Five Things That Mattered This Week | Erfan Soltani, The Arctic, Spetsnaz on Qendil, Turkish Journalism, Cigarettes, War Budget Increase, Senate Vote, Always Art and more

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas joked privately that the world is so turbulent right now that it might be a “good time to start drinking" and also, smoke 'em if ya got 'em.

How can it be Friday again?! Time flies when you’re tracking the headlines. And goodness, do we have headlines. They’ve been fast and furious.

Today in history — January 16 1979: Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi left Iran with his family as mass protests, strikes, and army mutiny made his position untenable. And here we are January 16, 2026 and the Iranian pe…