Hard Numbers: Another quake in Turkey, Israel advances judicial reform, debt interest payments up, North Korea’s “firing range”, Mugabe Jr. busted

A man sits outside after an earthquake in Antakya in Hatay province, Turkey.
A man sits outside after an earthquake in Antakya in Hatay province, Turkey.
REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

3: At least three people died following a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that rocked southern Turkey on Monday, two weeks after a bigger quake killed more than 44,000 people there and in northern Syria. This will likely cause even more human tragedy and make it harder to help the survivors as the blame game continues on the Turkish side of the border and war and politics hamper aid delivery on the Syrian side.

63: With 63 votes in favor, the 120-seat Knesset, Israel’s parliament, passed the first reading of a bill that will allow the government to reform the judiciary. This bill would change the committee that appoints judges and also stops the High Court from striking down the country’s Basic Laws.

13 trillion: Rising interest rates make it more expensive to borrow money — and pay it back. Last year, a group of 58 rich and emerging economies accounting for over 90% of the world's GDP surveyed by The Economist coughed up a whopping $13 trillion in interest payments on their debt, up from $10.4 trillion in 2021.

2: North Korea on Monday fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the Pacific Ocean, with Kim Jong Un's sister warning that Pyongyang might use the region as its "firing range" if the US and South Korea don't back off on plans for joint military drills. Meanwhile, the South Koreans are more openly talking about upping their deterrent capabilities by getting their own nukes.

12,000: A son of Zimbabwe's late strongman Robert Mugabe was arrested for allegedly causing $12,000 in property damage after trashing cars and other property at a party in Harare, the capital. Still, Mugabe Jr. will probably get off with a slap on the wrist since he’s patched things up with Emmerson Mnangagwa, his dad's former right-hand man and top spook, who succeeded him in 2018.

More from GZERO Media

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers the State of the European Union address to the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France, September 10, 2025.
REUTERS/Yves Herman

While the European Union has never been more critical, it is also facing a trifecta of divisive challenges.

In this episode of “Local to global: The power of small business,” host JJ Ramberg sits down with Chapin Flynn, Senior Vice President of Transit and Urban Mobility at Mastercard, and Mark Langmead, Director of Revenue & Compass Operations at TransLink in Vancouver, to explore how cities are making transit easier, faster, and more seamless for riders–an approach known as frictionless urban mobility.

United States President Donald J Trump awaits the arrival Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, on November 18, 2025. Featuring: Donald J Trump Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 18 Nov 2025
Credit: Anna Rose Layden/POOL via CNP
A photo taken on September 14, 2024, shows seafood at Jimiya fishing port in Qingdao, China, on September 14, 2024. On September 20, 2024, China and Japan reach a consensus on the issue of the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and China states that it will gradually resume the import of Japanese aquatic products that meet the regulations.
(Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto)