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Hard Numbers: Ukrainian grain stuck, Kagame to run again, Uber lobbied Macron, Iran enriches uranium

Hard Numbers: Ukrainian grain stuck, Kagame to run again, Uber lobbied Macron, Iran enriches uranium
Ari Winkleman

22 million: Russia's blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports has trapped some 22 million metric tons of grain stocks inside the country, worsening a global food crisis that'll hurt scores of developing countries. Turkey is trying to negotiate safe passage for the grain shipments, but the Kremlin wants Western sanctions lifted first.

4: Paul Kagame will seek a fourth term as Rwanda's president in 2024. For his supporters, he's a benevolent tough guy who brought economic growth and stability following the 1994 genocide; for his enemies, Kagame is a ruthless dictator who'll go after anyone who crosses him.

124,000: Uber secretly lobbied European politicians to help it disrupt the taxi industry across the continent from 2013-2017, according to a leak of more than 124,000 internal documents. Travis Kalanick, the former CEO of the US ride-hailing company, was chummy at the time with now-French President Emmanuel Macron, who as economy minister allegedly protected Uber while it was operating illegally in France.

20: Iran has begun enriching uranium up to 20% using sophisticated new centrifuges at an underground atomic facility. Meanwhile, reviving the 2015 nuclear deal with the US remains a long shot, with Qatar now hosting indirect talks as the Iranians inch closer to having enough enriched yellowcake to build a bomb.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with journalists to comment on new U.S. sanctions targeting two major Russia's oil producers, as well as other international issues, in Moscow, Russia, October 23, 2025.
Sputnik/Alexander Shcherbak/Pool via REUTERS

The US has paused Russian oil sanctions in a bid to stabilize energy markets rocked by the war with Iran. Administration officials stress that it’s a “tailored” measure, applying only to oil already loaded onto tankers, but it’s still a gift to Russia, which has already been clocking an extra $150 million daily in oil revenues since the war began.

A Boeing C-135 Stratotanker / Stratolifter military aircraft known as KC-135 of the United States Air Force USAF configured as Air Tanker Transport for aerial refueling, powered by 4x CFMI jet engines and tail number 63-8003. The military plane spotted flying over the Netherlands in the blue sky from Mainland USA to Tel Aviv TLV to support the Israel USA - Iran war known as Operation Epic Fury by the US Department of Defense. Venlo, the Netherlands on March 2, 2026
Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto

4: The number of crew members aboard a US refuelling plane – out of six total – who died after the aircraft crashed in neighboring Iraq on Thursday, US Central Command said this morning.