Hard Numbers: EU gas price dip, Swedish camera thieves, Myanmar festival attack, Qatar vs. LGBTQ

A model of a natural gas pipeline, a Euro banknote and a torn EU flag placed on a Russian flag.
A model of a natural gas pipeline, a Euro banknote and a torn EU flag placed on a Russian flag.
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

100: The cost of burning natural gas to produce a megawatt hour of electricity in Europe has dipped below 100 euros ($99) for the first time since Russia began cutting supplies to the EU earlier this year. Experts say milder-than-expected weather and topped-up storage units are to thank for the price relief. Can it last?

160: Swedish police are investigating at least 160 recent midnight thefts of speed trap cameras on public roads. No one is sure who’s doing it, but the fact that thieves are routinely making off with specific camera parts has given rise to a weird theory: Is heavily sanctioned Russia behind the heists as a way to get dual-use technology for its drones?

60: Myanmar’s military junta sent fighter jets to attack a festival held by the ethnic separatists of the Kachin Independence Army, killing as many as 60 of the group’s members late Sunday. Since seizing power almost two years ago, the dictatorship has faced stiff resistance from an array of ethnic militias.

6: Authorities in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal, have detained and abused at least six LGBTQ Qataris for “immoral activity” since 2019, according to Human Rights Watch. The 2022 FIFA World Cup begins in the Gulf kingdom next month.

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U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, after an announcement of a trade deal between the U.S. and EU, in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 27, 2025.
REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

It’s down the wire for countries trying to reach a trade deal with the US before Aug. 1, when President Donald Trump has threatened steep “reciprocal” tariffs.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks next to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a tour of the Federal Reserve Board building, which is currently undergoing renovations, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 24, 2025.
REUTERS

On Thursday afternoon, just before golden hour, President Donald Trump threw a white hardhat over his flaxen coif and strode into the Federal Reserve building on Constitution Avenue.

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