Hard Numbers: Israel eyes big UAE trade, US West Coast burns, WTO rejects Trump tariffs, Germany takes in migrants

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed and Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani stand by prior to signing the Abraham Accords with US President Donald Trump at the White House. Reuters

500 million: Israel expects to boost its exports to the UAE to up to $500 million annually after normalizing ties with the Emiratis. Both countries — along with Bahrain, another Gulf nation that recently agreed to establish diplomatic ties with the Jewish state — made the deal official on Tuesday by signing the Abraham Accords.

87: The US West Coast currently has 87 active large wildfires, with California and Oregon as the hit hardest states. California Governor Gavin Newsom has blamed the fires on climate change, while President Donald Trump (baselessly) questioned the science on global warming during a visit to the region.

250 billion: The World Trade Organization has ruled that the Trump administration broke WTO rules when it imposed $250 billion in additional tariffs on Chinese products in 2018. This is the first in a series of upcoming rulings in cases where countries have appealed against US tariffs, the cornerstone of Trump's protectionist trade policy.

1,500: Germany has agreed to take in 1,500 additional migrants from Greece, where thousands of asylum seekers are still homeless after a fire destroyed Europe's largest refugee camp, on the island of Lesbos. The final amount is ten times the number of migrants the German government was initially willing to accept.

More from GZERO Media

Last week, Microsoft released its 2025 Digital Defense Report, highlighting the evolving cybersecurity landscape and Microsoft's commitment to defending against emerging threats. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the current threat environment, including identity and access threats, human-operated attacks, ransomware, fraud, social engineering, and nation-state adversary threats. It also outlines advancements in AI for cyber-attack and defense, as well as the emerging cybersecurity threat of quantum technology. The report emphasizes the need for international collaboration, proactive regulatory alignment, and the development of new tools and practices to enhance cybersecurity resilience. Explore the report here.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chairs the inaugural session of the Shura Council in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 10, 2025.

Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS

There are a lot of good vibes between the United States and Saudi Arabia right now. Whether that stretches to the Riyadh normalizing relations with Israel is another matter.

Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (C, first row) poses during a photo session with members of her cabinet at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Japan October 21, 2025.
PHILIP FONG/Pool via REUTERS

1: As anticipated, Japan’s Parliament elected Liberal Democratic Party leader Sanae Takichi to be the 104th prime minister – and the first female PM in the country’s history.

- YouTube

Americans frustrated with dysfunction in Congress want action-oriented leaders like President Trump, former GOP strategist Steven Law says on GZERO World. But the next political winner may be the one who can deliver for voters while lowering the political temperature.

- YouTube

As the world faces rising food demand, social entrepreneur Nidhi Pant is tackling the challenge of food waste while empowering women farmers. Speaking with GZERO Media’s Tony Maciulis on the sidelines of the 2025 World Bank–IMF Annual Meetings, Pant explains how her organization, Science for Society Technologies (S4S), is helping smallholder farmers process and preserve their produce reducing massive post-harvest losses.