Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Hard Numbers: China’s economy expands, US prisoners decline, Tunisian PM quits, Hindu pilgrims go to Kashmir

Hard Numbers: China’s economy expands, US prisoners decline, Tunisian PM quits, Hindu pilgrims go to Kashmir
Make us preferred on Google

3.2: China's economy grew 3.2 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2020, the only major economy to expand since the COVID-19 pandemic. The rebound was better than expected, but investors are concerned that it was mainly a result of heavy public spending on infrastructure.


8: The number of inmates in US federal and state prisons declined by more than 100,000 between March and June, an 8 percent drop. Many of these prisoners are low-level offenders and inmates with compromised health systems who were released to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in US penitentiaries.

15 million: Elyes Fakhfakh, the prime minister of Tunisia, stepped down on Wednesday after an independent lawmaker revealed that Fakhfakh owned shares in companies that had won state contracts worth about $15 million. His resignation has sparked uncertainty over the future of the coalition government led by the moderate Islamists of the Ennahda (Renaissance) Party.

500: Indian-administered Kashmir will allow Hindus to visit a Himalayan cave shrine, despite health concerns over COVID-19. Hundreds of thousands of people from across India normally take part in the annual Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage, but this year the trek will be limited to only 500 per day.

More For You

Donald Trump speaking during an address to the nation on July 16, 2026.

US President Donald Trump speaks about election security during an address to the nation from the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., US, July 16, 2026

SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS
Trump’s election claims add to a cloud of mistrustThe US president used a primetime address last night to argue America’s election system is broken and vulnerable to “rigging.” He pointed to documents he says show Chinese interference in the 2020 vote. But the evidence Trump offered, along with past assessments from the intelligence community, [...]
Betting on Trump
Farida Dowidar
Gabriel Perez, who has worked for the president since 2016, is under fire for his prediction market wagers, allegedly using his access to the speeches to make his bets. At times, Perez reportedly backed out of bets mid-speech when Trump skipped over portions of addresses that he’d bet would be mentioned. Kalshi, the platform used, detected unusual [...]
Hunger strike in India intensifies
Farida Dowidar
Sonam Wangchuk has long campaigned for the reform of India’s corrupt and inefficient system of entrance exams for higher education. That issue is also central to the recently formed Cockroach Janata Party protest movement, led by people decades younger than Wangchuk, who is 59-years-old. In India, millions of students compete vigorously for a [...]
​Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, Israel, on July 16, 2026.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, before it dissolves ahead of the 2026 Israeli elections, in Jerusalem, Israel, on July 16, 2026.

REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
It’s official: on Sunday, Israel’s parliament affirmed that the country will hold a national election on Oct. 27. It will be the first time that Israelis head to the polls since the Hamas attacks on Israel of Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent wars in Gaza, southern Lebanon, and Iran.The big question in this election yet again is whether Benjamin [...]