The flag of NATO. The alliance's 32 leaders met in Ankara this week with money — and the map — at the top of the agenda.

Four days of headlines, five shifts on the map — and one data map that puts the biggest story in perspective.

1. NATO meets in Ankara, and the price of the alliance goes up

NATO's 32 leaders gathered in Turkey's capital for a summit dominated by money. European members prepared to announce record defence spending, and the alliance unveiled new investments including some $40bn for anti-drone capabilities, as President Trump kept up pressure on allies to spend more after six months of tension over Iran and Greenland. The Guardian reports growing European concern that the US defence industry, its stockpiles drained by the Ukraine and Iran wars, may no longer be able to supply the weapons pledged to allies. President Zelensky arrived to press for more air-defence interceptors after Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv on the summit's eve, killing at least 16 people. The New York Times noted the host's own contradictions: Turkey staged the summit while jailing critics at home. (BBC, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, NYT)

2. Iran buries Khamenei — and the ceasefire is tested in the Strait of Hormuz

Millions filled Tehran's streets for the funeral procession of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in the recent war, before his coffin travelled via the holy city of Qom to burial at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad. Deutsche Welle called the spectacle a show of strength by the theocratic state amid peace negotiations with the US. The ceasefire, meanwhile, was tested at the world's most important oil chokepoint: Al Jazeera reported an LNG tanker on fire off Oman after being hit by a projectile — Iranian television said it had ignored warnings — while the NYT cited a US official saying Iranian missiles struck two commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. (BBC, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, DW, NYT)

3. China fires a long-range missile into the South Pacific

Hours after Australia and Fiji signed a defence agreement, China test-fired a long-range ballistic missile into the South Pacific — a submarine-launched weapon, per the NYT. Canberra condemned the launch as "destabilising to the region," Prime Minister Albanese warned it risked fuelling nuclear proliferation, and the Solomon Islands' leader told Beijing: "be our friend but don't threaten us." The NYT, alone among the feeds, also reported China expanding coast guard patrols east of Taiwan. The South Pacific — long a map of tiny states and vast distances — is becoming a contested strategic space. (The Guardian, NYT)

4. Macron walks Damascus as explosions hit the Syrian capital

Emmanuel Macron became the first EU leader to visit Syria since Bashar al-Assad's fall 18 months ago, meeting President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the presidential palace. During the visit, two explosive devices went off in a busy civilian area near the hotel where Macron was staying; French officials said he was unhurt and would continue his schedule, and casualties were feared among civilians. France, the former mandate power that drew many of Syria's borders a century ago, is re-engaging with a state still being rebuilt — and contested — after 14 years of war. (BBC, Al Jazeera, DW, NYT)

5. A Paris courtroom holds France's 2027 electoral map

A Paris appeals court was due to rule this week on Marine Le Pen's embezzlement conviction — and with it, the ban on holding public office that would bar the National Rally leader from the 2027 presidential race she currently leads in the polls. The BBC called it her "moment of truth"; the NYT said the verdict "could reshape France's politics." Whichever way the ruling fell after our feeds were captured, the decision redraws the field of one of Europe's most consequential upcoming elections. (BBC, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, NYT)

The data behind it

What does NATO's spending debate look like on a map? Our World in Data's map of military spending as a share of GDP in 2025 answers in one glance. Ukraine is literally off the scale — the darkest country on the map, past the 9%-plus top of the legend, devoting roughly two-fifths of its economy to defence. No one else is close. Russia glows deep red across eleven time zones; Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Myanmar stand out in crimson. And look at NATO's eastern flank: Poland and the Baltics are shades darker than western Europe, while the US sits near 3% and most of the world stays pale. The Ankara summit's budget lines are, quite literally, this map's colour scheme. Data: Our World in Data (CC BY).

Sources:

• BBC: Zelensky to press Nato for air defence systems · Macron safe after explosions in Damascus · Le Pen's moment of truth · Iran's farewell to Khamenei
• The Guardian: Nato braces for difficult summit · US may be unable to arm Nato allies · China tests long-range missile in South Pacific · Le Pen ruling imminent · Millions join Khamenei funeral procession
• Al Jazeera: NATO summit begins in Ankara · Tanker on fire in Strait of Hormuz · Explosions in Damascus during Macron visit · Le Pen appeal explained
• Deutsche Welle: Macron visits Syria, 18 months after Assad's fall · Millions flock to Khamenei's funeral
• NYT: Russia strikes Kyiv on eve of NATO summit · New strikes on ships test US-Iran cease-fire · China test fires long-range missile in the Pacific · Explosions hit Damascus as Macron visits · Le Pen verdict could reshape France's politics

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