Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Hard Numbers

Hard Numbers: Von der Leyen seeks reelection, Israel GDP plummets, Ukrainian troops captured, Something’s smelly in Cape Town, Moïse’s widow indicted

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech at BusinessEurope conference in Brussels, Belgium March 5, 2020.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech at BusinessEurope conference in Brussels, Belgium March 5, 2020.

REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo
Make us preferred on Google
5: Ursula Von der Leyen has announced she will seek a second term as president of the EU Commission. Over her first five-year term, she has seen the EU through a pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a rise in irregular migration, and record-breaking inflation. The election will take place in June, and so far, there are no serious challengers to her reelection.

20: Since the start of the war in Gaza, Israel's GDP has plummeted by nearly 20%. The biggest economic hits came from the government calling 300,000 reservists away from their jobs to Gaza, relocating 120,000 Israelis away from the border, and restricting Palestinian West Bank workers from working in the country.

1,000: Up to 1,000 Ukrainian troops appear to have been captured during Russia’s takeover of the east Ukrainian city of Avdiivka. The loss is a sign of military supplies dwindling in the absence of new US funding, damaging morale, and Ukraine’s ability to hold the line.

19,000: After searching for days to locate the source of the “unimaginable stench” that engulfed Cape Town, South African officials finally found the culprit: a ship transporting 19,000 live cattle from Brazil to Iraq. The ship is set to depart soon, but the country is seeing an uptick in livestock bound for the Middle East passing through Cape Town as an alternative to the Red Sea route amid Houthi violence there.

51: Martine Moïse is among 51 people indicted for alleged involvement in the July 2021 assassination of her husband, then-Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. Attorneys for Mrs. Moïse, who was wounded in the attack, denied the charges and questioned the legitimacy of the 122-page indictment, which doesn’t provide evidence of her direct involvement.

More For You

US oil companies fill their coffers
Lottie Tellyn
While the average American household has spent $1,100 more on gas and diesel since the start of the Iran war, oil companies have been profiting from higher fuel prices. The same 50 US oil and gas companies made less than $47 billion in profits over the same period in 2025. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump boasted that the US was making a [...]
Afghanistan’s poppy problem
Will Fitzpatrick
As Afghan farmers struggle with high operating costs and low crop prices, more are taking a risk by illegally growing poppy to feed their families. Poppy is a key ingredient in opium – which can then be used to make heroin – and Afghanistan has long been a major producer. Before the Taliban banned cultivation in 2022, the country supplied more [...]
Fuel costs halt three-year cruise around the world
Lottie Tellyn
Ship owner Villa Vie Residences told passengers the cruise would end its journey early in Cambodia because refueling costs have jumped more than 300% since the start of the Iran war. Some passengers have now flown home, while others are still waiting in the port city of Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The ship, Odyssey, was one of the few designed for [...]
One year since the El Fasher massacre
Will Fitzpatrick
Sudan marks a grim anniversary this week. Tens of thousands still remain missing after the RSF’s siege of El Fasher. The RSF also remains in control of the city, and the civil war continues to drag on with seemingly no end in sight. To mark the occasion, the British government has sanctioned 15 Sudanese military leaders from both the Sudanese [...]