Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Graphic Truth: How Bad Is Venezuela's Collapse?

Graphic Truth: How Bad Is Venezuela's Collapse?

Low oil prices, economic mismanagement, and political uncertainty have plunged Venezuela into an economic tailspin virtually unknown among countries during peacetime. By the end of this year, Venezuela's economy will have shrunk by 63 percent since the current political crisis erupted in 2016. Here's how that drop compares with other notable economic collapses over the past century.

More For You

​Paramilitary police cadets sit in rows as they watch a parade performance to mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of their military school in Kunming, Yunnan province July 8, 2011.

Paramilitary police cadets sit in rows as they watch a parade performance to mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of their military school in Kunming, Yunnan province July 8, 2011.

REUTERS/Wong Campion
China wants the Iran conflict to end – but could it still benefit?Given that China is the world’s top oil importer, and oil prices continued to surge this week as energy facilities in the Middle East were struck, it’s no surprise that Beijing again called for an end to the Iran conflict on Friday. That doesn’t mean that the CCP won’t gain anything [...]
​Liberia-flagged Aframax tanker Suvorovsky Prospect discharges fuel oil from Russia at the Matanzas terminal, in Matanzas, Cuba, on July 16, 2022.

Liberia-flagged Aframax tanker Suvorovsky Prospect discharges fuel oil from Russia at the Matanzas terminal, in Matanzas, Cuba, on July 16, 2022.

REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini
What is Vladimir Putin thinking? It’s certainly not the first time we’ve asked the question: for 25 years, the wily ex-spy has shown a penchant for testing geopolitical limits, wrongfooting his opponents, and craftily antagonizing his adversaries. The latest episode is taking place on the high seas, where a tanker laden with some 730,000 barrels [...]
​Presidential Candidate Gustavo Petro for the political alliance 'Pacto Historico' speaks during an interview with Reuters in Bogota, Colombia June 10, 2022.

Presidential Candidate Gustavo Petro for the political alliance 'Pacto Historico' speaks during an interview with Reuters in Bogota, Colombia June 10, 2022.

REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
2: The number of US federal prosecutors’ offices currently investigating whether Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has connections to drug traffickers, per The New York Times. In the past, US President Donald Trump has alleged Petro has ties to the drug trade in Colombia, a country that is one of the US’s closest allies in Latin America and where [...]
​Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, right, alongside United States Vice President JD Vance.  07 Nov 2025

Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, right, alongside United States Vice President JD Vance. 07 Nov 2025

Aaron Schwartz/POOL via CNP
Can JD Vance save Orbán?US President Donald Trump’s allies have taken a major interest in European politics over the last 18 months, attempting to boost far-right leaders in Albania, Germany, and Poland. Now, Vice President JD Vance is aiming to boost MAGA’s closest ally on the continent: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Vance reportedly [...]