start of the century, are no longer in the group under the graphic's comparison.

The rankings do not measure living standards

These figures measure nominal GDP in current US dollars, so they show the total dollar value of each economy rather than how wealthy individual residents are. Exchange-rate movements can also change a country's dollar GDP and therefore its ranking even without an equivalent change in its real economic output.

The 2026 figures should also not be treated as final results. They are IMF projections based on information available through April 1, 2026. The IMF says its historical figures are also updated as new information becomes available.

The April outlook projects global economic growth of 3.1% in 2026, but the IMF warns that geopolitical tensions, trade disruption and other risks could weaken the outlook.

Latin American and Caribbean governments collect a considerably smaller share of their economies in taxes than OECD countries on average , although the gap varies widely across the region, according to the OECD’s Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean 2026 report.

In 2024, the region’s average tax-to-GDP ratio was 21.7%, meaning governments collected the equivalent of roughly one-fifth of economic output through taxes and social security contributions. The OECD average was 34.1%.

Brazil recorded the highest ratio in the region at 33.7%, approaching the OECD average. Argentina stood at 27.6%, Uruguay at 27.3%, Costa Rica at 24.8% and Bolivia at 23.6%.

At the other end, Guyana had the lowest ratio at 9.2%, followed by Panama at 11.3% and Guatemala at 14.3%. Mexico, Latin America’s second-largest economy, collected taxes equal to 18.3% of GDP.

The regional average rose by 0.2 percentage points from 2023, with tax-to-GDP ratios increasing in 15 of the 28 countries covered and falling in 13. Brazil and Cuba were among the countries recording some of the largest increases, partly reflecting tax reforms.

The way governments raise money also differs from much of the OECD. Taxes on goods and services, including VAT, generated 49.2% of total tax revenue in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024. Income and profit taxes contributed 29.1%, while social security contributions accounted for 15.9%.

From Scotland to Catalonia, movements seeking independence or greater self-government remain part of Europe's political landscape, but the map risks making very different campaigns look more alike than they really are.

Scotland has one of the continent's most prominent independence movements. Scots rejected independence by 55% to 45% in a 2014 referendum, but the Scottish National Party continues to seek another vote. In August 2026, Scotland's government published a draft referendum bill proposing the same basic question used in 2014, although it says the legislation would be introduced only after the necessary legal powers are secured.

The UK government remains opposed to another referendum. In September it said it had been elected on a commitment not to support Scottish independence or another vote.

Wales also has an organised independence movement led politically by Plaid Cymru, while Northern Ireland's constitutional debate is different. Nationalists there generally seek reunification with the Republic of Ireland, rather than an independent Northern Irish state. Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and Northern Ireland Act, a referendum must be called if it appears likely that a majority would support a united Ireland.

Independence is not the goal everywhere

In Belgium, Flemish nationalism remains politically significant. The New Flemish Alliance, or N-VA, says its eventual goal is an independent Flanders within Europe , but currently advocates a gradual move towards a more confederal Belgium and acknowledges there is no democratic majority for outright independence.

Catalonia remains another of Europe's best-known cases. Its 2017 independence referendum, which Spanish courts had ruled illegal, triggered the country's biggest constitutional crisis in decades. The movement remains politically active, although the balance of power and strategies within Catalan nationalism have changed considerably since then.

Other places shown on the map have much weaker separatist movements or are mainly debating greater autonomy. South Tyrol already enjoys extensive self-government within Italy, for example, and academic research describes support for secession there as relatively weak.

Corsica provides an even clearer example of why the distinction matters. France is considering a constitutional change that would give Corsica an autonomous status within the French Republic, not independence. France's National Assembly approved the proposal at first reading in June 2026 before sending it to the Senate.

Movements also exist in places including Brittany, Galicia, the Basque Country, Bavaria, Sicily and Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but they differ substantially in their political support, objectives and legal circumstances. Some campaign for sovereignty, others for more regional powers, while some independence parties have only limited electoral support.

Common ragweed, a highly allergenic plant native to North America , has spread across large parts of Europe and other regions, creating growing problems for public health and agriculture.

The International Ragweed Society says common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) is now the most widespread ragweed species in Europe. Major invasion hotspots include the Pannonian region around Hungary, Croatia, Slovakia, Romania and Austria, while substantial populations are also found in Serbia, Italy, Ukraine and parts of France.

The plant is also present much farther afield. The society says ragweed species have been recorded across temperate and tropical Asia, Africa, South America, Australia and Pacific islands , in addition to their native North America.

Why ragweed is a problem

The biggest concern is its pollen. Common ragweed releases large amounts of wind-borne pollen in late summer and early autumn, which can travel long distances. It is a major cause of seasonal allergies and can trigger more serious reactions, including pollen-induced asthma.

This can extend the allergy season because ragweed flowers relatively late in the year, affecting some people after the main spring and early-summer pollen seasons have passed.

Ragweed is also an agricultural problem. It can invade fields, roadsides and disturbed land, compete with crops and reduce yields. Its ability to produce large numbers of seeds makes established populations difficult to eliminate.

Its European spread accelerated substantially during the second half of the 20th century. The International Ragweed Society points to changes in farming, urbanisation and international trade in seeds and grain as important factors helping it spread.

Climate change could worsen the problem. The society says warmer conditions can allow ragweed to establish itself in new areas. At the same time, higher carbon dioxide levels and longer growing seasons may increase the amount and allergenic effects of its pollen.

Irregular border crossings into the European Union fell sharply in the first eight months of 2026, but one route moved in the opposite direction as arrivals towards Spain increased, according to preliminary data from EU border agency Frontex.

Frontex recorded just over 74,000 irregular border-crossing detections between January and August, down 35% from the same period in 2025. Most of the EU's major migration routes recorded substantial declines.

The biggest exception was the Western Mediterranean route, linking North Africa mainly with mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands. Frontex recorded about 15,900 crossings, an increase of 34% from a year earlier, with Algeria becoming the main country of departure.

That stands in sharp contrast with the Central Mediterranean, where detections fell 55% to about 19,400. The Western African route to the Canary Islands dropped 58% to 5,070, while the Eastern Mediterranean recorded more than 24,200 crossings, down 25%.

The Eastern Mediterranean remained the busiest individual route over the eight months. Movement from eastern Libya towards Crete was particularly significant, although by July the land border with Türkiye had become the busiest section of that route.

Despite the overall decline, the figures show that migration pressure can shift quickly from one route to another. The route from eastern Libya to Crete, for example, has become increasingly busy while crossings elsewhere have fallen.

While most of the world is in 2026, Ethiopia has just entered 2019, thanks to a calendar system that has survived for centuries and remains widely used in the country.

Ethiopia celebrated Enkutatash, its New Year, on September 11, 2026, marking the first day of Meskerem and the beginning of 2019 in the Ethiopian calendar.

The Ethiopian calendar is generally seven to eight years behind the Gregorian calendar , largely because the two traditions use different historical calculations for the date of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Why Ethiopia has 13 months

The difference goes beyond the year number. Ethiopia's calendar has 13 months rather than 12.

The first 12 months each have exactly 30 days. A short 13th month, called Pagume, contains five days in a normal year and six in a leap year. The calendar still totals 365 days in an ordinary year and 366 in a leap year.

New Year also arrives at a different time. Enkutatash usually falls on September 11 in the Gregorian calendar, although it can fall on September 12 depending on the leap-year cycle.

The calendar is not merely a historical curiosity. It remains the main calendar used in Ethiopia and is also used by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

So, on September 14, 2026, in the Gregorian calendar, the corresponding Ethiopian date is Meskerem 4, 2019.

Sweden’s centre-left opposition held a narrow lead after Sunday’s general election , putting Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s right-leaning bloc at risk of losing power after four years in government.

Preliminary results showed the Social Democrats, Left Party, Centre Party and Greens together taking about 49.5% of the vote , compared with 49.1% for the Moderates, Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals. The difference between the two sides was only tens of thousands of votes.

The Social Democrats, led by former prime minister Magdalena Andersson, remained the country’s largest party with 28.1%, although their support fell from the 2022 election.

The Moderate Party of Kristersson moved into second place with 19.9%, while the Sweden Democrats slipped to third with 17.6%. The Sweden Democrats had won 20.5% in 2022, meaning their support fell by about three percentage points.

The Left Party received about 8.2%, followed by the Centre Party on 7.1%, Christian Democrats on 6.2%, Greens on 6.1% and Liberals on 5.4%.

Sweden Democrats lose ground

The result marks a significant reversal for the Sweden Democrats. The anti-immigration party had become Sweden’s second-largest party in 2022 and spent the following four years supporting Kristersson’s minority government from outside the cabinet.

In 2026, however, it lost support for the first time since entering parliament in 2010 and fell behind the Moderates.

The Liberals, meanwhile, performed better than many pre-election polls had suggested. The party cleared Sweden’s 4% threshold for parliamentary representation, an important result for the right-leaning bloc because falling below it would have cost the alliance seats.

Preliminary calculations put the centre-left parties on course for about 176 of the Riksdag’s 349 seats, against 173 for the right, giving the opposition a potential three-seat majority.

That could open the way for Andersson, who served as prime minister from 2021 to 2022, to return to office. But forming a government may still be difficult because the four opposition parties disagree on several issues and have not committed to governing together.

The election is not over yet

The result remains preliminary. Sweden’s Election Authority says late advance votes are counted on the Wednesday after election day, followed by a separate final count. The definitive parliamentary result and seat allocation are expected about a week after the election.

That distinction matters because the contest is extremely close. Neither bloc can safely claim victory while outstanding ballots could still affect the distribution of seats.

Generation Z is estimated to be the world's largest generation, with about 2.04 billion people , highlighting how strongly younger generations now shape the world's population, workforce and consumer markets.

World Visualized estimates, based on an October 2025 global population of 8.25 billion, put Gen Z — defined in the graphic as people born from 1997 to 2012 — at 24.8% of humanity. Millennials, born from 1981 to 1996, follow at 1.87 billion, or 22.6%.

Gen Alpha, defined here as those born between 2013 and 2025, is estimated at 1.74 billion people, or 21.1%. Gen X accounts for 1.45 billion, Baby Boomers 984 million and people born before 1946 about 169 million.

Together, the figures suggest that nearly 62% of the world's population was under 40 in 2025.

DataReportal, drawing on the United Nations' World Population Prospects, put the global population at 8.25 billion in October 2025, up about 69 million, or 0.8%, from a year earlier. The world had passed eight billion people in November 2022.

A generation with growing economic influence

The size of Gen Z is increasingly important as more of the generation enters adulthood and the workforce .

Deloitte's 2025 survey of more than 23,000 Gen Z and millennial respondents across 44 countries found younger workers placing strong emphasis on financial security , meaningful work, well-being and opportunities to learn new skills. Nearly half of Gen Z respondents said they did not feel financially secure.

Technology is another major part of that shift. Deloitte found that 74% of Gen Z respondents expected generative AI to affect how they work within a year, while many were focusing on both technical and softer skills to prepare for changing workplaces.

Gen Z's influence will continue to grow as younger members enter higher education and employment and older members move further into their careers.

Mexicans live across the world, but their population abroad is overwhelmingly concentrated in one country: the United States.

Mexico's official 2024 figures identify about 11.23 million Mexicans living outside the country, with 10.82 million in the United States. That means roughly 96% of the total live north of the border.

No other destination comes close. Canada ranks second with 107,735 Mexican residents, followed by Spain with 79,581. Germany has 23,205, the United Kingdom 18,000 and France 17,200.

The Netherlands, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile complete the top 10 shown on the map, each with fewer than 12,000 Mexican residents.

The figures highlight how unusual Mexico's migration pattern is. Of the roughly 405,000 Mexicans living abroad outside the United States, about 187,600 were in Europe and 184,400 elsewhere in the Americas, according to the 2024 figures.

Canada's position reflects its role as the second-largest destination for Mexican international migration. Mexico and Canada also operate established temporary labour programmes, including one that places Mexican agricultural workers in Canadian provinces.

Europe has a much smaller Mexican population , but Spain stands out. About four in every 10 Mexicans living in Europe were in Spain in the 2024 dataset, making it the largest European destination by a wide margin.

Sweden's opposition held a razor-thin lead after Sunday's general election , setting the country up for difficult coalition talks as officials continued counting late and overseas ballots.

Preliminary results from the Swedish Election Authority put the four opposition parties on course for 176 of the Riksdag's 349 seats, against 173 for the parties that form or support Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's outgoing government.

The Social Democrats, led by former prime minister Magdalena Andersson, remained Sweden's largest party despite losing support compared with 2022. Andersson is seeking to return to the job she lost four years ago, but the narrow result means neither side can claim a clear victory yet.

The election also brought a setback for the Sweden Democrats, the anti-immigration party that supported Kristersson's minority government from outside the cabinet. Its vote share fell to just under 18%, about three percentage points lower than in 2022, pushing it from second to third place behind Kristersson's Moderate Party.

Forming a government could be difficult

Even if the opposition's lead survives the final count, Andersson would still face a difficult task in putting together a government.

Her potential parliamentary majority includes the Social Democrats, Left Party, Greens and Centre Party. But the Centre Party does not want to govern with the Left Party, while the Left has said it will oppose a government in which it is not represented. Those disagreements could complicate negotiations despite the bloc's apparent majority.

Kristersson's right-leaning bloc faces its own challenges. Since 2022, his government has consisted of the Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals, with parliamentary support from the Sweden Democrats. Before the election, Kristersson had opened the door to the Sweden Democrats entering government for the first time if his side retained power.

