Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Hard Numbers: Ukrainian grain stuck, Kagame to run again, Uber lobbied Macron, Iran enriches uranium

Hard Numbers: Ukrainian grain stuck, Kagame to run again, Uber lobbied Macron, Iran enriches uranium
Ari Winkleman

22 million: Russia's blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports has trapped some 22 million metric tons of grain stocks inside the country, worsening a global food crisis that'll hurt scores of developing countries. Turkey is trying to negotiate safe passage for the grain shipments, but the Kremlin wants Western sanctions lifted first.


4: Paul Kagame will seek a fourth term as Rwanda's president in 2024. For his supporters, he's a benevolent tough guy who brought economic growth and stability following the 1994 genocide; for his enemies, Kagame is a ruthless dictator who'll go after anyone who crosses him.

124,000: Uber secretly lobbied European politicians to help it disrupt the taxi industry across the continent from 2013-2017, according to a leak of more than 124,000 internal documents. Travis Kalanick, the former CEO of the US ride-hailing company, was chummy at the time with now-French President Emmanuel Macron, who as economy minister allegedly protected Uber while it was operating illegally in France.

20: Iran has begun enriching uranium up to 20% using sophisticated new centrifuges at an underground atomic facility. Meanwhile, reviving the 2015 nuclear deal with the US remains a long shot, with Qatar now hosting indirect talks as the Iranians inch closer to having enough enriched yellowcake to build a bomb.

More For You

​A Boeing 737 Max 8 with Afghans on board lands at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) on December 16, 2025.

A Boeing 737 Max 8 with Afghans on board lands at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) on December 16, 2025. 160 Afghans have come to Berlin on a charter flight organized by the German government.

Fabian Sommer/dpa via Reuters Connect
500: By the end of the year, Germany plans to accept over 500 Afghan refugees who assisted German troops on the ground in Afghanistan, or face threats from the Taliban. Although these refugees have already been approved for admission, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition government delayed their entry into the country. [...]
​President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S. Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025.

President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S. Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025.

Doug Mills/Pool via REUTERS
Less than one day after US President Donald Trump declared a military blockade of sanctioned oil tankers from Venezuela, he addressed the nation during a rare primetime speech – but didn’t talk about Venezuela. Instead, he touted the economy, arguing that it’s doing better than many Americans believe it is.“Boy, are we making progress,” Trump said [...]
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Reuters
Pakistani-Afghan rift gives India an openingIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi isn’t necessarily known as the greatest friend of Muslim people, yet his own government is now seeking to build bridges with Afghanistan’s Islamist leaders, the Taliban. New Delhi is seeking to capitalize on the rift between Pakistan and Afghanistan, two former allies, [...]
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and businessman Jared Kushner, along with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and otherEuropean leaders, pose for a group photo at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, December 15, 2025.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and businessman Jared Kushner, along with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and otherEuropean leaders, pose for a group photo at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, December 15, 2025.

Kay Nietfeld/Pool via REUTERS
The European Union just pulled off something that, a year ago, seemed politically impossible: it froze $247 billion in Russian central bank assets indefinitely, stripping the Kremlin of one of its most reliable pressure points. No more six-month renewal cycles. No more Hungarian vetoes. The money stays locked up, full stop.Turns out that was the [...]