Hard Numbers: NK missile test, aid for Puerto Rico, China's concrete collapse, Chechen leader’s children, Poland's WWII-linked demand

A TV monitor announces the news of North Korea's ballistic missile launch in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.
A TV monitor announces the news of North Korea's ballistic missile launch in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.
Reuters

5: Early Tuesday, North Korea reportedly launched a single intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, where residents in Hokkaido and Aomori were urged to seek shelter. The missile — Pyongyang’s most provocative test since January, and its first test over Japan in five years — is believed to have landed in the Pacific Ocean.

60 million: US President Joe Biden pledged $60 million in aid for Puerto Rico on Monday during his visit to the US island territory to survey recent hurricane damage. Large parts of the island remain without power two weeks after Hurricane Fiona made landfall.

20: China’s cement production is suffering its biggest decline in more than 20 years, as worries about a financial crisis in the country’s sprawling real estate sector undermine demand. The drop-off in Chinese output caused global cement production to fall nearly 10% in the first half of this year.

3: Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, a staunch ally of his boss Vladimir Putin, says he is ready to send his three underage sons — ages 14, 15, and 16 — to Ukraine to fight for Russia. Although Moscow is party to a UN treaty against child soldiers, Kadyrov said sending his kids into battle is just part of being a good dad.

1.3 trillion: Ahead of a visit to Warsaw by the German foreign minister, Poland has demanded almost $1.3 trillion in reparations and damages related to World War II. Germany, for its part, says all financial claims related to the war are now settled.

More from GZERO Media

Demonstrators carry the dead body of a man killed during a protest a day after a general election marred by violent demonstrations over the exclusion of two leading opposition candidates at the Namanga One-Post Border crossing point between Kenya and Tanzania, as seen from Namanga, Kenya October 30, 2025.
REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

Tanzania has been rocked by violence for three days now, following a national election earlier this week. Protestors are angry over the banning of candidates and detention of opposition leaders by President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Illegal immigrants from Ethiopia walk on a road near the town of Taojourah February 23, 2015. The area, described by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as one of the most inhospitable areas in the world, is on a transit route for thousands of immigrants every year from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia travelling via Yemen to Saudi Arabia in hope of work. Picture taken February 23.
REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

7,500: The Trump administration will cap the number of refugees that the US will admit over the next year to 7,500. The previous limit, set by former President Joe Biden, was 125,000. The new cap is a record low. White South Africans will have priority access.

- YouTube

In an era characterized by rapid technological advancement, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence present both challenges and opportunities. At the 2025 Paris Peace Forum, GZERO’s Tony Maciulis engages in an insightful conversation with Dame Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, and Lisa Monaco, President of Global Affairs at Microsoft, discussing strategies for a secure digital future.

- YouTube

As AI adoption accelerates globally, questions of equity and access are coming to the forefront. Speaking with GZERO’s Tony Maciulis on the sidelines of the 2025 Paris Peace Forum, Chris Sharrock, Vice President of UN Affairs and International Organizations at Microsoft, discusses the role of technology in addressing global challenges.