Hard Numbers: Climate reparations, Ukraine grain deal extension, crypto mess, MH17 verdict

Climate activists take part in a protest during COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Climate activists take part in a protest during COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

134: That's how many developing countries are threatening to walk out of the COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Skeikh, Egypt, if wealthy nations don't agree to establish a "loss and damage" fund to compensate them for climate change. It's unlikely there will be a deal before the gathering ends on Friday.

4: A UN- and Turkey-brokered deal for Russia to allow shipments of grain from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, which was due to expire Saturday, has been extended for four months. Kyiv wanted a full year, but this is still good news to help mitigate a global food crisis aggravated by Russia's war in Ukraine.

40: The new CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX says he's never seen anything worse in more than 40 years of restructuring distressed firms, including Enron. The shambolic collapse of FTX is already having international ripples, with Singapore writing down $275 million in funds.

3: Three men — two Russians and a Ukrainian — were sentenced in absentia to life in prison Thursday by a Dutch court for shooting down the MH17 flight over Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 passengers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the verdict, but the Kremlin rejected it, calling it "scandalous."

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