Hard Numbers: GOP hush-hush, al-Aqsa tensions flare, Iran-Saudi thaw gets real, still inking at 106

April 05, 2023

Courtroom sketch of US President Donald Trump in court for his arraignment in New York.

REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

57: Hush hush! According to a new Economist/YouGov poll released after the indictment of former US President Donald Trump, 57% of Republicans believe that failing to report spending campaign cash on hush-money payments is a crime. That's down from 76% in early March, as largely conservative media have questioned the legal basis and political motivations for the charges against Trump.

7: On Thursday, the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia met in China for the first time in over 7 years, agreeing to resume diplomatic ties and reopen embassies. For more on the geopolitics behind the Iran-Saudi détente — and Beijing's role in helping the two Middle East rivals patch things up — read our primer here.

350: Israeli police arrested at least 350 Palestinians during a pre-dawn raid on the al-Aqsa Mosque complex in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Authorities say militants had barricaded themselves inside the complex ahead of Passover, when Jewish worshippers will enter the site. Palestinians responded to a second raid Wednesday with rockets from the Gaza Strip, two years after Israel and Hamas fought a brief war that started over violence related to access to the holy site.

106: Whang-Od, an Indigenous tattoo artist in the Philippines, is the oldest person to be featured on the cover of Vogue magazine. The 106-year-old Whang-Od is famous for being one of the last people alive who performs batok, the traditional art of tattooing by hand in the mountainous Kalinga region.

Tools and Weapons – In Conversation with Ted Sarandos

Microsoft

In this episode of Tools and Weapons, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith sits down with Ted Sarandos to discuss how bold leadership and a culture of innovation keep Netflix ahead, not just as a media company, but as a force shaping both industries and audiences. Ted shares how intuition and data combine to turn daring ideas into practical solutions, from scaling storytelling across 190 countries to relentlessly creating content that gets under the skin of viewers and makes them feel deeply connected to the stories they watch. Subscribe and find new episodes monthly, wherever you listen to podcasts.

What We’re Watching: UN backs US plan for Gaza, Trump to sell fighter jets to Saudi, Zelensky seeks funds with money well running dry

UN Security Council members vote on a draft resolution to Authorize an International Stabilization Force in Gaza authored by the US at UN Headquarters in New York, NY on November 17, 2025.

Lev Radin/ZUMA Press Wire

The resolution lends international legitimacy to a multi-national peacekeeping force and US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.

What We’re Watching: Anti-graft protests resurface in the Philippines, Polish railway hit, Trump flips on Epstein files vote

Members of the religious group Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) wave their hands during the first of a three-day anti-corruption protest at the Quirino Grandstand, Manila, Philippines, November 16, 2025.

REUTERS/Noel Celis

More than 200,000 people took to the streets of Manila, the Philippine capital, on Monday to protest against suspected corruption in flood-control projects.

Hard Numbers: Bangladesh’s ex-PM sentenced to death, Foreign student enrollment in US plummets, Australian schools shut over asbestos, & more

People celebrate the court's verdict after Bangladesh's fugitive former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is found guilty and sentenced to death in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on November 17, 2025. The International Crimes Tribunal on November 17 sentences fugitive former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death for crimes against humanity in a murder case of the July uprising.

(Photo by Mamunur Rashid/NurPhoto)

The Saudi crown prince returns to Washington

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman reacts next to US President Donald Trump during the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13, 2025.

REUTERS/Brian Snyder

For the first time in seven years, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is returning to Washington, DC, this week. It is now the great power-chess game between the US and China, rather than oil, that is making the Washington and Riyadh join forces.

Hard Numbers: GOP hush-hush, al-Aqsa tensions flare, Iran-Saudi thaw gets real, still inking at 106

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Canada’s six-month old minority government survived a de facto confidence vote on its first budget yesterday, avoiding the possibility of a Christmas election.

Hard Numbers: China-Japan spat could hurt tourism, Pro-Russian pair accused of attacking Polish railway, Neo-Nazi pleads guilty to poison plot in NYC, South Africa blocks arrivals of Palestinians

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What We’re Watching: Anti-graft protests resurface in the Philippines, Polish railway hit, Trump flips on Epstein files vote

More than 200,000 people took to the streets of Manila, the Philippine capital, on Monday to protest against suspected corruption in flood-control projects.

Hard Numbers: Bangladesh’s ex-PM sentenced to death, Foreign student enrollment in US plummets, Australian schools shut over asbestos, & more

The Saudi crown prince returns to Washington

For the first time in seven years, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is returning to Washington, DC, this week. It is now the great power-chess game between the US and China, rather than oil, that is making the Washington and Riyadh join forces.

Hard Numbers: GOP hush-hush, al-Aqsa tensions flare, Iran-Saudi thaw gets real, still inking at 106

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More from GZERO Media

The resolution lends international legitimacy to a multi-national peacekeeping force and US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.

Canada’s six-month old minority government survived a de facto confidence vote on its first budget yesterday, avoiding the possibility of a Christmas election.

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

New York Times financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin explains why CEOs are staying silent about their market concerns—even as economic risks mount.

Could Trump have handled the Epstein files any worse? Ian Bremmer says the former president came close, first opposing the release, then reversing course once it was clear he was losing Republican support in Congress.

More than 200,000 people took to the streets of Manila, the Philippine capital, on Monday to protest against suspected corruption in flood-control projects.

For the first time in seven years, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is returning to Washington, DC, this week. It is now the great power-chess game between the US and China, rather than oil, that is making the Washington and Riyadh join forces.