Sweden uses proportional representation, with 349 seats in parliament. Parties normally need at least 4% of the national vote to enter the Riksdag, and forming a government depends on whether a proposed prime minister can avoid being rejected by a majority of lawmakers.

Healthcare, schools, household finances, crime and migration were among the major domestic issues during the campaign. On foreign policy, the main parties broadly agree on continued support for Ukraine and Sweden's membership of NATO, although differences remain over defence and other foreign-policy questions.

Why the result is not final

The Swedish Election Authority says the election-night count is preliminary. Late advance votes and ballots from Swedes living abroad are counted separately, while the formal final count is carried out by county administrative boards.

More than 8.04 million people were eligible to vote in the parliamentary election, including about 227,000 Swedes living abroad.

The final result will determine whether Andersson gets a chance to return as prime minister or Kristersson can find another route to remain in office.

Premier League clubs once again dominated football's transfer market in the 2026 summer window , spending billions on new players and leaving Europe's other major leagues far behind.

The graphic puts Premier League spending at $4.71 billion, compared with $1.29 billion for Italy's Serie A, $866 million for Spain's La Liga, $855 million for Germany's Bundesliga and $673 million for France's Ligue 1.

FootballTransfers, which reports its figures in euros, calculated spending by English top-flight clubs at a record €4.07 billion (£3.49 billion) during the window, which ran from June 15 to September 1. Differences between that figure and the graphic's $4.71 billion largely reflect the currency used.

That means Premier League clubs collectively spent more than three times as much as Serie A, the next-highest league shown on the map.

English clubs drove the spending surge

The scale of the spending was not driven by just one club. Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Arsenal were all among the summer's biggest spenders.

Sky Sports reported that Manchester City's spending reached £440 million, while Chelsea spent £342 million and Tottenham exceeded £300 million. It described the summer as the most expensive transfer window in Premier League history.

Sofascore's figures tell a similar story. It ranked Manchester City first among individual clubs with €526.2 million spent, followed by Chelsea at €406.7 million and Tottenham at €366.4 million. Eight of the 10 highest-spending clubs in its ranking were from the Premier League.

Several huge individual transfers helped push the numbers higher. Manchester City signed Enzo Fernández from Chelsea for £125 million, while Chelsea paid £117 million for Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa. Tottenham also spent £100 million on Sandro Tonali from Newcastle, according to Sky Sports.

The spending gap highlights the financial strength of English football. Premier League clubs benefit from enormous domestic and international broadcasting income, allowing teams throughout the division — not only those competing for the title — to spend heavily.

The Championship also appears sixth in the graphic at $454 million, just ahead of Turkey's Süper Lig at $448 million and Saudi Arabia's Pro League at $439 million. That means England has two competitions among the eight highest-spending leagues shown.

Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, American students are still learning about the event very differently depending on where they go to school.

An Associated Press review of all 50 states found no single nationwide approach to teaching 9/11. Some states explicitly require the attacks and their aftermath to be covered in public-school history or social studies courses. Others recommend the subject or leave the decision largely to individual schools and districts.

The differences are significant because today's schoolchildren were all born after the attacks. Even many teachers are too young to have clear memories of September 11, 2001, when al-Qaeda hijackers seized four passenger planes, killing nearly 3,000 people in New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.

States including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa and West Virginia have specific requirements that ensure students encounter 9/11 in lessons. Florida, for example, requires at least 45 minutes of annual 9/11 instruction in certain middle and high school classes.

Alaska, Vermont, Washington and Montana have no statewide requirement specifically mandating 9/11 instruction. Schools may still teach the attacks as part of broader lessons on US history, terrorism, foreign policy or national security.

Where 9/11 is taught, students are often expected to learn much more than what happened that morning.

State standards can include the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Patriot Act, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, terrorism and debates over national security and civil liberties .

New York, where the World Trade Centre was attacked, expects students at different grade levels to examine the attacks and their consequences. Older students study issues including government surveillance, the war on terror and controversial US policies that followed.

Virginia, where American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon, also requires the subject in middle and upper grades, while Pennsylvania provides schools with an optional 9/11 teaching toolkit.

Some states separately require or encourage schools to commemorate September 11, even where classroom instruction is not mandatory. New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin are among states with laws providing for moments of silence or other observances.

Twenty-five years ago, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger planes in a coordinated attack that killed 2,977 people in New York , at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.

The September 11, 2001 attacks unfolded in less than two hours , beginning when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Centre at 8:46 a.m. United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower just 17 minutes later, at 9:03 a.m.

A third aircraft, American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, at 9:37 a.m. All 59 passengers and crew, along with the five hijackers, were killed, as were 125 people inside the Pentagon.

The fourth aircraft, United Airlines Flight 93, never reached its intended target. After learning through phone calls that other planes had been used in attacks, passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers. The aircraft crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 10:03 a.m., killing everyone aboard.

Who was aboard the four planes?

The four flights were travelling from the US East Coast to California , meaning they carried large amounts of fuel for their planned transcontinental journeys.

The 9/11 Memorial records 76 passengers and 11 crew members on Flight 11, excluding its five hijackers. Flight 175 carried 51 passengers and nine crew members, excluding five hijackers. Flight 77 had 53 passengers and six crew members, excluding five hijackers, while Flight 93 carried 33 passengers and seven crew members, excluding four hijackers.

The two World Trade Centre towers later collapsed. The South Tower fell at 9:59 a.m., 56 minutes after it was struck, while the North Tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m., 102 minutes after the first impact.

The attacks killed people from more than 90 countries and became the deadliest foreign attack on US soil. Twenty-five years later, ceremonies continue to honour the victims, with relatives gathering at the 9/11 Memorial in New York to read their names aloud.

The United States on Friday, September 11, marked 25 years since the September 11 attacks , when hijacked passenger planes struck the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, and another crashed in Pennsylvania, killing 2,977 people.

On September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda hijackers seized four commercial aircraft. Two were flown into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York , a third hit the Pentagon in Virginia, and a fourth, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew fought back.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum records 2,753 deaths in New York, 184 at the Pentagon and 40 aboard Flight 93. Those figures exclude the 19 hijackers.

The attacks unfolded rapidly. American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower at 8:46 a.m., and United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower at 9:03 a.m. The South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m. and the North Tower at 10:28 a.m.

First responders suffered heavy losses

Hundreds of emergency workers died after entering the World Trade Centre complex to evacuate civilians and respond to the attacks.

The New York City Fire Department lost 343 members, while 37 Port Authority Police Department officers and 23 New York City Police Department officers were killed. The 9/11 Memorial says nearly 1,000 firefighters were deployed to the World Trade Centre that day.

