Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Hard Numbers

Cuba’s fuel shortage prompts garbage crisis, Cyclone in Madagascar kills dozens, China set for Lunar New Year travel, Israel issues Hamas disarmament deadline

​A man throws trash on a street in downtown Havana, Cuba, February 16, 2026.

A man throws trash on a street in downtown Havana, Cuba, February 16, 2026.

REUTERS/Norlys Perez
Make us preferred on Google
41.5%: The proportion of Havana’s garbage trucks that were operational this month, according to state-run media, as Cuba’s fuel crisis prompts a garbage crisis. Rotten food, cardboard boxes, and plastic bottles have been piling up on the streets. Just 44 of 106 garbage trucks were functioning.

59: The number of people who have died in Madagascar due to Cyclone Gezani, which hit the island nation last week. Another 15 remain missing, while over 16,000 people have been displaced. The cyclone had sustained winds of 115 miles per hour.

9.5 billion: The record number of passenger trips that are expected across China during the Lunar New Year holiday to usher in the Year of the Horse. The Chinese government is hoping the holiday will boost domestic spending, which it identified as a priority for the year ahead.

60: The number of days that Israel gave Hamas to disarm in an ultimatum issued yesterday. As expected, the militant group rejected those demands, which is a critical facet of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

More For You

Hard Number: US holds up cash for Iraq
Iraq is caught in an ever-tightening vise. The US Treasury recently blocked the delivery of nearly half a billion dollars in US banknotes to Iraq’s central bank, proceeds from Iraqi oil sales that are held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The US said it wants Iraq to dismantle Iranian proxies in the country, who claimed responsibility for [...]
Hard number: Iran war elevates Panama Canal costs
Natalie Johnson
Costs for ships to pass through the Panama Canal have hit record highs as the Iran war imperils global oil shipping. According to data from Argus Media, daily auctions to cross the waterway have drawn five times as many bids than prior to the conflict. There’s also been a surge of US oil and fuel shipments through the canal, primarily coming from [...]
Hard number: Mass trial in El Salvador
Natalie Johnson
The group is collectively accused of committing 47,000 crimes between 2012 and 2022, including murder, extortion, and drug and arms trafficking. President Nayib Bukele, who dubbed himself the “world’s coolest dictator” back in 2021, has made law and order a top priority in a country once paralyzed by crime. Indeed, the homicide rate in the country [...]
Hard number: Apple let him Cook
Eileen Zhang
Apple announced on Monday that Cook, who took over as CEO when company founder Steve Jobs died in 2011, will step down in September. Cook will leave behind an astonishing legacy, navigating supply disruptions and geopolitical turmoil to add more dollar value to a US firm than any other CEO except Jensen Huang at Nvidia. But Cook has faced [...]