Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Hard Numbers

HARD NUMBERS: Russia unleashes deadliest airstrike of the year, Hong Kong opposition ends itself, Sudanese refugee camp attacked, U.S. economic outlook darkens, McIlroy finally snags Masters

A view shows the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine April 13, 2025.

A view shows the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine April 13, 2025.

REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova
Make us preferred on Google

34: Russian missiles killed at least 34 people in the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Sunday. It was the deadliest Russian strike in Ukraine so far this year, and it came just two days after US special envoy Steven Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for more than four hours to explore possible settlements to the conflict. “There’s a point at which you have to put up or shut up,” US President Donald Trump said of the talks.

0: And then there were zero. Hong Kong’s last standing opposition party took steps this weekend to formally disband itself. The Democratic Party, which predates the 1997 handover of Hong Kong from the UK to China rule, has been all-but suffocated under a harsh new security law that Beijing imposed in 2024.


100: At least 100 civilians, including nearly two dozen children, were killed in an assault on a refugee camp in Sudan. The attack has been blamed on the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group that has been at war with the Sudanese army for two years. The conflict has displaced nearly 13 million people, per the United Nations, with the besieged camps sheltering 700,000 refugees.

0.8: In the wake of Trump’s massive escalation of tariffs earlier this month, leading economists now expect the U.S. economy to grow just 0.8% in 2025, down from an earlier estimate of 2%. The survey, conducted by the Wall Street Journal, also showed that expectations of a recession have more than doubled since January, to 45%.

14: Fourteen years after a historic meltdown on the back nine cost him the Masters, Rory McIlroy finally claimed the green jacket last night in an extraordinary and exhilarating finish, fending off a late surge from Justin Rose. McIlroy looked like he might have blown it again, chucking away a five-shot lead at Amen Corner, before recovering with an astonishing stroke at the 15th hole and a wonderful approach in the playoff. The Northern Irishman’s victory at Augusta National completes a career grand slam.

More For You

Hunger strike in India intensifies
Farida Dowidar
Sonam Wangchuk has long campaigned for the reform of India’s corrupt and inefficient system of entrance exams for higher education. That issue is also central to the recently formed Cockroach Janata Party protest movement, led by people decades younger than Wangchuk, who is 59-years-old. In India, millions of students compete vigorously for a [...]
China’s economic engine cools
Will Fitzpatrick
China’s economy posted one of its slowest quarterly growth rates on record. The slowdown was hardly a surprise: earlier this year, Chinese officials set the country’s lowest growth target since 1991. The weak growth is not coming from a decrease in manufacturing. In fact, exports rose 27% year over year in June. Instead, it’s coming from sluggish [...]
No more father-son time for the Bolsonaros
Will Fitzpatrick
The ban comes after a court ruled that Flavio helped his father sidestep his court-ordered social media ban by publishing a letter on his behalf. The message, which highlighted Jair Bolsonaro’s support for Flávio’s presidential bid, was also viewed as premature campaigning, as Brazil’s election season cannot officially begin until Aug. 16. The ban [...]
Europe has one last spree of Russian gas
Will Fitzpatrick
Months before an EU ban on Russian gas imports goes into effect, European countries are filling up their proverbial cups. The massive purchase of liquified natural gas, mostly from France, Belgium and Spain, highlights just how reliant Europe has been on Russian energy, even as it has sought to wean itself off since the beginning of Moscow’s [...]