Hard Numbers: Ukrainian refugees in Alaska brace for Putin’s arrival, Migrant ship capsizes, No such thing as food poisoning free lunch, and the Kremlin cracks down on messaging platforms

August 14, 2025

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Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN (L) and U.S. President DONALD TRUMP (right) during a bilateral meeting at the Group of 20 (G20) leaders summit in 2019.

ZUMA Press Wire via REUTERS

1,000: Around 1,000 Ukrainian refugees in Alaska will be watching closely when Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives on Friday to meet with US President Donald Trump. Those Alaskan refugees are just a small percentage of the 240,000 Ukrainian refugees who came to the US under Biden’s Uniting for Ukraine program, which was suspended after Trump took office earlier this year.

26: At least 26 migrants died and others remain missing after an overloaded boat from Libya capsized off Italy’s Lampedusa. The tragedy comes amid a 16% rise in Mediterranean crossings this year — a deadly reminder that Europe’s migration crisis shows no sign of easing.

360: Over 360 people were left with food poisoning in the Indonesian town of Sragen this week, after eating meals linked to President Prabowo Subianto's ambitious “free school lunch” initiative. The program has been plagued by food safety concerns, with over 1,000 reported cases of food poisoning recorded since its launch in January.

97.3 million: The Kremlin announced that it began restricting calls for some WhatsApp and Telegram users on Wednesday, after the platforms refused to share information with law enforcement. WhatsApp – which has 97.3 million users in Russia – has accused authorities of trying to block citizens rights to secure communications.

After a season of upheavals, Chile goes back to the polls

Supporters of Jose Antonio Kast, presidential candidate of the far-right Republican Party, wave Chilean flags as they attend one of Kast's last closing campaign rallies, ahead of the November 16 presidential election, in Santiago, Chile, on November 11, 2025.

REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

This Sunday, close to 16 million Chilean voters will head to the polls in a starkly polarized presidential election shaped by rising fears of crime and immigration.

Viewpoint: When Chinese robots replace service jobs

A robot waiter, serving drinks at the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair, in Paris, on May 24, 2024.

Magali Cohen / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect

Imagine sitting down at a restaurant, speaking your order into your menu, and immediately watching a robot arrive with your food. Imagine the food being made quickly, precisely — and without a human involved, because the entire restaurant is fully roboticized.

Hard Numbers: Ukrainian refugees in Alaska brace for Putin’s arrival, Migrant ship capsizes, No such thing as food poisoning free lunch, and the Kremlin cracks down on messaging platforms

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Imagine sitting down at a restaurant, speaking your order into your menu, and immediately watching a robot arrive with your food. Imagine the food being made quickly, precisely — and without a human involved, because the entire restaurant is fully roboticized.

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Hard Numbers: Ukrainian refugees in Alaska brace for Putin’s arrival, Migrant ship capsizes, No such thing as food poisoning free lunch, and the Kremlin cracks down on messaging platforms

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Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

More from GZERO Media

Why the next financial crisis might already be underway—and why no one’s talking about it.

Ian breaks down the history of economic bubbles–from tulips to tech–and asks whether AI is the next one to pop.

Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.

This Sunday, close to 16 million Chilean voters will head to the polls in a starkly polarized presidential election shaped by rising fears of crime and immigration.

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

Argentina’s president Javier Milei inherited inflation that was over 200%, but after 18 consecutive months of it falling, it now stands at just 31%.

Imagine sitting down at a restaurant, speaking your order into your menu, and immediately watching a robot arrive with your food. Imagine the food being made quickly, precisely — and without a human involved, because the entire restaurant is fully roboticized.