The Port Authority says its police officers mobilised across the World Trade Centre complex, with additional officers arriving from other locations in New York and New Jersey. The loss of 37 PAPD officers remains the largest single-day loss of life for a police force in US history.

A quarter-century of remembrance

The attacks destroyed the Twin Towers and the other buildings in the original World Trade Centre complex. Rescue, recovery and clean-up operations continued for months, with about 1.8 million tonnes of material eventually removed from the site. The operation formally ended on May 30, 2002.

Today, the National September 11 Memorial stands where the Twin Towers once stood. Its two reflecting pools occupy the footprints of the towers, with the names of those killed inscribed around them. Each year on September 11, relatives read aloud the victims' names during the commemoration in Lower Manhattan.

For the 25th anniversary in 2026, the Port Authority has also installed permanent markings inside the World Trade Centre's Oculus tracing the path of sunlight between 8:46 a.m., when the North Tower was struck, and 10:28 a.m., when it collapsed. The installation is intended to preserve the memory of the attacks for future generations.

The amount of sunshine people experience each year varies dramatically around the world, with some desert regions receiving more than 4,000 hours of bright sunshine annually , while some northern and persistently cloudy areas get less than 1,200.

The map shows the highest totals across the world's dry subtropical regions. Parts of the Sahara and Arabian Peninsula exceed 4,000 hours a year, while large areas of North Africa and the Middle East fall between 3,000 and 4,000 hours.

Similar sunny zones appear in the southwestern United States, western South America, southern Africa and inland Australia. These areas are home to some of the world's major deserts and tend to experience long periods with little cloud cover.

The pattern changes sharply farther north. Much of northern Europe, northern Canada and parts of Russia receive fewer than 1,600 hours of sunshine annually, with some areas falling below 1,200 hours.

The world's sunniest places are not necessarily those closest to the equator.

Many of the highest totals occur roughly 20 to 35 degrees north and south of the equator, where large subtropical high-pressure systems help create dry, stable conditions and suppress cloud formation. This is one reason many of the world's major deserts are found within these belts.

Equatorial regions can actually receive less bright sunshine. Although the sun is high in the sky throughout the year, frequent clouds, thunderstorms and heavy rainfall across tropical regions can reduce the number of hours when direct sunlight reaches the surface.

Europe shows the same relationship between climate and sunshine. Satellite-based climate data for 1991-2020 show annual sunshine generally increasing from northern Europe towards the Mediterranean and North Africa, with some parts of North Africa recording more than 3,500 hours a year.

“Sunshine hours” do not simply mean the number of hours between sunrise and sunset.

The World Meteorological Organisation defines sunshine duration as the time when direct solar radiation exceeds 120 watts per square metre. It is therefore a measure of bright sunshine reaching a location rather than the total amount of daylight available.

Sunshine duration is also different from solar energy or insolation. Two places with similar sunshine hours can receive different amounts of solar energy because the strength and angle of sunlight also matter.

The United States was the world’s biggest exporter of crop and livestock products in 2024, while Brazil and the Netherlands completed the top three, according to FAOSTAT data compiled by World Population Review.

US exports were valued at $172.36 billion , ahead of Brazil at $141.89 billion and the Netherlands at $133.90 billion. Germany ranked fourth at $102.21 billion, followed by China at $84.33 billion and France at $83.45 billion.

Spain was seventh with $74.30 billion, followed by Italy at $70.53 billion, Canada at $65.30 billion and Belgium at $62.42 billion. Poland, Indonesia, Mexico, Australia and Thailand completed the top 15 shown in the graphic.

The ranking shows that being a major agricultural exporter is not simply about having vast amounts of farmland. The Netherlands, a relatively small country, exported nearly $134 billion worth of agricultural products, placing it ahead of much larger agricultural economies such as China and France.

Its position also helps explain why Europe features so heavily in the ranking. European countries benefit from extensive cross-border trade and highly developed food-processing and distribution networks. FAO says Europe has particularly strong intra-regional agricultural trade and became a net food exporter in the previous decade.

Brazil’s position reflects a different strength. The country is one of the world ’s major producers and exporters of agricultural commodities, particularly soybeans. FAO says global agricultural trade remains highly concentrated in several key commodities, with the two biggest exporters of soybeans and palm oil accounting for about 85% of global exports in 2024.

The figures also underline the scale of agricultural trade beyond food consumed directly by people. FAO says food commodities accounted for about 86% of global trade in crop and livestock products in 2024, but notes that some food commodities are traded for uses such as animal feed rather than direct human consumption.

The ranking is based on the value of crop and livestock exports in 2024, rather than the amount of food produced or exported by weight. FAOSTAT records international agricultural trade using export quantities and values, with values reported in US dollars.

That distinction is important. A country can rank highly because it exports large volumes of agricultural goods, sells higher-value products, has a major food-processing industry or serves as an important trading and distribution hub.

FAO also reported that while the value of global crop and livestock exports continued to increase in current prices after 2020, export volumes did not rise in the same way, showing how changes in prices can affect rankings based on dollar value.

Big Pharma, in particular, was laser-focused on pushing back against legislative efforts aimed at pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), the middlemen who play a crucial role in determining drug prices. PBMs have come under increased scrutiny for their role in the complex and opaque pricing system that often leaves consumers paying more for medications. In response, pharmaceutical companies ramped up their lobbying efforts to influence bills that sought to regulate PBMs and increase transparency in drug pricing. The stakes are high, as any changes to PBM regulations could significantly impact the pharmaceutical industry's profits and, by extension, the prices consumers pay for essential medications.

📱💻🕹️ Meanwhile, the Big Tech giants—Apple, Microsoft, and Intel—were also busy in the corridors of power, investing heavily to influence antitrust legislation. These tech behemoths are facing increasing scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators who are concerned about their dominance in the market and the potential stifling of competition. Apple, in particular, was at the forefront, spending nearly $9.9 million to protect its lucrative app ecosystem from proposed antitrust regulations that could force the company to make significant changes to how it operates its App Store. The debate over Big Tech’s power isn’t just about market dominance; it’s about the broader implications for innovation, consumer choice, and the future of the digital economy .

As these industries pour vast sums into lobbying efforts, it raises important questions about the transparency and accountability of the legislative process. Shouldn’t we, as citizens, demand more openness in how these powerful entities influence the laws that govern our lives? 🤔 The current system often leaves the public in the dark about the extent of corporate influence, making it difficult to fully understand who is shaping the policies that affect everything from the price of our medications to the technology we use every day.

The need for greater transparency is clear. When corporations wield such immense power to shape legislation in their favor, the risk is that the interests of the general public may be sidelined. As the influence of Big Pharma and Big Tech continues to grow, so too should the calls for reforms that ensure the legislative process remains fair, transparent, and accountable to the people it is meant to serve.

Europe has produced hundreds of billion-dollar startups, but they are heavily concentrated in a small group of countries, with the United Kingdom standing well ahead of the rest.

