Our World: The week of Nov. 9, 2026

“A lot of excitement and a lot of wow”That’s NASA astrophysicist Tom Statler, speaking about a quest to bring the first samples back from one of Mars’ moons. A Japanese spacecraft set off Oct. 20 on the five-year mission that will attempt to land a robotic prospector and a rover on Phobos, the larger of Mars’ two moons. Five space agencies have joined forces. If successful, dust, soil, and rocks from Phobos will arrive on Earth in 2031. – Tim Backshall Veterans make gains in Russia’s State Duma About 10% of new deputies of Russia’s freshly elected State Duma, the 450-seat lower house of parliament, are veterans of the war with Ukraine. Their political advancement is a sign that the Kremlin’s Time of Heroes program, which supports soldiers returning from the front lines, is taking effect. Russians recall the cycle of poverty, crime, and social dysfunction that beset men coming home from the Afghan war in the 1980s, and to avoid such problems, the new veterans will receive a range of official assistance and benefits. Most of the elected veterans were put forward by the pro-Kremlin United Russia party. – Fred Weir Black-led African firms struggle to find fundingDespite three decades of affirmative action policies, about two-thirds of South Africa’s largest businesses are led and owned by people other than its Black majority, according to a recent study by British International Investment, the United Kingdom’s development finance institution. This reflects a wider trend. Across Africa, companies with Black founders struggle to find funding in order to expand. Between 2000 and 2024, only 3% of investment into startups in Africa went to companies with Black founders, according to the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund. – Ryan Lenora BrownIndian immigrants opt for EU over USIndians are increasingly moving to the European Union, while their pace of immigration to the United States and Canada is slowing. The shift comes amid signs of labor shortages in the EU, especially in categories such as electrical engineers and nurses, according to the Japanese media outlet Nikkei Asia. India and the EU concluded a labor mobility agreement in January. In a parallel trend, some European countries, such as Germany, are seeing a growing influx of Indian students, while their numbers are decreasing in the U.S. and Canada, Nikkei says. – Ann Scott TysonHAVE AN IDEA FOR OUR WORLD? Please email ourworld@csps.com if there is an important global story that the media missed, a trend that is driving the news where you live, or a story that uplifts. The Monitor will publish reader picks from time to time. Deepen your worldviewwith Monitor Highlights.Politics with respectGet political stories with respectful analysis.There‘s a world of new ideas in everyBooks newsletter.There‘s more to life, enrich yours withCulture & Learning weekly.Follow humanity‘s discoveries withScience & Nature stories in your inbox.Gain a spiritual perspectivefrom the stories in your inbox.Want to understand the deeper impact of critical events? Learn the Monitor‘s insight.Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads. ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? LoginReal news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.