$90 billion: The amount of revenue that Russia has reportedly made from smuggled crude oil exports, after 48 companies worked together to help disguise the origin of the oil and circumvent sanctions that have been imposed since the full-scale war on Ukraine began. The total is likely much more. Details of the scheme were revealed due to an IT blunder. Three EU officials told the Financial Times the findings could be grounds for further Russian oil sanctions.
8: The number of months to which Tunisian lawmaker Ahmed Saidani was sentenced in prison on Thursday, after he was found guilty of mocking President Kais Saied on social media. The move marks another blow to Tunisia’s democracy: the North African country had emerged from the Arab Spring as the only one with a democratic system, but that appears to be slipping away.
135: The number of votes that a labor reform bill gained in Argentina’s lower house today, enough for it to pass the 257-seat chamber and return to the Senate for a final vote. The expansive bill, which aims to boost the country’s sagging employment numbers by reducing regulations for employers, was one of President Javier Milei’s top campaign pledges.
50%: The amount that Anglo American has devalued its diamond business De Beers, in what is the latest blow for the struggling diamond giant. The London-listed miner now values De Beers at $2.3 billion after accepting an impairment charge of the same amount. For more about the struggling diamond sector, read GZERO’s report from last year.
