Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Hard Numbers: US jobless record, Forza Chinese bots, Afghan prisoner swap, and an EU wrist slap

Hard Numbers: US jobless record, Forza Chinese bots, Afghan prisoner swap, and an EU wrist slap
Make us preferred on Google

46.3: As China was delivering crucial medical supplies to hard-hit Italy in March, the uplifting hashtag #forzaCinaeItalia, which means "Go China and Italy!!" appeared to go viral, with help from Chinese official accounts. Turns out, around 46.3% of posts using the tag were pushed out by bots.


10.4: As the US economy goes on life support, around 10.4 million Americans filed for unemployment in the last two weeks of March alone. In February, unemployment was at a 50-year low of 3.5 percent — economists warn we could be at 15% before long.

3: The European Court of Justice ruled Thursday that three EU countries – Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic – had violated a bloc-wide mandate to absorb a certain amount of the asylum seekers who arrived in the EU at the height of the migrant crisis back in 2015. The ruling, however, appears to be mostly symbolic.

100: Afghanistan's government began the process Thursday of exchanging 100 Taliban prisoners for 20 of its own security personnel held captive by the insurgent group. This is the first in a series of prisoner releases negotiated as part of a broader US-Taliban peace deal.

More For You

Sri Lanka launches drones against… mosquitoes
Farida Dowidar
Sri Lanka is facing one of the worst outbreaks of the mosquito-borne dengue virus in years. Amid energy shortages sparked by the war in Iran, dengue cases are straining hospital resources. In a bid to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds, the Sri Lanka Air Force has launched drones to detect sites where the insects breed across the country’s [...]
The changing face of America
Eileen Zhang
On July 4, the United States will celebrate its 250th birthday. Over the past two and a half centuries, American society has changed profoundly, from an agrarian republic of 13 colonies to the urban, diverse, and economic superpower it is today. To mark the quarter-millennium, we decided to look back on how the country has demographically evolved [...]
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo at the National Palace in Mexico City, on June 25, 2026.

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo during the welcoming ceremony for Felipe VI of Spain at the National Palace in Mexico City, on June 25, 2026.

Carlos Santiago/Alto Press via ZUMA Press
Sheinbaum’s bind gets tougherAt least a dozen Mexican lawmakers – including members of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Morena party – have reportedly offered to be informants to the United States as part of Washington’s investigations into elected officials’ alleged collusion with cartels. Sheinbaum has denounced the investigations, using them as a [...]
​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 [...]