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
Make us preferred on Google

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

Milei malaise?
Will Fitzpatrick
Three years into his presidency, Argentina’s eccentric libertarian leader is facing growing political pressure. Milei took office promising to rein in Argentina’s runaway inflation, and he has largely delivered. But that success has come at a cost. Sweeping cuts to social spending and a struggling labor market are increasingly weighing on [...]
Mississippi blue(s)
Will Fitzpatrick
The last time the Deep South state started a Black senator was in 1875, during “Reconstruction,” a roughly twenty-year period when the US federal government sought to support the integration and equality of Southern Black people after the Civil War. Mississippi actually sent two Black men to the Senate during that time: Hiram Revels and Blanche [...]
Court overturns Trinidad and Tobago's anti-gay laws
Natalie Johnson
That list got shorter on Tuesday after a UK court overturned laws criminalizing homosexuality in Trinidad and Tobago, ending an 11-year-long legal battle. The Caribbean is home to several Commonwealth countries – mostly former British colonies that still recognize the British monarch as their head of state – that still have laws around [...]
Americans want Trump to prioritize their wallets
Will Fitzpatrick
A new YouGov poll, conducted on behalf of the Institute for Global Affairs, a nonprofit geopolitics education organization founded by Ian Bremmer, reveals how much affordability was top of mind for voters during last week’s midterm elections. Most voters said they’d rather prioritize their wallets over military goals. It’s a timely reminder as [...]