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 mosque stands in an area affected by a deadly flash flood following heavy rains in Aceh Tamiang regency, Aceh province, Indonesia, December 4, 2025.

A mosque stands in an area affected by a deadly flash flood following heavy rains in Aceh Tamiang regency, Aceh province, Indonesia, December 4, 2025.

REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana
Indonesia identifies aggravator of Sumatra flood deathsAfter the death toll from cyclone-induced floods in Sumatra surpassed 800 – making it the most deadly natural disaster to hit the Indonesian island since the 2004 tsunami – the Indonesian government has pledged to take action against mining firms that illegally cleared forests, which may have [...]
A child plays at an advocacy wall after receiving a dose of antiretroviral ARV drugs used to prevent HIV from replicating, at the Nyumbani Children's Home, which cares for more than 100 children with HIV.

A child plays at an advocacy wall after receiving a dose of antiretroviral ARV drugs used to prevent HIV from replicating, at the Nyumbani Children's Home, which cares for more than 100 children with HIV.

REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya
4.8 million: Child deaths are set to rise for the first time this millennium, with 4.8 million children under five projected to die this year amid sharp drops in foreign aid. Global health spending is down 25% as major donors scale back disease programs, while vaccine skepticism is driving declines in immunization. [...]
​Reform UK leader Nigel Farage in London, United Kingdom, on Nov. 26, 2025.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage holds a post-budget conference in London, United Kingdom, on Nov. 26, 2025.

Phil Lewis/WENN
After months of rumors, Nigel Farage has reportedly said the quiet part out loud: the Reform UK leader told donors that he plans for his far-right party to join forces with the center-right Conservative Party, according to the Financial Times. If the two parties strike such a deal, it will likely mean the British right will return to power at the [...]
Trump, Putin, and Zelensky surrounded by tanks and negotiators.

Trump, Putin, and Zelensky surrounded by tanks and negotiators.

Nearly four years into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the push to end the war is intensifying. The past few weeks produced not one but two proposals. Summits convene near daily. American envoys are shuttling between Kyiv and Moscow. Public displays of applause for President Trump's efforts to stop the bloodshed while everyone scrambles to shape the [...]