I’ve been experimenting with a few different formats and expect to stick with the current one.

Hope this helps. If you have other suggestions, let me know!

TLDR: Pakistan bombed Kabul and struck two other Afghan provinces early Friday in retaliation after fresh border fighting, putting a Qatar-mediated 2025 ceasefire under real strain.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif just announced that the country is in an "open war" with Afghanistan.

Blasts. At least three explosions were heard in Kabul on Friday morning, and there was no immediate word on where exactly the strikes hit or whether anyone was killed.

Trigger. The Taliban government said Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops late Thursday as payback for earlier deadly Pakistani airstrikes, and claimed Afghan fighters seized more than a dozen Pakistani army posts.

Rhetoric. Pakistan’s PM Sharif, said his forces could "crush" aggressors, while interior minister Mohsin Naqvi called the strikes a "befitting response."

Counts. Here are the claims of both sides:

Civilians. Border crossings have been mostly shut since deadly fighting in October that killed more than 70 people on both sides, and evacuations were reported near the Torkham crossing after Afghan authorities said 13 civilians, including women and children, were killed.

TLDR: Washington is pushing Damascus to decouple from Chinese telecom systems, calling it a US national security problem.

The problem is that while the US is urging Syria not to depend on Chinese tech, its own regulatory bureaucracy make it hard for Syria to purchase American tech.

Meeting. A US State Department team met Syrian Communications Minister Abdulsalam Haykal in San Francisco on Tuesday and told him to steer Syria away from Chinese telecom gear.

Pressure. Syria is considering Chinese technology for telecom towers and local internet providers, but the US urged Damascus to buy American or allied equipment instead and framed the choice as a security and privacy issue.

Barrier. Syrian officials said projects are urgent and they want more vendor options, but US export controls and "over-compliance" are making US technology hard to access.

Reality. Syria's networks already lean heavily on Chinese kit, with Huawei accounting for more than 50% of the infrastructure used by Syriatel and MTN, while the country tries to attract new money like an $800 million fiber plan from Saudi operator STC spanning over 4,500 kilometers.

TLDR: US and Iran wrapped up another round of indirect nuclear talks in Geneva and still walked away without a deal. With the weekend approaching, combined with Trump’s earlier 10-15 day ultimatum, people are getting nervous again about the risk of a US strike on Iran.

Scene. The talks ran for hours in Geneva on Thursday, but ended with both sides leaving without an agreement on Iran's nuclear program.

Mediator. Oman’s Foreign Minister, Badr al-Busaidi, played go-between and said there was "significant progress," but he didn’t say what moved or what didn’t.

Redlines. Iranian state TV said Tehran plans to keep enriching uranium, won’t ship it abroad, and wants sanctions lifted, while President Trump is pushing Iran to halt enrichment and also rein in missiles and support for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Risk. Iran has warned that if the US attacks, American bases in the region would be targets, and Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi called that kind of conflict "a devastating war" that could pull in the whole region.

Next. Technical talks are set to continue next week in Vienna, with the UN nuclear watchdog likely central to any deal, but after last year’s talks collapsed during a June war and US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, you can see why nobody’s counting this as solved.

TLDR: The IMF just approved an $8.1 billion, four-year loan for Ukraine and is sending $1.5 billion immediately, a financial lifeline as the war with Russia drags into a fifth year.

It replaces the IMF's stricter 2023 program and ties fresh cash to more reform work.

Decision. The IMF's executive board signed off Thursday, Feb. 26, on the new package, with $1.5 billion meant to hit right away to help keep the government running.

Swap. This new deal replaces a $15.5 billion program approved in 2023, and the IMF says it's meant to anchor a broader $136.5 billion international support package for Ukraine.

Rules. IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said the plan is built around deeper reforms like fighting corruption, cracking down on tax avoidance and evasion, reforming energy markets, and strengthening financial market infrastructure.

Numbers. The IMF now sees Ukraine growing 1.8% to 2.5% in 2026 after estimated 2025 growth of 1.8% to 2.2%, and it expects inflation around 6.1% this year versus 12.7% in 2025.

Next. The IMF put Ukraine's 2026 financing gap at $52 billion and said it expects that to be covered by the new IMF program, EU arrangements, G7 funds, and bilateral support, with quarterly reviews and nine reviews planned over four years.