Hard Numbers: GOP hush-hush, al-Aqsa tensions flare, Iran-Saudi thaw gets real, still inking at 106

Courtroom sketch of US President Donald Trump in court for his arraignment in New York.
Courtroom sketch of US President Donald Trump in court for his arraignment in New York.
REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

57: Hush hush! According to a new Economist/YouGov poll released after the indictment of former US President Donald Trump, 57% of Republicans believe that failing to report spending campaign cash on hush-money payments is a crime. That's down from 76% in early March, as largely conservative media have questioned the legal basis and political motivations for the charges against Trump.

7: On Thursday, the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia met in China for the first time in over 7 years, agreeing to resume diplomatic ties and reopen embassies. For more on the geopolitics behind the Iran-Saudi détente — and Beijing's role in helping the two Middle East rivals patch things up — read our primer here.

350: Israeli police arrested at least 350 Palestinians during a pre-dawn raid on the al-Aqsa Mosque complex in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Authorities say militants had barricaded themselves inside the complex ahead of Passover, when Jewish worshippers will enter the site. Palestinians responded to a second raid Wednesday with rockets from the Gaza Strip, two years after Israel and Hamas fought a brief war that started over violence related to access to the holy site.

106: Whang-Od, an Indigenous tattoo artist in the Philippines, is the oldest person to be featured on the cover of Vogue magazine. The 106-year-old Whang-Od is famous for being one of the last people alive who performs batok, the traditional art of tattooing by hand in the mountainous Kalinga region.

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President-elect Donald Trump appears remotely for a sentencing hearing in front of New York State Judge Juan Merchan in his hush money case at New York Criminal Court in New York City, on Jan. 10, 2025.
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Pool

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Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters at a protest ahead of the Friday inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro for his third term, in Caracas, Venezuela January 9, 2025.
REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

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During the Munich Security Conference 2025, the BMW Foundation will again host the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt Pavilion. From February 13th to 15th, we will organize panels, keynotes, and discussions focusing on achieving energy security and economic prosperity through innovation, policy, and global cooperation. The BMW Foundation emphasizes the importance of science-based approaches and believes that the energy transition can serve as a catalyst for economic opportunity, sustainability, and democratic resilience. Our aim is to facilitate solution-oriented dialogues between business, policy, science, and civil society to enhance Europe’s competitiveness in the energy and technology sectors, build a strong economy, and support a future-proof society. Read more about the BMW Foundation and our Pavilion at the Munich Security Conference here.