News
Hard Numbers: Sinn Féin wins, HK gets new pro-China boss, Nigeria grounds flights, NYC rats on a rampage
Annie Gugliotta
27: For the first time, Sinn Féin became the largest party in Northern Ireland's assembly after winning 27 seats in Thursday's election. The result matters because Sinn Féin openly supports reunification with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state, and because UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson might use Northern Ireland to pick another fight with Brussels.
99: John Lee was "elected" Sunday as Hong Kong's next chief executive. The former top cop got 99% of the vote from a committee of some 1,500 politicians and tycoons almost entirely handpicked by China, which is expected to further tighten its grip on the territory and quash remnants of its pro-democracy movement with Lee in charge.
1.68: On Monday, Nigeria will become the world's first country to ground all domestic flights because refined jet fuel is too expensive. The airlines say they can no longer shoulder the soaring cost of fuel, which has almost tripled to $1.68 per liter this year.
7,400: Move over, Pizza Rat. New Yorkers called in some 7,400 rat sightings in April, the highest monthly rate in over a decade. The pandemic has pushed them out of the subways and onto the streets of the Big Apple, where the rodents continue to feast on their favorite scraps.At the 2026 AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, Robert Opp, Chief Digital Officer at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), explores whether artificial intelligence can help countries make progress amid growing development challenges and shrinking resources.
At the 2026 AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, Switzerland, Frederic Werner, AI for Good co-creator and chief of strategic engagement at ITU, explains why optimism about artificial intelligence is growing across many developing countries even as skepticism rises in Europe and North America.
In his latest Quick Take, Ian Bremmer weighs in on President Trump’s intervention with FIFA after US star Flo Balogun received a red card suspension ahead of the team’s match against Belgium.
How do the choices of the past help us navigate the future? Microsoft's new video series explores pivotal moments in US history and the decisions that helped shape innovation, opportunity, and progress. By connecting historical turning points to today's technology and policy questions, the series offers a perspective on the choices that continue to shape what comes next. Watch the first episode here.