Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Hard Numbers: Deaths surge in India, US undocumented farmworkers, Colonial Pipeline ransom payment, vaccine cash for South Africa

Family members of Vijay Raju, who died due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), mourn before his cremation at a crematorium ground in Giddenahalli village on the outskirts of Bengaluru, India, May 13, 2021.

4,000: For the second consecutive day, India reported more than 4,000 daily deaths from COVID. This comes as India is grappling with massive vaccine shortages and is now doling out the second AstraZeneca shot 16 weeks after the first one to make up for shortfalls.


1.25 million: About half of all US farmworkers — 1.25 million people — are undocumented migrants, mostly from Mexico. But many of these people, who are earning minimum wage with no benefits while keeping the American agricultural system running, are mostly struggling to feed their own families, according to a new Guardian investigation.

5 million: Colonial Pipeline, the largest oil pipeline in the US, reportedly paid $5 million in ransom to cyber criminals who took its system offline for close to a week, Bloomberg reports. This revelation comes after the company said it had no plans to pay the hackers and was working to restore its operations via a backup system.

213 million: Patrick Soon-Shiong, a South African-born Asian American, has pledged $213 million to help fast-track vaccine production in South Africa. The entire continent of Africa is currently relying on vaccine imports, and only 2 percent of all doses administered globally have been in African countries.

More For You

​Then-US President George W. Bush with then-People's Republic of China President Jiang Zemin following their meeting at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, on October 25, 2002.

Then-US President George W. Bush waves as he stands with then-People's Republic of China President Jiang Zemin after the two gave statements to the press following their meeting at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, on October 25, 2002.

Twenty-five years ago, Destiny’s Child, NSYNC, and Britney Spears were atop the US charts, “Google” was a little known search website with a weird name, and two things happened that would shape the world we live in today, where populism defines politics and great power competition is back. First, Congress passed a bill that paved the way for China [...]
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order on AI next to Sriram Krishnan, Senior White House Policy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence on December 11, 2025.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order on AI next to Sriram Krishnan, Senior White House Policy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence on December 11, 2025.

REUTERS/Al Drago
38: Large tech firms will be celebrating after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at undercutting the ability of states to introduce regulations on artificial intelligence. Thirty-eight states have adopted AI laws. Trump’s order aims to just have one federal law be the standard. [...]
​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 [...]
​Miami Mayor-elect Eileen Higgins points as she thanks her staff and supporters on the night of the general election, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.

Miami Mayor-elect Eileen Higgins points as she thanks her staff and supporters on the night of the general election, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.

Carl Juste/Miami Herald/TNS/ABACAPRESS.COM
For the second time in a month, Republicans lost a mayoral race in a state US President Donald Trump has called home. This time it happened in Florida.Democrat Eileen Higgins defeated Republican Emilio González in Miami’s mayoral election on Tuesday to become the first female leader of Florida’s largest city, and the first Democrat to win this [...]