Hard Numbers: Tongan volcano, Ukrainian cyberattack, Zemmour fined over hate speech, NK-China border reopens

Hard Numbers: Tongan volcano, Ukrainian cyberattack, Zemmour fined over hate speech, NK-China border reopens
The eruption of an underwater volcano off Tonga, which triggered a tsunami warning for several South Pacific island nations, is seen in an image from the NOAA GOES-West satellite taken at 05:00 GMT January 15, 2022.
CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS

100,000: We're still waiting for news from the Pacific nation of Tonga, two days after a massive underwater volcanic explosion triggered a tsunami that was felt thousands of miles away and sent a plume of ash 100,000 feet into the sky. With communications mostly cut off, Australia and New Zealand have sent airplanes to assess the damage.

70: Ukraine blamed Russia for a cyberattack that knocked offline some 70 Ukrainian government websites on Friday amid heightened tensions with Moscow. The next day, Microsoft said that it had detected on the same sites a very dangerous form of malware waiting to be turned by an unknown actor.

10,000: Far-right French presidential candidate Éric Zemmour was fined 10,000 euros ($11,412) after being convicted of hate speech when referring to unaccompanied migrant children. Zemmour is currently polling fourth in voter intention for the April vote.

2: North Korea and China reopened their land border after two years. Kim Jong Un is eager to resume COVID-halted trade by land with China, which buys 90 percent of North Korea’s exports and is its only source of many basic supplies.

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

As the United Nations turns 80, the urgency to rethink global cooperation has never been greater. In a live broadcast from the UN headquarters and moderated by GZERO Media’s Global Chief Content Officer, Tony Maciulis, an expert panel gathered to discuss if AI and data can reshape a strained multilateral system to meet today’s crises.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City, USA, on September 26, 2025.
REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t mince his words during his fiery 40-minute address at the United Nations, lauding his country’s military efforts over the last year. It was otherwise a tough week for the Israeli leader at the UN.

- YouTube

“They’re not going to own it. They’re not going to make it. They’re going to be takers, not makers.” Ian Bremmer and Julia Chatterley discuss how the AI arms race is reshaping geopolitics, not just for the Global South, but also for Europe and beyond.

- YouTube

"India must leverage this technology to become a developed country by 2047. If not, we risk growing old without ever having grown rich," says Secretary S. Krishnan, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for the Government of India.