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World
Most Conflicts Since World War II
Global conflict has reached new heights, a new report from researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden indicates. The research, which looks at the number of conflicts since the end of the Second World War, shows the highest number of active conflicts, 65, in 2025. Especially notable was the high number of interstate wars, 8, double the previous year. The report also shows that the number of recorded fatalities in these conflicts is the highest since the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Some of this is attributed to violence targeting civilians, particularly in the ongoing civil war in Sudan, in which a paramilitary group has employed starvation tactics targeting civilian infrastructure. Africa, with 29 conflicts, witnessed the most conflicts since 2020. However, the deadliest war is the Russo-Ukrainian War, with 94,700 confirmed killed, mostly soldiers, in 2025. The researchers attribute these changes to a shifting global power balance, as the U.S. increasingly steps back from the geopolitical order it helped create following WWII.
This map depicts ‘organized violent events’ in 2025 by number of fatalities. The colors of the circles reflect the nature of the conflict as determined by the authors.
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North Korea
Xi’s First Visit in Seven Years
On Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded his first visit to North Korea in seven years, with a bilateral summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that expanded cooperation in the areas of politics, economy, and culture. North Korea has benefited economically from backing Russia’s war with Ukraine, and its weapons program, increasingly able to threaten the U.S. mainland, has cemented North Korea’s status as a de facto nuclear state. North Korea’s economy has rebounded since nearing collapse during the pandemic. China, in turn, has recently hosted visits by U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as President Xi seeks to project China as a stable global power amid the turmoil stoked by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. China has backed away from past statements and efforts to end North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, and continues to position itself as its senior partner, offering unique economic assistance and diplomatic support in the wake of North Korea’s growing cooperation with Russia.
This map depicts North Korean ballistic missile ranges and U.S. defenses. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Bloomberg
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Antarctica
Fan-Like Geological Structure
A team of scientists from multiple countries have recently discovered new details about Antarctica’s geological and geomorphological structures long hidden underneath the ice. Utilizing decades of radar surveys and other geophysical observations including gravity, seismic, and magnetic data, researchers were able to reconstruct the topography of the bedrock. Findings show how a subglacial province (named the East Antarctic Fan-Shaped Basin Province, or the EAFSBP) of the continent developed in a radial fan-like shape, spreading out from a central point. The EAFSBP is home to many unique features, including the Wilkes and Aurora basins, in addition to the basin of a large subglacial lake, Lake Vostok. The revelation brings new questions about the age and geodynamic mechanisms that formed the geological feature. The shape of the bedrock beneath the ice sheet continues to influence ice flow today, and could affect the stability of parts of the Antarctic Ice Sheet that are particularly sensitive to climate change.
This graphic shows the subglacial topographical features of the East Antarctic Fan-Shaped Basin Province (EAFSBP). Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What Chinese city was founded by Russians in 1898 due to railway construction?
A: Harbin
Harbin, situated in the northeast of China—a region called Manchuria—was located in a very strategic location, a center point between China, Korea, Mongolia, and the expansionist regimes of Russia and Japan. The city of Harbin owes its origin to the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway through Manchuria by Russia at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Before 1896 it was a small fishing village named Alejin by the Juchen, the ancestors of the Manchu. After 1898, it became the construction center for the railway, which by 1904 linked the Trans-Siberian Railroad from a point east of Lake Baikal in Siberia with the Russian port of Vladivostok on the Sea of Japan (East Sea). Harbin was a base for Russian military operations in Manchuria during the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05). It became a haven for refugees from Russia after the Revolution of 1917 and for a time had the largest Russian population of any city outside the Soviet Union.
Source
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Q: Where was the Scottish colony whose failure was a decisive factor in their union with England in 1707?
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