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41,000: Caste-based crime in India has increased by 25 percent since 2010, reaching 41,000 incidents in 2016, the latest year for which data is available. One factor contributing to the rise in violence is a backlash against lower castes who are increasingly advocating for more rights.


440: For the low price of $440, a Japanese firm will quit your job for you. The startup, Exit, hands in job resignations for people too embarrassed to face their bosses in person. While Japan's labor markets might be getting a bit more flexible, its work culture remains strict and traditional.

98: US soy bean exports to China have fallen by an astounding 98 percent since the start of the year, as Beijing targeted the industry in retaliation to the Trump administration's tariffs on Chinese goods. It doesn't look like a resolution between the US and China is in sight, after the two sides traded barbs at the APEC summit over the weekend.

60: Since sweeping to power in March, support for Italy's two major populist parties has risen from 50 percent to 60 percent. Remarkably, the far-right League, which was once a Northern secessionist party, has seen its support grow to 20 percent in the South. Even though party chief Matteo Salvini was once caught on a video comparing southerners to dogs, he's successfully rebranded the party as a defender of all Italians against immigrants and the EU.

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​A Boeing 737 Max 8 with Afghans on board lands at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) on December 16, 2025.

A Boeing 737 Max 8 with Afghans on board lands at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) on December 16, 2025. 160 Afghans have come to Berlin on a charter flight organized by the German government.

Fabian Sommer/dpa via Reuters Connect
500: By the end of the year, Germany plans to accept over 500 Afghan refugees who assisted German troops on the ground in Afghanistan, or face threats from the Taliban. Although these refugees have already been approved for admission, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition government delayed their entry into the country. [...]
​President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S. Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025.

President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S. Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025.

Doug Mills/Pool via REUTERS
Less than one day after US President Donald Trump declared a military blockade of sanctioned oil tankers from Venezuela, he addressed the nation during a rare primetime speech – but didn’t talk about Venezuela. Instead, he touted the economy, arguing that it’s doing better than many Americans believe it is.“Boy, are we making progress,” Trump said [...]
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Reuters
Pakistani-Afghan rift gives India an openingIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi isn’t necessarily known as the greatest friend of Muslim people, yet his own government is now seeking to build bridges with Afghanistan’s Islamist leaders, the Taliban. New Delhi is seeking to capitalize on the rift between Pakistan and Afghanistan, two former allies, [...]
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and businessman Jared Kushner, along with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and otherEuropean leaders, pose for a group photo at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, December 15, 2025.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and businessman Jared Kushner, along with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and otherEuropean leaders, pose for a group photo at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, December 15, 2025.

Kay Nietfeld/Pool via REUTERS
The European Union just pulled off something that, a year ago, seemed politically impossible: it froze $247 billion in Russian central bank assets indefinitely, stripping the Kremlin of one of its most reliable pressure points. No more six-month renewal cycles. No more Hungarian vetoes. The money stays locked up, full stop.Turns out that was the [...]