Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Hard Numbers

Hard Numbers: Turkey’s inflation falls, South Korea bans deepfake porn, Moonshine poisons dozens in Iran, Mexican troops kill migrants

A person holds a 100 Turkish lira banknote while on vacation in Turkey.

A person holds a 100 Turkish lira banknote while on vacation in Turkey.

Imago Images
50: The annual inflation rate in Turkey fell below 50% for the first time in a year this week, with prices rising by a mere 49% since last September. The data suggest President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s policy of austerity and high interest rates – currently at 50% – is working to tamp down runaway price growth. This is a big U-turn for Erdogan, who before his re-election last year took the deeply unorthodox view that low interest rates were the way to tackle inflation.

387: South Korea has detained 387 people this year for deepfake crimes – that is, using AI to create sexually explicit videos of real people without their consent. Last week, the country moved to outlaw the possession or even the viewing of such material. Experts say South Korea has the worst problem of any country in the world when it comes to sexually explicit deepfakes. Most of the perpetrators are teenage boys.

26: Tipples of toxic moonshine have killed at least 26 people in northern Iran and left hundreds hospitalized. Alcoholic beverages are generally banned under the strict Islamic revolutionary government that has held power in Iran since 1979, but where there’s a desire, there’s a drink – bootleggers and black-market booze smugglers are known to thrive.

6: At least six international migrants were dead after Mexican soldiers shot at a truck near the Guatemalan border on Wednesday. The Mexican Defense Department said troops had opened fire after hearing shots when the truck approached a checkpoint. The truck was carrying migrants from Egypt, Cuba, India, Pakistan, and at least one other country.

More For You

Venezuelans living in Colombia hold flags as they gather at Plaza de Bolivar to celebrate after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struckVenezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Bogota, Colombia, January 3, 2026.

Venezuelans living in Colombia hold flags as they gather at Plaza de Bolivar to celebrate after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struckVenezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Bogota, Colombia, January 3, 2026.

REUTERS/Andres Galeano
303 billion: Venezuela is home to 303 billion barrels of oil reserves – the largest of any country, accounting for nearly a fifth of all proven reserves in the world. Proven reserves refers to oil that is known to exist and could be extracted with current technology. [...]
​Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy listens to US President Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago club, in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, on December 28, 2025.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy listens to US President Donald Trump, after Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed willingness to help Ukraine "succeed," during a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago club, in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, on December 28, 2025.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
50: Ukrainian President Volodoymyr Zelensky said he wants a 50-year security guarantee from the United States, far longer than the 15-year guarantee that US President Donald Trump reportedly offered. A peace agreement still looks unlikely, for now. What’s more, Russia accused Ukraine of attempting a drone strike on one of President Vladimir [...]
​Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako visit a kindergarten in Tokyo on May 21, 2024.

Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako visit a kindergarten in Tokyo on May 21, 2024.

Kyodo via Reuters Connect
126: Japan’s birth rate is set to hit its lowest level since record-keeping began 126 years ago, according to preliminary data. Demographic experts believe there will be fewer than 670,000 newborns in 2025, falling short of even the government’s most pessimistic targets. [...]
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)'s Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant, one of the world's largest nuclear facilities, stands along the seaside in Kashiwazaki, Niigata prefecture, Japan December 21, 2025.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)'s Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant, one of the world's largest nuclear facilities, stands along the seaside in Kashiwazaki, Niigata prefecture, Japan December 21, 2025.

REUTERS/Issei Kato
54: Japan is reopening the world’s largest nuclear power plant after a regional vote gave the greenlight on Monday. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, located 136 miles outside of Tokyo, had its 54 reactors shuttered following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that spurred the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. The decision reflects Japan’s push to [...]