Hard Numbers: Yemen peace talks, Ukrainian drone challenge, UAE snubs South Africa, Spanish paleo tripping

Houthi supporters rally in Sana'a to mark the 8th anniversary of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen.
Houthi supporters rally in Sana'a to mark the 8th anniversary of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen.
REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

8: Saudi officials on Sunday met in Yemen's capital, Sana'a, with reps of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Omani mediators in what the UN is framing as the most serious effort yet to end 8 years of proxy civil war in the country. The talks come weeks after bitter rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia buried the diplomatic hatchet, raising hopes for peace in Yemen.

543,000: A Ukrainian fintech bro is offering 20 million hryvnias ($548,000) to whoever launches a drone that flies over and lands in Moscow's Red Square during Russia's Victory Day celebrations on May 9. To qualify for the prize, the drone must be identified with the slogan "Glory to Ukraine" or similar.

2: The UAE unexpectedly rejected South Africa's request to extradite two of the Gupta brothers. Atul and Rajesh Gupta, who enjoyed close ties with disgraced former President Jacob Zuma, are wanted by Pretoria on fraud and money laundering charges. The Emirati thumbs-down is a major blow to current President Cyril Ramaphosa's efforts to hold the Gupta family biz empire accountable for allegedly looting the state under Zuma.

3,000: Spaniards are known to party hard — and, it turns out, they've been tripping longer than anyone else in Europe. New research claims that people in Spain were getting high on hallucinogenic drugs derived from plants 3,000 years ago, the oldest direct evidence of narcotics use on the continent.

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What is the importance of the so-called minerals deals, which have now been concluded between Ukraine and the United States? What is the importance of the visit by the Danish King Frederik to Greenland? Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden and co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, shares his perspective on European politics from Stockholm, Sweden.

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz walks to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on April 3, 2025.

REUTERS/Carlos Barria

US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz will exit his post, CBS News first reported, and will be nominated to be ambassador to the United Nations. It brings a premature end to the Floridian’s tumultuous White House stint, one that has been marred ever since he accidentally added a journalist from The Atlantic to a Signal chat regarding US attack plans in Yemen. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will replace Waltz, holding his role on an acting basis.