An Air Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman III ICBM launches during an operation test on February 23, 2021, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. (US Space Force)
A protester flashes victory signs as traffic slows during demonstrations in Hamedan, Iran, on January 1, 2026. The demonstrations erupted after shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar shut their businesses to protest the sharp fall of Iran’s currency and worsening economic conditions. (Getty Images)
An Air Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman III ICBM launches during an operation test on February 23, 2021, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. (US Space Force)
People walk past a video screen showing a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing on March 3, 2023. (Greg Baker via Getty Images)
Delegates vote at the closing ceremony of the Twentieth National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People on October 22, 2022, in Beijing, China. (Lintao Zhang via Getty Images)
President Xi Jinping attending the opening ceremony of the National People's Congress on March 5, 2025, in Beijing, China. (The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)
Russia's President Vladimir Putin shakes hands Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang during the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg on June 20, 2025. (Dmitry Lovetsky via Getty Images)
The opening meeting of the third session of the Fourteenth National People’s Congress is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 5, 2025. (Ding Haitao via Getty Images)