Hard Numbers: Belarus-EU migrant haggling, Somalia’s long election, Turkey cuts rates, Salt Bae in Vietnam

Hard Numbers: Belarus-EU migrant haggling, Somalia’s long election, Turkey cuts rates, Salt Bae in Vietnam
Migrants walk towards the transport and logistics centre Bruzgi on the Belarusian-Polish border in the Grodno region, Belarus November 16, 2021.
Maxim Guchek/BelTA/Handout via REUTERS

5,000: Belarus has cleared its migrant camps at the Polish border, but the crisis ain't over yet. Minsk has offered to return 5,000 migrants to their home countries, but there's a catch — in exchange, the EU must take in another two thousand migrants, something EU member states are unlikely to agree to.

30: The UN wants Somalia to hurry up with electing all the members of its federal parliament so that a long-delayed presidential vote can happen before the end of the year. Once the chamber is filled, 30 percent of lawmakers must be women.

3: Despite sky-high inflation, Turkey's central bank has taken the odd step of cutting interest rates for the third time since September, as demanded by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to boost economic growth. Economists have warned this will only make prices surge even more, but he has other ideas.

1,960: A beef noodle soup vendor was arrested in Vietnam for mocking authorities with a parody of the famous steak impresario Salt Bae. The man posted on Facebook a viral video of himself throwing chopped green onions into tasty pho broth... just days after the real Salt Bae hand-fed a Vietnamese government minister a $1,960 gold-encrusted tomahawk steak in London.

More from GZERO Media

Housing shortages in the US and Canada have become a significant problem – and a contentious political issue – in recent years. New data on housing construction this week suggest neither country is making enough progress to solve the shortfalls. Here’s a snapshot of the situation on both sides of the border.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks during a meeting of northeastern U.S. Governors and Canadian Premiers, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., June 16, 2025.
REUTERS/Sophie Park

While the national level drama played out between Donald Trump and Mark Carney at the G7 in Kananaskis, a lot of important US-Canada work was going on with far less fanfare in Boston, where five Canadian premiers met with governors and delegations from seven US states.

- YouTube

What’s next for Iran’s regime? Ian Bremmer says, “It’s much more likely that the supreme leader ends up out, but the military… continues to run the country.”

Enbridge’s 2024 Sustainability Report is now available, outlining our approach to meeting today’s energy needs while advancing solutions for tomorrow. Now in its 24th year, the report reflects our ongoing commitment to being a safe operator of essential energy infrastructure and a responsible environmental steward, principles at the heart of our mission to be North America’s first-choice energy delivery company. Highlights include a 40% reduction in emissions intensity, surpassing our 2030 target, and a 22% drop in absolute emissions since setting our goals in 2020. Explore the 2024 Sustainability Report today.

Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Annie Gugliotta

Donald Trump may be about to cross a line he drew less than a week ago. Barring an Iranian capitulation on nuclear enrichment that no one anticipates, the president is likely to order US bombers to strike Iran’s most hardened underground facility at Fordow any moment now, thus joining Israel’s war against the Islamic Republic.

A satellite image shows the Natanz nuclear facility after an airstrike in Iran, on June 14, 2025.
Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS

Ever since the Israel-Iran feud turned violent last week, the focus has been on how the United States will respond. Other major power players, though, will also have a view on the conflict.