Dealroom data used in the graphic counted 441 European unicorns in 2025, meaning privately held startups that had reached valuations of at least $1 billion. Six countries accounted for 337 of them, or about 76% of the total.

The UK led with 181 unicorns, more than twice Germany’s 75. France followed with 51, Sweden with 48, while the Netherlands and Switzerland each had 37.

Together, those figures show that Europe’s billion-dollar startup scene is far from evenly spread. The UK alone accounted for about four in every 10 unicorns shown in the dataset, while the top three countries, the UK, Germany and France, accounted for almost 70% of the six-country total.

The wider map shows a steep drop beyond the leaders. Ireland had 18 unicorns, Italy and Poland 13 each, Spain 12 and Norway and Denmark 11 each. Several countries in eastern and southeastern Europe had only a handful or none.

Why the UK stands out

Britain has been Europe's biggest startup and venture-capital centre for years , with London at the heart of that ecosystem. Dealroom's current data continue to place the UK comfortably ahead of every other European country in the number of companies that have reached billion-dollar valuations.

London also remains Europe's leading startup hub by several measures. Dealroom currently ranks it first in the wider Europe, Middle East and Africa region for the number of unicorns based in a metropolitan area.

The concentration matters because unicorns are often used as one measure of an economy's ability to turn young technology companies into large global businesses. But the numbers do not tell the whole story. A high valuation does not necessarily mean a company is profitable, and unicorn counts can change when companies raise new funding, go public, are acquired or see their valuations revised.

Europe still trails the US

Europe has built a sizeable technology sector, but its unicorn population remains far behind that of the United States .

European Commission data using Dealroom figures showed 286 unicorns headquartered in the European Union at the end of 2024, compared with 1,681 in the United States and 397 in China. The EU figure is different from the 441 shown on the map because the EU and Europe are not the same geographical group, and datasets can also use different definitions and counting methods.

The figures nevertheless point to the same broader trend: Europe's billion-dollar startup ecosystem is growing, but much of that success remains concentrated in a relatively small number of countries.

Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany has recorded its strongest-ever result in a state election , winning more than 40% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt and finishing far ahead of the governing conservatives.

The result marks a dramatic change from the state's previous election in 2021. Back then, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won 37.1%, comfortably ahead of the AfD on 20.8%, according to official state election data.

Five years later, those positions have reversed.

An early ARD/Infratest dimap projection on election night put the AfD at 44.5% and the CDU at 18.5% — the figures shown in the graphic. The Left was projected at 9.5%, the Greens at 9%, the SPD at 8%, the BSW at 5% and the FDP at 2%.

The final picture was slightly different. With votes counted, preliminary results reported by DW put the AfD at 43.8% and the CDU at 17.2%. The SPD received 9.3%, the Greens 8.9%, the Left 8.6% and the BSW 5.3%.

That means the AfD has more than doubled its share of the vote since 2021, while the CDU has lost roughly half of its previous support.

A historic result, but no majority

Despite its commanding lead, the AfD did not win enough seats to govern alone. Preliminary results gave it 39 of the 83 seats in the state parliament, short of an outright majority.

That leaves Saxony-Anhalt facing difficult negotiations over its next government . The CDU and other mainstream parties have ruled out governing with the AfD. The AfD's state organisation has been classified as a confirmed right-wing extremist organisation by Saxony-Anhalt's domestic intelligence agency.

The result is particularly significant because Saxony-Anhalt had long been dominated by the CDU. The party had governed the state most recently with the SPD and FDP, while the AfD had remained the main opposition force.

The AfD's surge also reflects its growing strength in eastern Germany. It won the 2024 state election in neighbouring Thuringia with 32.8% of the vote, but its Saxony-Anhalt result is substantially higher, making it the party's strongest performance in a German state election to date.

Turnout was also unusually high, at around 80%, compared with 60.3% in the 2021 election, according to figures reported by DW.

Twelve countries, including Britain, France and Canada, have announced plans to restrict trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, marking a further shift in international pressure over settlement expansion.

The foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom said on Tuesday, September 8, that they intend to introduce national restrictions , support European measures or actively consider other action against trade in settlement goods.

Britain, France and Canada went further, saying they would introduce national measures to ban imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements. Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium have already taken action or are in the process of doing so.

The measures are specifically aimed at goods originating from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. They are not a general ban on trade with Israel.

Why are countries taking action now?

The 12 governments said they were responding to expanding Israeli settlements and rising settler violence in the West Bank, which they said were damaging the chances of eventually creating an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Their statement also singled out Israel's decision to advance the E1 settlement project, a long-disputed development east of Jerusalem. Several governments have warned that construction there would further divide Palestinian territory and make a viable two-state solution more difficult.

Britain said its import ban would cover goods produced in settlements and would also restrict companies from providing certain services to them. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told parliament that the country could no longer limit its response to condemning settlement expansion.

The wider group stopped short of announcing one identical policy. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden said they would support further action, while countries including Ireland, Spain and Norway have already moved towards restrictions. That means the exact rules and timing will differ from country to country.

Israel strongly rejected the measures . Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused the British government of hostility towards Israel, while Israel announced retaliatory measures against Britain, including the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem.

The United States has also said it will not join the trade restrictions, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying Washington did not want further instability in the West Bank.

The economic effect may be relatively limited because settlement goods account for only a small part of Israel's overall trade. But politically, the coordinated action is significant. It shows a growing willingness among several Western governments to move beyond diplomatic criticism and use trade policy to pressure Israel over its settlements in the West Bank.

Some of Earth's longest-lived animals survive for centuries or even thousands of years, with many of the most extreme examples found in the ocean. But the figures are not all directly comparable: some are verified ages of individual animals, while others are scientific estimates or maximum lifespans.

Deep-sea sponges are among the most remarkable. Research on the glass sponge Monorhaphis chuni estimated that one specimen had lived for about 11,000 years, with a margin of uncertainty of roughly 3,000 years. That makes the infographic's rounded 10,000-year figure reasonable, although it is an estimate rather than a precisely measured age.

Black corals can also survive for thousands of years, making extreme longevity particularly common among some slow-growing marine organisms.

A clam that lived for more than 500 years

One of the strongest individual records belongs to an ocean quahog, Arctica islandica. Researchers at Bangor University determined that a specimen collected from Icelandic waters had lived for 507 years.

Nicknamed “Ming”, the clam's age could be determined from annual growth bands in its shell, much like counting tree rings.

Greenland sharks are another extraordinary case. A 2016 study published in Science used radiocarbon dating of proteins in the eye lenses of 28 female sharks. The largest was estimated to be 392 years old, with an uncertainty of 120 years in either direction. The researchers concluded that Greenland sharks live at least 272 years, making them the longest-lived vertebrates known.

So the graphic's 400-year figure is a useful approximation, but it should not be read as an exact maximum lifespan.

Other fish can also live far longer than humans. NOAA records a 205-year maximum age for rougheye rockfish from a specimen collected in southeast Alaska.

Bowhead whales can reach similarly remarkable ages. NOAA Fisheries says evidence from old harpoon tips recovered from whales, together with newer ageing techniques, indicates that bowheads can live more than 200 years.

Red sea urchins may also reach 200 years or more, according to research reported by Oregon State University. Unlike humans, the animals appear to show remarkably few signs of age-related decline even when they are more than a century old.

Jonathan is still going at 194

On land, the numbers are much smaller, but one living animal has witnessed almost two centuries of human history .

Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise living on the island of St Helena, is estimated to have been born around 1832, making him at least 194 years old in 2026. Guinness World Records recognises him as the world's oldest known living land animal and the oldest known turtle or tortoise on record.

Humans sit well below many of these animals. The oldest fully authenticated person was France's Jeanne Calment, who lived for 122 years and 164 days before dying in 1997. Her record has still not been surpassed.

Is the “immortal jellyfish” really immortal?

The biggest qualification concerns the animal at the top of the graphic.

The immortal jellyfish, Turritopsis dohrnii, is not known to live forever in the wild. It gets its name from an unusual ability to reverse its life cycle. Under certain conditions , an adult jellyfish can return to an earlier developmental stage and begin growing again.

That means it could theoretically repeat its life cycle rather than inevitably dying from biological ageing. But it can still be killed by disease, predators or environmental conditions. Calling its lifespan “potentially indefinite” is therefore more accurate than saying an individual jellyfish has actually lived forever.

Africa is much bigger than it appears on many familiar world maps. At roughly 30.3 million square kilometres, the continent is almost the same size as Russia, the United States and India combined.

Russia covers about 17.1 million sq km, the United States about 9.8 million sq km and India about 3.3 million sq km. Together, they cover roughly 30.2 million sq km , slightly less than Africa. The CIA World Factbook similarly puts Africa's continental landmass at just over 30 million sq km.

The comparison is striking because Russia is the world's largest country, while the United States and India are themselves among the largest. Yet all three can be placed within an outline of Africa at roughly their true relative sizes.

There is a major difference when it comes to population. Africa has around 1.58 billion people in 2026, based on the UN's World Population Prospects 2024 estimates and projections. India alone has around 1.48 billion people, while the United States has roughly 350 million and Russia about 140 million. Together, the three countries have close to 2 billion people, considerably more than Africa. The UN's latest population dataset provides estimates and projections for 237 countries and areas through 2100.

Why Africa often looks smaller

Part of the surprise comes from the maps many people grew up seeing.

The Mercator projection, developed in the 16th century for navigation, stretches areas farther from the equator. This makes northern countries such as Russia and Canada, as well as Greenland, appear much larger relative to places closer to the equator.

Africa is one of the clearest examples. On some Mercator maps, Greenland can appear almost as large as Africa. In reality, Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland.

The difference has attracted renewed attention after the UN General Assembly backed wider use of the Equal Earth projection in September 2026. Unlike Mercator, Equal Earth preserves the relative area of continents, giving a clearer picture of Africa's enormous size.

So the comparison with Russia, the United States and India is more than a geographical curiosity. It helps correct a common impression created by traditional world maps: Africa is the world's second-largest continent, and its true scale is easy to underestimate when looking at a Mercator map.

Nearly three in 10 people in India are estimated to be vegetarian, giving the country the highest reported share among countries tracked by World Population Review .

India leads at 29.5%, followed by Mexico at 19% and Brazil at 14%. Taiwan stands at 13.5%, Israel at 13% and Australia at 12.1%. Argentina , Sweden and Finland are each around 12%.

The numbers show how differently vegetarian diets have taken hold around the world. In India, vegetarianism has deep cultural and religious roots, while in other countries, people may avoid meat for health, environmental, ethical, or personal reasons.

India's percentage also translates into an enormous number of people. World Population Review estimates about 276 million vegetarians in India, compared with around 29.3 million in Brazil and 23.8 million in Mexico.

But vegetarianism is far less common in some countries. World Population Review puts Russia at around 1%, Spain at 1.4%, Portugal at 1.2% and Slovenia at about 1.5%.

World Population Review's dataset combines estimates from different surveys and different years. India's 29.5% figure is based on 2020 data, Mexico's 19% comes from 2016 and Brazil's 14% from 2018. Taiwan and Israel's figures date to 2015, while Australia's comes from 2018.

There are also differences in how vegetarianism is defined and measured. World Population Review notes that estimates can rely on self-reported diets, different definitions and surveys of varying sizes.

In some cases, reported figures are ranges that the site converts into midpoint estimates. India's underlying estimate, for example, ranges from 20% to 39%, producing the 29.5% figure shown in the ranking.

The cost of filling a car differs across Europe, with drivers in Norway paying more than three times as much for petrol as those in Russia, according to fuel-price data for August 31.

Norway had the highest price shown on the map, at €2.56 per litre for 95-octane petrol. Denmark followed at €2.48, while Germany stood at €2.20. Finland was also among the more expensive countries at €2.17 a litre. GlobalPetrolPrices' country data confirm Norway's €2.56 and Finland's €2.17 figures for August 31.

Prices were also relatively high across much of Western Europe. France stood at €2.03 a litre, Italy at €2.02, Portugal at €2.02 and the Netherlands at €2.40. The UK was at €1.88 and Spain at €1.78.

Eastern Europe generally had lower prices. Poland was at €1.50, Bulgaria at €1.56 and Ukraine at €1.60. At the bottom of the ranking, Russia was at €0.74 a litre and Belarus at €0.75, making them the cheapest countries shown.

The difference means a 50-litre fill-up at the prices on the map would cost about €128 in Norway, compared with roughly €37 in Russia.

The gap is not simply about which countries produce oil .

GlobalPetrolPrices says countries generally face similar international crude oil and refined-product prices, but what drivers ultimately pay depends heavily on taxes, distribution costs and government pricing policies. Taxes, particularly fuel excise duties, account for much of the difference between countries.

That helps explain why Norway can be one of Europe's biggest oil producers and still have some of its most expensive petrol. A country's access to oil does not automatically translate into low prices at the pump.

The figures also show how quickly prices can move. Norway's petrol price reached 27.64 Norwegian kroner per litre on August 31, around 29.5% higher than a month earlier and 33.5% higher than a year earlier, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.

The world is not changing shape, but one of the most familiar ways of looking at it could be.

The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly backed a resolution encouraging wider use of the Equal Earth projection, a world map designed to show the relative sizes of countries and continents more accurately than the centuries-old Mercator projection.

The resolution passed on September 4 with 164 countries voting in favour. The United States was the only country to vote against it , while Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine abstained. 

