Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

What We're Watching

Hard Numbers: Over half a century of summits, Gen-Z brings positivity, Thousands of troops, A pricey lunch

The national flag of Ukraine flies along with other countries' flags at the congress center for the 2022 edition of the World Economic Forum.

The national flag of Ukraine flies along with other countries' flags at the congress center for the 2022 edition of the World Economic Forum.

REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

54: Happy 54th birthday to the World Economic Forum. For over half a century, the global elite has traveled to the Alpine town of Davos – with its population of just 11,000 – to discuss the biggest challenges facing the world. It started back in 1971 as the European Management Symposium and was rebranded as the WEF in 1987.


60: Is Davos just an opportunity to hobnob and ski? Not for Gen-Z! A poll from Salesforce found that 60% of Gen-Z is hopeful about the ability of leaders at Davos to make the world a better place – making it more optimistic than any other generation about the summit’s potential.

5,000: With some of the world’s most powerful people gathering in Davos at the same time, security is going to be tight. The Swiss legislature authorized the deployment of roughly 5,000 armed forces to support the summit. Security costs are estimated to be around $10.5 million (9 million Swiss francs).

42: Going to Davos ain’t cheap. It famously costs tens of thousands of dollars to attend the annual WEF meeting, but even the food is expensive. At the Steigenberger Grandhotel Belvédère, which hosts guests in town for the summit, a cheeseburger on the “snack menu” costs roughly $42 (36 Swiss francs).

More For You

​December 9, 2025, Rome, Italy: Italian politicians from parties +Europa, Democratic Party, Azione, Europa Now gather to welcome Ukraines President Zelensky with a banner made up of 27 EU flags and the Ukrainian flag.

December 9, 2025, Rome, Italy: Italian politicians from parties +Europa, Democratic Party, Azione, Europa Now gather to welcome Ukraines President Zelensky with a banner made up of 27 EU flags and the Ukrainian flag.

Marco Di Gianvito/ZUMA Press Wire
EU poised to unfreeze Russian cash for Ukraine aidThe EU is set to indefinitely freeze more than $247 billion in Russian central bank assets today, clearing the path to use the money to keep Ukraine funded as the war grinds on. The move would end the precarious six-month renewal cycle — and reduce the chances of Kremlin-friendly countries like [...]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, December 8, 2025.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, December 8, 2025.

REUTERS/Toby Melville/Pool
Zelensky’s counteroffer shows his willingness for compromiseUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a counter to the US’s original plan for ending the Russia-Ukraine war on Wednesday, one that includes several concessions. Among them are allowing the US to recognize Russian-occupied territory, and granting the US and Russia control over the [...]
ANO party leader Andrej Babis signs a document on the day he is appointed as the country's new prime minister in Prague, Czech Republic, on December 9, 2025.

Czech President Petr Pavel looks on as the ANO party leader Andrej Babis signs a document on the day he is appointed as the country's new prime minister at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, on December 9, 2025.

REUTERS/Eva Korinkova
Babiš returns to power in CzechiaThe billionaire is back. Populist tycoon Andrej Babiš officially returns to the premiership of Czechia after decisively winning the election earlier this year. Babiš, a staunch Eurosceptic who last held power from 2017 to 2021, has formed a cabinet with the ultranationalist SPD party and the Motorists movement, [...]
Vilnius International airport, forced to shut down due to the presence of air balloons, on October 25, 2025.

Vilnius International airport, forced to shut down due to the presence of air balloons, on October 25, 2025.

Scanpix Baltics via Reuters Connect
Balloon crisis in the Baltic skiesLook there, in the skies over Lithuania! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… a balloon from Belarus carrying contraband cigarettes? This story is more than just hot air, as hundreds of the deviant dirigibles have wafted across the border in recent weeks, forcing the closure of Lithuania’s main airport and flight [...]