popular

Hard Numbers: Turkish corruption probe, Shenzhen tech lockdown, costly Russian donation, giant pumpkin ride

Hard Numbers: Turkish corruption probe, Shenzhen tech lockdown, costly Russian donation, giant pumpkin ride
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO Summit in Madrid.
Jakub Porzycki via Reuters Connect

5: Five Turkish opposition parties filed legal complaints to demand the state investigate allegations of corruption against allies of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling party, which the judiciary has long been thought to be soft on. The claims were first made in May 2021 by Sedat Peker, a fugitive mafia boss-turned-whistleblower who went viral with his unhinged YouTube clips detailing dirt on the president and his buddies.

11: China shut down the world's largest wholesale electronics market in Shenzhen after the southern megacity reported 11 COVID cases on Sunday. The closure of the tech hub will put even more pressure on already tight global supply chains due to Beijing's zero-COVID policy.

16: Russian journalist Andrei Zayakin was charged with illegally funding an extremist group after donating $16 to the Foundation for Fighting Corruption, a banned NGO started by jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Zayakin is the first person to be publicly charged for donating to the organization and faces eight years behind bars if convicted.

38: An American man from Nebraska celebrated his 60th birthday by floating for 38 miles along the Missouri River on a hollowed-out giant pumpkin. The trip is now being verified for the Guinness World Record for the world's longest on the orange vegetable.

More For You

US President Donald Trump participates in an arrival ceremony at Beijing Capital International Airport during his visit to the country, in Beijing, China, on May 13, 2026.
REUTERS/Evan Vucci

Xi Jinping will welcome Donald Trump with lots of pomp and circumstance. The summit, though, will be short on substance.

- YouTube

Ian Bremmer breaks down the complicated reality inside Venezuela after Nicolás Maduro’s removal from power. While the Trump administration sees the operation as a major foreign policy victory, Ian argues the harder challenge is only beginning; turning Venezuela into a stable economy and a representative democracy.

Noam Bettan from Israel with the song "Michelle" are on stage at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) during rehearsals for the first semi-final on May 12, 2026, in the Stadthalle.
Jens Büttner/dpa via Reuters Connect

Even Eurovision cannot escape geopolitics, South Africa’s constitutional court opens door to Ramaphosa impeachment vote, Zelensky’s former right-hand man accused in corruption probe