Hard Numbers: Mexican women, Lebanese defaults, MH17 victims, and migrant children

1.2 billion: Lebanon, wracked by economic and political crises, will suspend payments of $1.2 billion in loans, marking its first sovereign debt default. As a result, Beirut could face legal action from lenders that could push its already flailing economy (its debt reached 170 percent of GDP) towards collapse.

298: The names of all 298 victims killed in the 2014 downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 were read out in court as the murder trial of four defendants (in absentia) got underway in Amsterdam. It's been six years since the aircraft was hit by a missile fired from territory held by pro-Russian forces amid fighting in eastern Ukraine. The defendants – three Russians and a Ukrainian – all held senior posts in pro-Moscow militias in the region.

5: Five EU countries – Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Portugal – have agreed to take in some migrant children who are trapped in no-man's-land on the Greek islands amid ongoing tensions along the Greek-Turkish border. Around 1,500 children who are unaccompanied or deemed "very sick" will be absorbed in total, according to German media.

67: As women in Mexico hit the streets Sunday and Monday for a national strike against gender-based violence in that country, a new high of 67 percent of Mexican adults – both men and women – agreed that women in their country are "not treated with respect," according to Gallup.

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A Venezuelan Navy patrol boat sails off the Caribbean coast, amid heightened tensions with the U.S., in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, October 24, 2025.
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On Tuesday, the US struck four boats off the Pacific coast of Central America, killing 14 people who the White House said were smuggling narcotics.

Israeli warplanes launched heavy airstrikes targeting an entire residential block near the Al-Sousi Mosque in Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. The strikes destroyed a large number of homes, levelling some to the ground. Civil defense and ambulance teams rushed to the scene and are working to rescue victims and recover bodies from under the rubble amidst widespread destruction and significant difficulties in rescue operations due to the ongoing bombardment and a shortage of equipment.

Israeli strikes in Gaza killed 100 people last night, according to local officials, in the deadliest day since the signing of the ceasefire three weeks ago.