The move follows an African-led campaign challenging the way the Mercator projection represents the world. Togo sponsored the resolution, with support from African Union members. 

Why does the old map look so different?

The Mercator projection dates to 1569 and was designed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator primarily to help sailors navigate. Its great advantage is that it preserves directions and angles, making straight lines useful for navigation.

But there is a trade-off. As land gets closer to the poles, it appears increasingly oversized.

That is why Greenland can look almost as large as Africa on a Mercator map, even though Africa is roughly 14 times larger. Europe and North America also appear disproportionately large, while Africa, South America and other regions closer to the equator look smaller relative to them. 

The Equal Earth projection, developed in 2018, tackles that problem by preserving the relative area of countries and continents. Africa therefore looks much larger compared with Europe, Greenland and North America than many people are used to seeing on Mercator maps. 

That does not make Equal Earth perfect. Turning a spherical planet into a flat rectangle always introduces some distortion. Different map projections prioritise different things, including area, shape, distance and direction.

What will actually change?

The UN has not banned the Mercator projection, nor has it ordered every country to throw out its existing maps.

The resolution instead encourages governments, schools, international organisations and technology companies to use Equal Earth or other equal-area projections when the relative size of places matters. It also encourages people to be taught about the limitations of different map projections. 

That distinction matters because Mercator remains useful for certain purposes. The issue is its widespread use as a general world map, where its dramatic size distortions can give people a misleading impression of how countries compare.

Artificial intelligence is moving beyond simple chatbots. The latest models are being built to reason through difficult problems, write and debug code, analyse information and carry out longer, more complicated tasks with less human guidance.

That rapid progress has also turned AI into a global competition.

An Artificial Analysis ranking shows that the United States and China are now the two main centres of advanced AI development. Every company in the top 10 shown on the graphic above comes from one of two countries: five American companies and five Chinese companies.

At the top is US-based Anthropic, whose Claude Fable 5 model recorded the highest score in the ranking. OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol ranks second, while China's Moonshot AI, with its Kimi K3 model, ranks third.

SpaceXAI's Grok 4.5 comes fourth, followed by China's Z AI with GLM-5.2. Meta, Alibaba, Google, MiniMax and DeepSeek make up the rest of the top 10.

Artificial Analysis uses its Intelligence Index to compare models across a range of tests covering areas such as reasoning, coding, science , knowledge and complex problem-solving. The results are combined to give an overall score.

That means one model may perform particularly well at coding while another is stronger at reasoning or other tasks. The ranking is therefore best understood as a comparison of overall performance rather than a definitive answer to which AI model is the best.

The leaderboard can also change quickly. AI companies are releasing new and updated models at a rapid pace, and a new release can change the rankings within days or weeks.

From the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East to the Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia, these routes form the backbone of international energy trade, handling the vast majority of seaborne crude flows.

Eight routes that power the global economy

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), roughly 80 million barrels of oil move through global maritime trade daily, with a large share funnelled through just a small number of chokepoints.

The Strait of Malacca, linking the Indian and Pacific oceans, is the busiest oil transit route in the world, carrying more than 23 million barrels per day, nearly a third of total maritime oil flows.

Close behind is the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most strategically sensitive waterways on the planet. Around 20 million barrels per day pass through this narrow corridor between Iran and Oman, accounting for roughly a quarter of global seaborne oil trade.

Other critical routes include the Suez Canal and SUMED pipeline system, the Bab el-Mandeb strait near the Red Sea, the Danish and Turkish straits in Europe, the Panama Canal, and the Cape of Good Hope, each carrying millions of barrels daily and linking key producers to major consuming regions.

What makes these chokepoints so important is not just volume, but lack of alternatives.

Many oil-exporting countries in the Gulf rely heavily on the Strait of Hormuz, with limited pipeline capacity to bypass it.

Similarly, Asian economies including China, Japan and South Korea depend heavily on the Strait of Malacca for energy imports, making it a strategic vulnerability in times of geopolitical tension.

Travellers with a long wait between flights may have their best chance of finding plenty to eat at Singapore Changi Airport, which ranks first for food choice in an Airport Parking & Hotels study of major global airports.

Changi had 247 restaurants and cafés , the most among the airports studied. Chicago O’Hare International Airport ranked second with 210, while Tokyo Haneda Airport came third with 173.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport followed with 165 dining options, while New York's LaGuardia Airport rounded out the top five with 142.

The United States had the strongest representation in the top 10. In addition to Chicago, Atlanta and LaGuardia, New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport ranked eighth with 129 restaurants and cafés.

Asian airports were also prominent. Indonesia's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport placed sixth with 133 dining options, followed by Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport with 131. Shanghai Pudong International Airport ranked ninth with 126, while Istanbul Airport completed the top 10 with 118.

Airport Parking & Hotels examined the 50 busiest airports worldwide as part of a wider study of the best places for a layover. Its overall index considered 12 factors, including restaurants and cafés, food prices, restaurant ratings, lounges, Wi-Fi, showers and sleeping facilities.

Changi also ranked first in that broader assessment, scoring 7.3 out of 10. The airport had 16 lounges, Wi-Fi and shower facilities, as well as a sleepability rating of 4.9 out of five.

On this day in 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, beginning a conflict that would develop into the deadliest war in history .

German forces attacked Poland from several directions on September 1, 1939, using concentrated air power , tanks and ground forces. One of the best-known opening attacks came when the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein fired on the Polish garrison at Westerplatte near the Free City of Danzig, now Gdańsk.

The invasion came just days after Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on August 23. Publicly, the two powers agreed not to attack each other. A secret protocol, however, divided parts of Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence and provided for the partition of Poland.

Britain and France , which had pledged to protect Poland, declared war on Germany on September 3, turning the invasion into a wider European war.

Poland's situation became even more difficult on September 17, when the Soviet Union invaded from the east. Poland was now fighting attacks from two directions. Warsaw surrendered on September 28, and the final organised Polish military resistance ended on October 6.

Germany and the Soviet Union subsequently divided occupied Polish territory between them. The invasion began nearly six years of war in Europe and a brutal occupation of Poland in which millions of Polish citizens, including about three million Polish Jews, were ultimately killed.

Milk was the world's most valuable food commodity by gross production value in 2024, ahead of rice, pork and beef, according to figures drawn from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's FAOSTAT database .

The ranking puts milk at about $379 billion, followed by rice at $362 billion and pork at $355 billion. Beef ranks fourth at $306 billion, while maize — labelled as corn in the graphic — is the highest-ranked crop after rice, at $270 billion.

Chicken follows at $264 billion, ahead of wheat at $209 billion and eggs at $157 billion. Soybeans, valued at $142 billion, and tomatoes at $136 billion complete the top 10.

The figures underline the economic weight of livestock products. Milk, pork, beef, chicken and eggs all appear among the top eight commodities.

