Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Europe

Hard Numbers: South Korea’s new prez, Russian default, Tunisian apathy, Venezuela's olive branch

Hard Numbers: South Korea’s new prez, Russian default, Tunisian apathy, Venezuela's olive branch
Make us preferred on Google

0.85: Conservative candidate Yoon Suk-yeol won South Korea’s presidential election after a very ugly campaign. The center-left’s Lee Jae-myung conceded defeat when Yoon was ahead by only 0.85 percentage points with more than 90% of the votes counted.


6: Fitch downgraded Russia’s credit rating by six notches to “C,” or junk status, warning investors that default was “imminent.” The last time Russia defaulted on its debt was in 1998, which resulted in a severe financial crisis and devaluation of the ruble.

276,000: President Kais Saied says he wants Tunisians to have their say in the new constitution before a July referendum. The response? A collective meh — only 276,000 out of 12 million have taken the questionnaire, which reflects skepticism stemming from Saied’s power grab last year.

2: Venezuela has released two detained US citizens, including an oil exec who was imprisoned for over four years. This comes amid a recent thaw between Caracas and Washington that could lead to a lifting of US sanctions if Venezuela meets US demands.

More For You

​Smoke rises from an oil refinery following a Ukrainian drone attack, in Moscow, Russia, on June 18, 2026.

Smoke rises from an oil refinery following a Ukrainian drone attack in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Moscow, Russia, on June 18, 2026.

SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS
With refiners ablaze, Russia is now importing fuel from IndiaYes, you read that correctly: Russia, one of the world’s largest oil exporters and a huge supplier of crude to India, is now buying fuel from its Soviet-era ally. The reason? Ukraine’s widening barrage of drone and missile strikes on Russian petrochemicals facilities has knocked out [...]
Over a million migrants seek legal status in Spain
Farida Dowidar
Spain has taken a very different tack from other European countries toward migrants, with Sánchez welcoming them into the country and pledging to grant legal status to half a million undocumented migrants under a new program. However, the PM underestimated how many people would apply: his government had expected 750,000 applications. With [...]
The EU steels itself for tariffs
Farida Dowidar
The trade bloc is also reducing its quota of tariff-free steel imports, as trade tensions mount with Beijing. The EU’s goal is to reduce its near-$400 billion annual trade deficit with China. However, the move could hurt other steel exporters with whom the EU has solid relations, including the UK, Ukraine, and Japan. Brussels isn’t the first to [...]
​Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow, Russia, on May 8, 2026.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attend a meeting in Moscow, Russia, on May 8, 2026.

REUTERS/Ramil Sitdikov/Pool
As the war in Ukraine drags through its fifth year, Russia’s fortunes are beginning to sour. In recent months, the Ukrainian military has made its most significant gains since the summer of 2023. Kyiv’s weapons meanwhile are expanding their range, striking energy facilities deep into the heart of Russia while also pummeling the oil infrastructure [...]