Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Hard Numbers

Hard Numbers: Modi to meet Xi, European bigwigs set to reimpose Iran sanctions, Egypt cracks down on influencers, & More

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ​Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia, on October 23, 2024.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 23, 2024.

China Daily via REUTERS
Make us preferred on Google

7: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping this weekend in Tianjin in what will be his first visit to China in seven years, a sign that tensions between the two massive countries are easing. Border disputes, technological rivalries, and China’s support for Pakistan have aggravated the relationship, but the US’s tariff policies appear to be pushing them closer.


30: The three most powerful European countries – France, Germany, and the United Kingdom – have got the wheels moving on restoring sanctions on Iran that they had lifted as part of the 2015 nuclear deal. The action comes amid concerns that Tehran is expanding its nuclear arsenal again. The sanctions could retake effect within 30 days.

151: Egyptian authorities have been arresting TikTok influencers with millions of followers. One human rights organization has tracked 151 such people being charged in the past five years in connection with their TikTok videos – and the full number could be even higher. The arrests are part of a broader government effort to clamp down on speech they see as antithetical to the official definition of family values.

250: Seven US deportees arrived in Rwanda yesterday as a part of a deal the East African country has struck with the Trump administration to ultimately accept up to 250 deportees. It comes after Kigali made a similar deal with the United Kingdom in 2022.

3: Thailand’s Constitutional Court permanently removed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, dissolving her cabinet and deepening political turmoil in the country. She is the third of her family to be ousted from office, amid continued dominance by Thailand’s royalist-military establishment – despite her party taking electoral power from them in 2023.

More For You

Fires force evacuations in Europe
Farida Dowidar
Massive fires continue to rage through France, Spain, and as of this weekend, Italy. Flames have torn through over 1,000 square miles of land, and authorities are attempting one of the continent’s biggest evacuation efforts since World War II. Spanish and French militaries joined the battle against the fires late last week, but rising temperatures [...]
Ebola death toll continues to rise
Will Fitzpatrick
The Ebola outbreak, caused by a rare strain of the Bundibugyo virus, has ballooned into the fastest outbreak of the virus in history. The World Health Organization said this week that 80% of the confirmed cases are coming from unknown chains of transmission, meaning that the cases are likely emerging in communities where people aren’t receiving [...]
Where is the world’s oldest head of state?
Will Fitzpatrick
Cameroon’s ruling party faces growing criticism over the prolonged absence of the president, the world’s oldest head of state who has been in power since 1982. It’s not the first time Biya’s disappearance has sparked questions: in 2024, he spent 42 days abroad, triggering rumors that he was actually dead. The government responded by banning public [...]
Hard number: Clemency denied
Earlier this month, the Trump administration had suggested it might mark America’s 250th birthday by granting clemency to hundreds of people. Instead, it issued 11 pardons in early July, including to people convicted of environmental crimes and a political donor, while denying clemency to thousands of other applicants. Reports suggest most of the [...]