Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Hard Numbers

Hard Numbers: The Netherlands nixes asylum-seekers, Sudan strife escalates, South Koreans agitate, Beijing condemns US-Taiwan arms deal, Bulgarians vote – again

Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom party, part of the hard-right coalition government.

Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom party, part of the hard-right coalition government.

Alessandro Bremec/ipa-agency.n/IPA/Sipa USA via Reuters

51,000: The Dutch nationalist government on Friday approved tough new migration measures in Parliament, including enhanced border checks, an end to mandatory municipal settlement of asylum-seekers, and limits on family reunification. The policy comes after 51,000 asylum applications were made in the past 12 months and reflects shifts in Italy, Sweden, and other EU nations towards tighter migration controls.


124: An attack by the Rapid Support Forces on Friday killed at least 124 people in Al-Sareeha village in Sudan, with reports of over 200 injured and 150 detained. The attack marked the latest escalation in the conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, which has displaced millions and triggered a severe humanitarian crisis.

230,000: South Korean Christians held a mass protest in Seoul on Sunday to oppose a court ruling granting same-sex partners spousal health benefits, fearing it paves the way for legalizing same-sex marriage. The protest disrupted traffic as organizers claimed over a million participants, while police estimated the crowd at 230,000.

2 billion: China on Saturday condemned a $2 billion US arms sale to Taiwan, the 17th of the Biden administration to the island, vowing “countermeasures” to defend its sovereignty. Beijing warns that the deal, which includes advanced air defense systems, “seriously damages China-US relations, and endangers peace and stability” in the strait.

7: Exit polls show Boyko Borisov's GERB party leading Bulgaria’s seventh election in three years, but forming a coalition could be difficult: The last election in June produced a hung Parliament. This time, the pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party underperformed, while the Reformist PP-DB exceeded expectations. Final results are expected on Monday.

More For You

​Igmel Tamayo carries charcoal to sell on the side of a road for use as cooking fuel in homes, on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba, on January 12, 2026.

Igmel Tamayo carries charcoal to sell on the side of a road for use as cooking fuel in homes, after US President Donald Trump vowed to stop Venezuelan oil and money from reaching the island as Cubans brace for worsening fuel shortages amid regular power outages, on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba, on January 12, 2026.

REUTERS/Norlys Perez
15-20: The number of days before Cuba’s oil reserves run dry, according to the data firm Kpler, should it continue at current levels of demand and domestic production. This comes as Mexico, the largest supplier of crude to Cuba, has halted some oil exports to the island. Cuba’s economy is already deteriorating, but with Venezuela's oil supplies [...]
​Fighters of the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, attend a rally marking the 35th anniversary of the group's foundation in Gaza City on December 14, 2022.

Fighters of the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, attend a rally marking the 35th anniversary of the group's foundation in Gaza City on December 14, 2022.

Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto
10,000: The number of Hamas officers that the militant group reportedly wants to incorporate into the US-backed Palestinian administration for Gaza, in the form of a police force. This move could act as a workaround for Hamas’ disarmament, which is a key condition of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire. Israel will likely oppose this move, [...]
Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing (R) arrives at a polling station in the Myanmar capital of Naypyitaw on Dec. 28, 2025.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing (R) arrives at a polling station in the Myanmar capital of Naypyitaw on Dec. 28, 2025, for the country's first general election since a 2021 coup.

Kyodo
57: The number of seats – out of 61 – that Myanmar’s military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party has won in the lower house following Sunday’s election, according to a party official. The election, the first since the army seized power in 2021, was widely viewed as a sham, with many townships refusing to vote. [...]
​Two Iranian motorcyclists stop in front of the burned East Tehran General Directorate of Tax Affairs headquarters in Tehran, Iran, on January 21, 2026.

Two Iranian motorcyclists stop in front of the burned East Tehran General Directorate of Tax Affairs headquarters in Tehran, Iran, on January 21, 2026.

Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto
30,000: The estimated death toll in Iran during the protests at the start of the year, per local health officials, underscoring the scale of the Islamic Republic’s crackdown on its own citizens. This number would far eclipse initial estimates from the independent Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has so far confirmed 5,459 deaths. The [...]