Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Hard Numbers: UK economic growth, US voter frustration, Fukushima liability ruling, halted Tour de France

Hard Numbers: UK economic growth, US voter frustration, Fukushima liability ruling, halted Tour de France

Dana Howard wearing a Union Jack-themed costume outside Buckingham Palace during Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London, Britain.

REUTERS/Tom Nicholson

0.5: The UK economy enjoyed unexpected growth in May, according to the Office for National Statistics. It grew 0.5% and is now believed to be at 1.7% above pre-COVID levels. But experts expect continued volatility and attribute the bump to celebrations ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.


80: Ahead of US midterms in November, and following the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, a New York Times/Siena College poll shows that close to 80% of American voters believe the US is headed in the wrong direction.

94 billion: A Japanese court has found four former executives of TEPCO, the utility operating the Fukushima nuclear power plant, liable for the 2011 tsunami-related disaster. They’ve been ordered to pay the company $94 billion.

15: The tenth stage of the Tour de France, one of the world’s most-watched annual sporting events, was interrupted for 15 minutes this week by climate protesters who want France to commit to renovating buildings to be more energy-efficient by 2040.

More For You

Interim President Delcy Rodriguez, in green, walks out of the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 5, 2026.

Venezuela's Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, interim President Delcy Rodriguez, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, son of ousted president Nicolas Maduro, and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez, walk together at the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 5, 2026.

Marcelo Garcia/Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS
Who “runs” Venezuela now? For now, Washington – having ousted dancing strongman Nicolás Maduro – has turned to his vice-president, 56-year-old Delcy Rodríguez, a regime heavyweight who has previously served as minister of both finance and oil under Maduro.The move sidelines Venezuelan opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and her ally Edmundo [...]
US President Donald Trump speaking to his supporters at a rally in Washington, D.C., USA, on January 6, 2021, just hours before an attack on the Capitol took place.

US President Donald Trump speaking to his supporters at a rally in Washington, D.C., USA, on January 6, 2021, just hours before an attack on the Capitol took place.

Michael Brochstein/ZUMA Wire
5: Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol. It’s also the first time that the US marks the insurrection since President Donald Trump, who pardoned 1,600 people who were either convicted or charged with a role in the riot, returned to office. Unlike former President Joe Biden, who used the anniversary to warn [...]
​Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is received by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on January 6, 2026.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is received by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on January 6, 2026, as part of a summit of the Coalition of the Willing.

Antonin Burat / Le Pictorium
Trump’s shadow looms over Ukraine security talks in Paris Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is meeting European leaders and US officials today in Paris for the latest round of peace talks on Ukraine, where they will discuss how a potential ceasefire with Russia would be monitored and upheld. The meeting comes just a few days after US [...]
Where things stand with Venezuela: Washington makes its demands
It’s been just over 48 hours since US forces conducted a military operation in Caracas and seized Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, and the future governance of the country – and the US role in it – remains murky.Speaking shortly after Maduro’s arrest on Saturday, US President Donald Trump said the US will “run” the country of 27 million people [...]