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

Protesters demonstrate against poor economic conditions in Tehran, Iran, on December 29, 2025.

Protesters demonstrate against poor economic conditions in Tehran, Iran, on December 29, 2025, with some shopkeepers closing their stores in response to ongoing hardships and fluctuations in the national currency.

ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect
With economy in dire straits, Iranians take to the streetsIran saw its largest protest in three years on Monday, as traders and shopkeepers in Tehran shut their stores to show their displeasure at the government’s handling of the economy. The demonstrations are notable amid Iran’s intensified crackdown on dissent, including arrests of opposition [...]
​Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy listens to US President Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago club, in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, on December 28, 2025.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy listens to US President Donald Trump, after Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed willingness to help Ukraine "succeed," during a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago club, in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, on December 28, 2025.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
50: Ukrainian President Volodoymyr Zelensky said he wants a 50-year security guarantee from the United States, far longer than the 15-year guarantee that US President Donald Trump reportedly offered. A peace agreement still looks unlikely, for now. What’s more, Russia accused Ukraine of attempting a drone strike on one of President Vladimir [...]
​The Guinea-flagged oil tanker MT Bandra, which is under sanctions, at El Palito terminal, near Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, on December 29, 2025.

The Guinea-flagged oil tanker MT Bandra, which is under sanctions, is partially seen alongside another vessel at El Palito terminal, near Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, on December 29, 2025.

REUTERS/Juan Carlos Hernandez
In years past, US sanctions on Russia’s top two oil firms, a war between Israel and Iran, and American seizures of Venezuelan oil tankers would have been enough to spike oil prices.All of that happened this year. And yet, prices fell.Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, is down nearly 20% this year to just over $60 per barrel. Prices [...]
​US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands at the Mar-a-Lago club, in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, on December 28, 2025.

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands during a press conference after their lunch meeting at the Mar-a-Lago club, in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, on December 28, 2025.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Trump hails progress after Mar-a-Lago meeting with ZelenskyAfter meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Sunday, US President Donald Trump said that Russia and Ukraine are “closer than ever” to a peace deal. Trump had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone prior to the meeting. The [...]