Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Hard Numbers: Kishida enters danger zone, Iran protests death toll, CCP vs COVID, Chile gets surplus

Photos of Japan's PM Fumio Kishida and slain former PM Shinzo Abe alongside the Japanese flag and emblem of the Unification Church
Jess Frampton
Make us preferred on Google

35: A new poll has the approval rating of Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at only 35%, the lowest since he took office a year ago. Kishida's popularity has nosedived since the assassination of former PM Shinzo Abe put a spotlight on the ruling party's ties with the controversial Unification Church.


185: That’s the number of people killed so far as women-led protests against Iran's theocracy enter their fourth week. On Saturday, the state-run broadcaster was hacked to show a picture of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei burning in flames and with a target on his head.

1,700: China reported on Sunday over 1,700 new COVID infections, more than triple the number from Oct. 2. Authorities are scrambling to contain local outbreaks just a week before the 20th Congress of the Communist Party, at which many once hoped Xi Jinping would finally relax the zero-COVID policy.

1.6: By the end of the year, Chile's government will have a bigger-than-expected budget surplus worth 1.6% of GDP. After losing the constitutional referendum vote, leftwing President Gabriel Boric has swung to the center, abandoning some big-spending campaign promises to keep Chile's finances in check as a global recession looms.


This article comes to you from the Signal newsletter team of GZERO Media. Sign up today.

More For You

​Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony commemorating Israel’s Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, on April 21, 2026.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony commemorating Israel’s Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers, or Yom HaZikaron, at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, on April 21, 2026.

ILIA YEFIMOVICH/Pool via REUTERS
The United States and Iran seem to be moving closer to a deal to end the war, recent skirmishing and mixed signals notwithstanding. If concluded – still a big if – this agreement would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, lift the US blockade, unfreeze Iran’s frozen assets (via Qatar), and extend the ceasefire – while kicking nuclear negotiations down the [...]
Iranian President Pezeshkian and Acting Minister of Defense Brigadier General Ebn-e-Reza during a meeting in Tehran.

May 26, 2026, Tehran, Iran: Iranian President MASOUD PEZESHKIAN (L) and Iranian Acting Minister of Defense Brigadier General MAJID EBN-E-REZA (R) during a meeting in Tehran.

Iranian Presidency via ZUMA Press
US-Iran: Is a deal still possible? The merry-go-round of negotiations between the two countries continues. The latest began on Saturday, when US President Donald Trump said an agreement was “largely negotiated,” before Iran poured cold water on this. The US military then hit Iranian missile launchers and boats suspected of dropping mines in the [...]
Cornyn’s defeat could cost Republicans dearly
Will Fitzpatrick
Cornyn’s hefty loss yesterday to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (whom US President Donald Trump endorsed) in the Senate runoff yesterday will be a costly one for the Republican Party. Firstly, the GOP is losing one of their most prolific fundraisers in Senate history. Secondly, Paxton’s scandal-filled history – including allegations of [...]
Cambodia seeks to shed autocratic image?
Will Fitzpatrick
Cambodia has been an autocracy ever since Hun seized power in a coup d’état in 1997, but it is apparently looking to change that image. On Monday, the president announced that he would be freeing Kem from house arrest, barely a month after an appeals court upheld the conviction against him – one that carried a 27-year sentence. The move is [...]