Hard Numbers: North Korea seeks attention, “partygate” in the UK and Argentina, Americans’ international relations know-how

North Korea seeks attention, “partygate” in the UK and Argentina, Americans’ international relations know-how
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walks away from what state media report is a "new type" of intercontinental ballistic missile.
Reuters

3: North Korea launched three ballistic missiles on Wednesday – including a suspected ICBM – that landed in waters off the east coast, marking its 17th missile test this year alone. The South Korean and US militaries responded shortly after by launching land to air missiles as a warning for Pyongyang to climb down.

25,000: An Argentine judge has accepted President Alberto Fernandez's offer to pay 3 million pesos ($25,000) in exchange for dropping charges against him for hosting a party at the presidential palace in 2020 in breach of lockdown restrictions. Disillusionment with Fernandez’s “rules for thee but not for me” attitude contributed to his party’s poor performance in midterms in late 2021.

41: Pew recently put Americans’ international relations knowledge to the test, and some results are damning. For example, just 41% of respondents could identify India’s national flag, the second most populous country in the world. A slim majority knew that Ukraine is not part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

59: The long-anticipated Gray report investigating boozing and socializing at 10 Downing street in breach of COVID lockdown rules was released Wednesday, and the 59-page report does not bode well for PM Boris Johnson. Polls show that a majority of Brits think the PM should resign over the scandal – dubbed “partygate” – but that’s up to Conservative lawmakers, 54 of whom need to support a no-confidence motion to oust him.

More from GZERO Media

President Joe Biden is delivering remarks on his agenda to promote American investments and jobs today in Washington, DC, USA, on May 14, 2024, at the Rose Garden/White House.
Lenin Nolly/Reuters

President Joe Bidenannounced earlier this week that the United States will quadruple the tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China to 100% of their value while also imposing higher duties on metals and other clean energy products.

Mourners react next to the body of a Palestinian killed in Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, at Al-Aqsa hospital, in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, May 12, 2024.
REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

The UN is now playing cleanup, maintaining that the overall death toll has not changed and is roughly 35,000.

Putin visits Xi to continue "no-limit" relationship with China | Ian Bremmer | World In :60

Does Putin's upcoming visit with Xi Jinping signal a continuing “no-limits” partnership between China and Russia? Why is Europe alarmed with Georgia's “foreign agents” law? How will Biden respond if Israel continues to push into Rafah? Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.

Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Al Yamamah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 29, 2024.
REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Saudi Arabia is reportedly showing fresh interest in a roadmap to peace in Yemen that was iced late last year in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran. A security personnel looks on at oil docks at the port of Kalantari in the city of Chabahar, 300km (186 miles) east of the Strait of Hormuz January 17, 2012.
REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi

On Monday, India signed a 10-year-long agreement to operate and develop Iran’s Chabahar port.

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023.
Sputnik/Grigory Sysoyev/Kremlin via REUTERS

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be in Beijing on Thursday for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a rare overseas trip to publicly underline strong relations.

Happy young couple hide behind paper hearts to kiss.
IMAGO/Pond5 Images via Reuters

ChatGPT is a prude. Try to engage with it about sex or other risqué topics, and it’ll turn you down. The OpenAI chatbot’s usage rules specify that even developers who build on the platform must be careful to design their applications so they’re age-appropriate for children, meaning no “sexually explicit or suggestive content,” except for scientific and educational purposes. But the company is reportedly now looking into its blue side.