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Hard Numbers: Europe to target small packages, US hits Chinese oil refiners, free speech win in UK, Taliban blames Pakistan for Kabul explosion

​An employee prepares to cut a fabric next to Shein packaging at the Midnight Charm Garment lingerie factory in Guanyun county of Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China November 25, 2024.

An employee prepares to cut a fabric next to Shein packaging at the Midnight Charm Garment lingerie factory in Guanyun county of Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China November 25, 2024.

REUTERS/Florence Lo
Riley Callanan
By Riley CallananOctober 10, 2025
Riley Callanan

Riley is a writer and reporter for GZERO. When she isn’t writing about global politics, you can find her making GZERO’s crossword puzzles, conducting research on American politics, or persisting in her lifelong quest to learn French. Riley spends her time outside of work grilling, dancing, and wearing many hats (both literally and figuratively).

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4.6 billion: Last year, European consumers received 4.6 billion parcels shipped from abroad. Some 80% of them came from China. Amid growing protectionism towards Beijing, EU governments are weighing per-parcel customs fees. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration removed “de minimis” customs exemptions on small packages, which had enabled Chinese exporters to circumvent broader US tariffs.

5: As part of its efforts to stop the Chinese purchase of Iranian oil, the Trump Administration has now sanctioned five refineries in Shandong province, a major hub for processing crude imported from the Middle East. The latest round of US sanctions came on Thursday, after Beijing slapped fresh restrictions on the export of critical minerals.

240: In a victory for free speech advocates, a UK court overturned the conviction of a man who was found guilty of a public order offense for burning a Koran and cursing Islam outside the Turkish consulate in London earlier this year. The man had been fined 240 pounds (about $325).

2: The Taliban government of Afghanistan has blamed Pakistan for two explosions in the country late Thursday night, one in the eastern province of Paktika and another in the capital, Kabul. The timing was noteworthy: on Friday, the Taliban announced expanded relations with India, Pakistan’s biggest nemesis.

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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
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. [...]

Hard Numbers: Valentine’s Day Edition

​An employee cuts flowers inside a greenhouse, ahead of Valentine's Day, at Ayura Flowers, in Sopo, Colombia February 3, 2026.

An employee cuts flowers inside a greenhouse, ahead of Valentine's Day, at Ayura Flowers, in Sopo, Colombia February 3, 2026.

REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
65,000: The tons of fresh-cut flowers that Colombia exported between Jan. 15 and Feb. 9 this year, ahead of the Valentine’s Day rush. However, US tariffs and a weaker dollar threaten to undermine the sector. Americans buy 80% of Colombia’s flower exports, but the Trump administration imposed 10% tariffs on Colombia last April. [...]

Hard Numbers: Ukrainian Olympian disqualified for political helmet, Falling cocoa prices hit Ghana, US troops to deploy to Nigeria, and Lufthansa goes on strike

PA via Reuters Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych, with his helmet, which features pictures of people killed in the war with Russia. Heraskevych was ruled out of the Men's Skeleton event by the International Olympic Committee just over an hour before competition began, pictured at the Cortina Sliding Centre, on day six of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Italy. Picture date: Thursday February 12, 2026.

PA via Reuters Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych, with his helmet, which features pictures of people killed in the war with Russia. Heraskevych was ruled out of the Men's Skeleton event by the International Olympic Committee just over an hour before competition began, pictured at the Cortina Sliding Centre, on day six of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Italy. Picture date: Thursday February 12, 2026.

PA Images
20: The number of fallen Ukrainian athletes and coaches depicted on a Ukrainian skeleton racer’s helmet at the Winter Olympics, which prompted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to disqualify him on Thursday. The IOC said the helmet violated Olympic rules, which prohibit political messaging during games. Critics of the disqualification said [...]

Hard Numbers: Mass shooting in Canada, Vance deletes posts about Armenian memorial visit, Argentinian inflation jumps again, Switzerland considers population cap

​US Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial, in Yerevan, Armenia, February 10, 2026.

US Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance hold flowers as they walk towards the eternal flame at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial, in Yerevan, Armenia, February 10, 2026.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Pool
1.5 million: The number of Armenians killed by Ottoman Turkss during World War I, per one estimate, in what historians consider to be a genocide. Why mention this now? US Vice President JD Vance visited a memorial to the mass killing in Yerevan on Tuesday. His office then posted about it on social media, before deleting it. The reversal may have [...]