Tuesday☕️

Trending:

On May 25, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted airstrikes on Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ships that were laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz and on a surface-to-air missile site in Bandar Abbas that was targeting U.S. aircraft.

Economics & Markets:

On May 26, Taiwan (with a population of just 23 million) overtook India to become the world’s 5th-largest stock market by market capitalization. Taiwan’s total market value reached $4.95 trillion, narrowly passing India’s $4.92 trillion. The surge is powered by the AI and semiconductor boom, especially TSMC.

Current Top 5 Stock Markets:

United States (~$60+ trillion)
China (~$11 trillion)
Japan (~$6.9 trillion)
Hong Kong (~$6.1 – 6.25 trillion)
Taiwan ($4.95 trillion)

Geopolitics & Military Activity:

On May 23-24, Russia launched a major attack on Kyiv using Kh-101 cruise missiles, Shahed drones, and the nuclear-capable Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile.

At least 4 people were killed and dozens injured, with significant damage across the capital despite Ukrainian air defenses intercepting many threats. Over the last 48 hours, Ukraine has carried out reciprocal drone and missile strikes on Russian targets in response.

Science & Technology:

On May 25, the Vatican and Anthropic announced a partnership to help protect human dignity and values in the age of AI.

Pope Leo XIV personally presented his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, alongside Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah, calling for strong ethical guidelines, regulation, and collaboration between the Church and tech companies to ensure AI serves humanity rather than undermining it.

Space:

On May 25, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, successfully deploying 29 new Starlink satellites into orbit. The first-stage booster landed on the droneship after its 28th flight.

This brings the total Starlink constellation to more than 12,000 satellites launched, with roughly 10,400–10,450 currently in orbit and about 9,200–10,400 actively operating to provide global internet service.

Statistic:

Largest assets on Earth by market capitalization:

Gold: $31.492T
🇺🇸 NVIDIA: $5.215T
🇺🇸 Alphabet (Google): $4.596T
🇺🇸 Apple: $4.535T
Silver: $4.315T
🇺🇸 Microsoft: $3.109T
🇺🇸 Amazon: $2.864T
🇹🇼 TSMC: $2.098T
🇺🇸 Broadcom: $1.960T
🇸🇦 Saudi Aramco: $1.798T
🇺🇸 Tesla: $1.599T
🇺🇸 Meta Platforms: $1.549T
Bitcoin: $1.538T
🇰🇷 Samsung: $1.306T
🇺🇸 Berkshire Hathaway: $1.049T
🇰🇷 SK Hynix: $974.60B
🇺🇸 Vanguard S&P 500 ETF: $962.86B
🇺🇸 Walmart: $958.67B
🇺🇸 Eli Lilly: $949.70B
🇺🇸 Micron Technology: $846.92B
🇺🇸 iShares Core S&P 500 ETF: $833.19B
🇺🇸 JPMorgan Chase: $820.94B
🇺🇸 SPDR S&P 500 ETF: $770.71B
🇺🇸 AMD: $762.32B
🇺🇸 Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF: $646.49B
🇺🇸 Exxon Mobil: $642.13B
🇳🇱 ASML: $629.34B
🇺🇸 Visa: $625.44B

History:

The Vatican’s origins trace back to the earliest years of Christianity inside the Roman Empire. According to Christian tradition, St. Peter was executed in Rome around 64–67 AD under Emperor Nero, and buried on Vatican Hill. Christianity remained persecuted for nearly three centuries until Emperor Constantine legalized it through the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. Soon after, Constantine ordered construction of the first St. Peter’s Basilica around 324 AD, transforming the Vatican area into the center of Western Christianity. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, the Church became one of the few stable institutions left in Europe, allowing the papacy to gain political power alongside religious authority. In 756 AD, the Donation of Pepin established the Papal States, giving the pope direct control over large parts of central Italy and effectively making the Vatican both a church and a government. During the Middle Ages, popes influenced major historical events including the Crusades beginning in 1095, the conflict between church and monarchies known as the Investiture Controversy (1075–1122), and later the Inquisition beginning in the 12th century. The Vatican also became deeply tied to European monarchies—popes crowned emperors, approved rulers, and influenced wars across the continent. During the Renaissance (1300s–1500s), the Vatican became a major center of art, architecture, and wealth, commissioning works from Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bernini while building structures like the modern St. Peter’s Basilica (construction began 1506) and the Sistine Chapel ceiling (painted 1508–1512).
The Vatican’s political and religious influence expanded globally during European colonization. Following Columbus’ voyage in 1492, papal decrees such as the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) helped divide newly claimed territories between Spain and Portugal, tying the Church to global missionary expansion and colonial systems. In 1517, Martin Luther’s challenge to the Catholic Church triggered the Protestant Reformation, one of the largest fractures in Christian history, leading to wars, political upheaval, and the Catholic Counter-Reformation through the Council of Trent (1545–1563). The Vatican continued operating as a major European political actor for centuries, but its territorial power collapsed during Italian unification when the Papal States were seized in 1870. The pope then considered himself effectively trapped inside the Vatican until the Lateran Treaty of 1929, signed between the Holy See and Italy, formally created Vatican City as an independent sovereign state. During the 20th century, the Vatican played major roles in global diplomacy, especially during World War II, the Cold War, and anti-communist movements in Eastern Europe under Pope John Paul II (1978–2005). The Church also faced major controversies involving financial scandals, political influence, and the global clergy abuse crisis that became highly public beginning in the 1990s–2000s.
Today, Vatican City is the smallest sovereign state on Earth—about 44 hectares (110 acres)—but one of the most influential religious and diplomatic centers globally. Inside are major structures including St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Apostolic Palace, the Vatican Museums, and the Vatican Apostolic Archive, formerly called the “Secret Archive.” The archive contains centuries of papal correspondence, diplomatic records, state documents, Inquisition records, letters from kings and presidents, and historical materials dating back over a thousand years. The Vatican Library contains over 1.6 million books and manuscripts, including ancient biblical texts, scientific works, maps, and historical documents. Modern Vatican operations include global diplomacy with over 180 diplomatic relationships, media systems, financial institutions, and extensive influence over worldwide Catholic organizations. Under recent popes—including Pope Francis (2013–2025) and Pope Leo XIV beginning in 2025—the Vatican has increasingly focused on global issues like migration, AI ethics, climate policy, interfaith dialogue, and geopolitical mediation. Over nearly 2,000 years, the Vatican evolved from a persecuted religious community into one of the longest-running and most influential institutions in human history, functioning simultaneously as a religious authority, diplomatic actor, historical archive, political force, and cultural center.