Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Hard Numbers: Germany vs. Last Generation, Iran's atomic hole, lopsided DRC-China mine deal, Amazon "dieback"

Police surround activists of the "Letzte Generation" (Last Generation) after they glued their hands on asphalt

Police surround activists of the "Letzte Generation" (Last Generation) after they glued their hands on asphalt

Reuters
Make us preferred on Google
7: German police on Wednesday carried out raids at properties in seven states linked to the Last Generation, a climate protest group famous for causing traffic jams and defacing works of art. Prosecutors are investigating seven of its members to determine whether Last Generation operates as a criminal organization, a question that has sparked a culture war debate in Germany.

80-100: Iran is constructing a new underground nuclear facility that might be too deep to be destroyed in airstrikes with conventional weapons. According to satellite image analysis, the depth of the site is between 80 and 100 meters (260-328 feet). That’s beyond the range of the US military's most powerful bunker cluster bomb, which can plow through 200 feet of earth before detonating.

70: The Democratic Republic of Congo wants to more than double its stake to 70% in a cobalt and copper infrastructure-for-minerals joint venture with Chinese companies, a deal the Congolese now view as unfair. Expect DRC President Felix Tshisekedi to bring this up with Xi Jinping when he visits China this week.


6: Deep in the Amazon, Brazil is building a six-ring complex of towers that'll spray carbon dioxide mist into the air. Scientists will analyze the data to track the rate at which the world's largest rainforest sequesters carbon dioxide and see whether it can avert a doomsday scenario known as the “dieback,” when climate change turns the lush Amazon into a much drier savannah-ish landscape.

More For You

A building damaged by earthquakes that hit the country, in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 25, 2026.

A view of the remains of a building damaged by earthquakes that hit the country, in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 25, 2026.

REUTERS/Fausto Torrealba
Deadly earthquakes hit Venezuela At least 164 people were killed and nearly 1,000 were left injured after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening. The 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes were the strongest to hit the country in nearly six decades. A number of buildings collapsed, Caracas’ international airport was damaged, and [...]
The next El Niño could be the strongest yet
Eileen Zhang
El Niño, the natural climate phenomenon that happens every three to seven years, is back. Researchers are warning that it has formed and could become the strongest on record. If that happens, the consequences for economies and for food security around the world could be severe. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) this week said the [...]
Record temperatures roil France
Farida Dowidar
An astonishing heat wave has swept across Europe this week, with France the hardest hit. The country recorded its hottest-ever day on Tuesday, only to break the record again on Wednesday. The extreme heat has led to tragedy: 40 people have drowned nationwide as they seek relief from the unbearable temperatures – many of them teenagers and swimming [...]
​Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Beijing, China, on September 3, 2025.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and heads of foreign delegations arrive for a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, China, on September 3, 2025.

Sputnik/Sergey Bobylev/Pool via REUTERS
With everything going on in the Middle East, Ukraine, the United States, and elsewhere, you could be forgiven for not thinking much about North Korea lately. But while we’ve all been looking away, the “hermit kingdom” and its Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un are emerging from the G-Zero world in their strongest geostrategic position in decades. [...]