Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Hard Numbers: NK missile test, aid for Puerto Rico, China's concrete collapse, Chechen leader’s children, Poland's WWII-linked demand

A TV monitor announces the news of North Korea's ballistic missile launch in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.

A TV monitor announces the news of North Korea's ballistic missile launch in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.

Reuters

5: Early Tuesday, North Korea reportedly launched a single intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, where residents in Hokkaido and Aomori were urged to seek shelter. The missile — Pyongyang’s most provocative test since January, and its first test over Japan in five years — is believed to have landed in the Pacific Ocean.


60 million: US President Joe Biden pledged $60 million in aid for Puerto Rico on Monday during his visit to the US island territory to survey recent hurricane damage. Large parts of the island remain without power two weeks after Hurricane Fiona made landfall.

20: China’s cement production is suffering its biggest decline in more than 20 years, as worries about a financial crisis in the country’s sprawling real estate sector undermine demand. The drop-off in Chinese output caused global cement production to fall nearly 10% in the first half of this year.

3: Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, a staunch ally of his boss Vladimir Putin, says he is ready to send his three underage sons — ages 14, 15, and 16 — to Ukraine to fight for Russia. Although Moscow is party to a UN treaty against child soldiers, Kadyrov said sending his kids into battle is just part of being a good dad.

1.3 trillion: Ahead of a visit to Warsaw by the German foreign minister, Poland has demanded almost $1.3 trillion in reparations and damages related to World War II. Germany, for its part, says all financial claims related to the war are now settled.

More For You

PA via Reuters Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych, with his helmet, which features pictures of people killed in the war with Russia. Heraskevych was ruled out of the Men's Skeleton event by the International Olympic Committee just over an hour before competition began, pictured at the Cortina Sliding Centre, on day six of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Italy. Picture date: Thursday February 12, 2026.

PA via Reuters Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych, with his helmet, which features pictures of people killed in the war with Russia. Heraskevych was ruled out of the Men's Skeleton event by the International Olympic Committee just over an hour before competition began, pictured at the Cortina Sliding Centre, on day six of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Italy. Picture date: Thursday February 12, 2026.

20: The number of fallen Ukrainian athletes and coaches depicted on a Ukrainian skeleton racer’s helmet at the Winter Olympics, which prompted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to disqualify him on Thursday. The IOC said the helmet violated Olympic rules, which prohibit political messaging during games. Critics of the disqualification said [...]
​Russian President Vladimir Putin attends his annual end-of-year press conference and phone-in in Moscow, Russia December 19, 2025.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends his annual end-of-year press conference and phone-in in Moscow, Russia December 19, 2025.

Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS
Russia tries to control the message, literally.The Russian government has begun blocking the popular messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram in a sweeping crackdown aimed at forcing Russians to use a state-backed alternative called MAX, which critics say would enable censorship and surveillance. The move is part of the Kremlin’s broader drive for [...]
Donald Trump alongside Nigel Farage at the Trump Turnberry course in South Ayrshire, United Kingdom, on May 3, 2023.

Donald Trump alongside Nigel Farage amid a television interview at his Trump Turnberry course in South Ayrshire during his visit to the United Kingdom, on May 3, 2023.

PA via Reuters
Allies of US President Donald Trump have long sought to build bridges with European counterparts. They have a close relationship with supporters of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, hosting conferences together, such as CPAC, in Budapest. Elon Musk campaigned for Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of last year’s federal elections while he [...]
Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon - Pool/Getty Images

TOKYO, JAPAN - FEBRUARY 8: Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), places a red paper rose on the name of an elected candidate at the LDP headquarters on general election day on February 08, 2026 in Tokyo, Japan. Voters across the country headed to polls today as Japan's Lower House election was held.

Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon - Pool/Getty Images
When Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called snap elections last month, it was a big gamble. Holding a winter election just four months into her tenure with no real policy record to run on? Staking her sky-high approval ratings – then hovering around 70% – on an untested bet that personal popularity would translate into seats? The [...]