FAO production data also show the enormous physical scale behind those values. Global milk production reached 985 million tonnes in 2024, including 797 million tonnes of cow's milk. World meat production reached 374 million tonnes, with chicken, pig and cattle meat the three most-produced meat categories. Egg production reached about 100 million tonnes.

Further down the ranking, potatoes are valued at $122 billion, apples at $112 billion, grapes at $97 billion and sugar cane at $96 billion. Tea leaves, cucumbers and buffalo milk each exceed $75 billion, while bananas and cassava are both valued at about $52 billion.

At the bottom of the top 40 are beans at $34 billion, eggplants at $31 billion, strawberries at $29 billion, barley at $27 billion and spinach at $26 billion.

The ranking does not show which foods are produced in the largest quantities or generate the most retail sales.

FAOSTAT calculates the value of agricultural production using production quantities and prices at the farm gate — essentially the value of commodities when they leave the farm, before the additional value from processing, transport, wholesale and retail.

This means a commodity produced in smaller quantities can rank highly if its producer price is relatively high, while a crop grown in enormous volumes can rank lower because of a lower price.

U.S. President Donald Trump's estimated fortune has climbed to $6.5 billion, driven largely by cryptocurrency ventures, cash holdings and gains in parts of his property and licensing businesses, according to Forbes.

Forbes' March 2026 assessment put Trump's wealth $1.4 billion higher than a year earlier, when it estimated his fortune at $5.1 billion. The latest figure also represents a sharp turnaround from 2024, when Forbes valued him at about $2.3 billion.

The biggest change has come from crypto. Forbes estimates Trump's cryptocurrency and liquid assets at about $2.1 billion, including roughly $1.3 billion in liquid assets and $393 million in memecoin tokens. It said his cryptocurrency ventures added an estimated $1.8 billion to his fortune overall following his 2024 election victory.

His traditional businesses still account for billions. Forbes values Trump's golf clubs and resorts at about $1.5 billion. Mar-a-Lago alone was valued at $564 million in March, up more than 50% from a year earlier.

His stake in Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, was valued at around $1.2 billion in Forbes' March assessment. That was significantly lower than a year earlier as the company's share price fell, partly offsetting gains elsewhere in Trump's portfolio.

Trump's other assets, including licensing and management businesses, aircraft and other holdings, were worth an estimated $551 million. Forbes' calculations also take account of debts and other liabilities rather than simply adding the headline value of his properties and businesses.

The longer-term change is striking. Forbes estimated Trump at $3.1 billion in 2019, before his fortune fell to $2.1 billion in 2020. It later recovered to $3 billion in 2022, slipped to $2.3 billion in 2024 and then jumped to $5.1 billion in 2025 and $6.5 billion in 2026.

The latest estimate also placed Trump 645th among the world's 3,428 billionaires, up from 700th in 2025.

Australia is known for kangaroos, koalas and some of the world's most unusual wildlife. But a playful map suggests two more animals have been hiding in plain sight: a dog and a cat.

Split the outline of mainland Australia roughly down the middle and the western half can be imagined as a dog's head looking left, while the eastern half resembles a cat's head looking right. Tasmania, sitting south of the mainland, completes the joke as the cat's “food”.

There is, of course, no geographical significance to the divide. The line does not represent a state border, geological boundary or recognised division of Australia.

What the map demonstrates is pareidolia , the tendency to see familiar objects or meaningful patterns in shapes where they do not actually exist. It is the same phenomenon that can make people see faces in clouds or other everyday objects. Cambridge Dictionary describes pareidolia as seeing a pattern or image of something that is not really there.

Australia's distinctive outline makes the illusion particularly easy to play with. Geoscience Australia says the country covers about 7.69 million square kilometres, making it the world's sixth-largest country and the smallest continental landmass.

Tasmania is considerably smaller. Geoscience Australia puts the state's total land area at about 68,401 square kilometres, less than 1% of Australia's total area.

Australia is also almost as wide as it is long. The mainland stretches nearly 4,000 km from east to west, while the country extends about 3,860 km from its northernmost point to its southernmost point in Tasmania.

U.S. petrol prices have risen sharply across every state since the Iran war began on February 28, but the increase has been far from even, according to a map based on AAA fuel-price data through August 20 .

Iowa recorded the largest increase at 69.1%, followed by Oklahoma at 68.8% and Colorado at 62.2%. Minnesota and Wyoming were both up 61.8%.

At the other end, California recorded the smallest percentage increase at 21.8%, followed by Hawaii at 23.4% and Washington at 25.7%. Indiana, Oregon and Nevada were also among the states with smaller increases.

The percentages measure how much prices have changed since February 28, not which states currently have the most expensive petrol. A state that started with relatively cheap fuel can record a large percentage increase while still having lower pump prices than states such as California.

AAA reported that the national average for a gallon of regular petrol reached $4.10 on August 20, the highest ever recorded for that date. The average was also about 31% higher than a year earlier.

The rise has been closely linked to disruption in global oil markets following the conflict with Iran.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important energy routes, fell dramatically during the conflict. Crude oil and petroleum liquids moving through the strait averaged about 4.9 million barrels per day in the second quarter, down from 21.6 million in the final quarter of 2025.

Brent crude briefly reached $105 a barrel on July 23 after renewed attacks on tankers passing through Hormuz. The EIA said reduced shipments and falling global inventories were keeping oil prices elevated.

The effect has reached American drivers even as fuel demand has weakened. By August 24, the EIA put the national average for regular petrol at about $4.09 a gallon.

Grand Theft Auto V appears to be the most searched of three major GTA titles across much of the world, according to the Google Trends comparison shown in the map, highlighting the game's staying power more than a decade after its release.

The map compares Google search interest in Grand Theft Auto V, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. GTA V leads across most of North America, Europe, Africa and large parts of Asia. San Andreas shows stronger interest in several countries in South America , Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, while Vice City leads in China and a smaller group of markets.

There is an important accuracy point. Google Trends does not measure game sales or the number of players. It measures relative Google search interest for the selected terms, location and time period. The map should therefore be described as showing the most searched GTA title, rather than definitively the "most popular" one.

GTA V's dominance is backed by its extraordinary commercial reach. Publisher Take-Two Interactive said the game, first released in 2013, has now sold in more than 225 million copies worldwide.

San Andreas and Vice City, meanwhile, remain two of the series' best-known older games. Rockstar describes San Andreas as the story of Carl "CJ" Johnson across the fictional state of San Andreas, while Vice City follows Tommy Vercetti in a 1980s-inspired tropical city.

Interest in the franchise is also surging ahead of Grand Theft Auto VI, which Rockstar says will be released on November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The new game returns the series to a modern version of Vice City.

That anticipation is already visible online. GTA 6 was among Google's biggest trending searches on August 27, recording more than 100,000 searches during its latest spike.