Hard Numbers
Hard Numbers: Valentine’s Day Edition
An employee cuts flowers inside a greenhouse, ahead of Valentine's Day, at Ayura Flowers, in Sopo, Colombia February 3, 2026.
REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
30: The number of seconds it took Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid to publicly express regret for cheating on his girlfriend during an interview after winning a bronze medal in the Winter Olympics. A tearful Laegreid revealed on camera that he had been unfaithful “to the love of my life” in what appeared to be an attempt to win her back. However, Laegreid’s now-former girlfriend isn’t ready to forgive.
8%: The drop in French wine and spirit exports last year, the president of the country’s federation of wine and spirit exporters said on Tuesday. Geopolitical tension, trade wars, and weakening demand sent exports to their lowest level in 20 years. Can this weekend’s consumption pour some life back into the market?
100 million: The number of extra single people in the world today, compared to what there would have been had coupling rates remained at 2017 levels, according to an analysis by The Economist. Do you think a relationship recession is underway? Tell us here.
How can artificial intelligence improve everyday life for citizens? Speaking at the United Nations, Parvathaneni Harish highlighted India’s approach to digital public infrastructure. “Today in India, the cost of access to internet is the lowest in the world… and data usage per capita is one of the highest,” he said.
Zimbabwe’s information minister said dozens of citizens were lured via social media by shadowy agencies promising lucrative jobs abroad, but ended up on the front lines.
Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.