Hard Numbers: EU hungry for oligarch assets, Lebanese pound hits rock-bottom, Taliban sell coal, Lumumba's tooth

Hard Numbers: EU hungry for oligarch assets, Lebanese pound hits rock-bottom, Taliban sell coal, Lumumba's tooth
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

9.9 billion: The EU wants to eliminate legal obstacles so member states can confiscate up to 9.9 billion euros ($10.62 billion) in frozen assets from Russian oligarchs to fund Ukraine's reconstruction. But making sanctions-busting a criminal offense across the entire bloc won't be easy, and some member states fret about violating due process and property rights.

35,600: The black-market value of the Lebanese pound plummeted Thursday to the all-time low of 35,600 against the US dollar, a 36% drop in just two weeks. The currency has lost more than 90% of its value in less than three years.

500,000: Afghanistan has been quietly boosting coal exports to neighbor Pakistan, up to 500,000 metric tons per month, taking advantage of high prices stemming from Indonesia's temporary export ban and the war in Ukraine. The cash-strapped Taliban are banking on Afghanistan's vast mineral resources to keep the lights on in the face of a dire economic and humanitarian crisis.

61: Belgium has agreed to return to the Democratic Republic of Congo the last remaining "relic" of independence hero Patrice Lumumba 61 years after his assassination. The object is one of Lumumba's teeth, taken as a trophy by a Belgian mercenary who witnessed his execution by Katangan rebels.


This comes to you from the Signal newsletter team of GZERO Media. Subscribe for your free daily Signal today.

More from GZERO Media

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers the State of the European Union address to the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France, September 10, 2025.
REUTERS/Yves Herman

While the European Union has never been more critical, it is also facing a trifecta of divisive challenges.

In this episode of “Local to global: The power of small business,” host JJ Ramberg sits down with Chapin Flynn, Senior Vice President of Transit and Urban Mobility at Mastercard, and Mark Langmead, Director of Revenue & Compass Operations at TransLink in Vancouver, to explore how cities are making transit easier, faster, and more seamless for riders–an approach known as frictionless urban mobility.

United States President Donald J Trump awaits the arrival Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, on November 18, 2025. Featuring: Donald J Trump Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 18 Nov 2025
Credit: Anna Rose Layden/POOL via CNP
A photo taken on September 14, 2024, shows seafood at Jimiya fishing port in Qingdao, China, on September 14, 2024. On September 20, 2024, China and Japan reach a consensus on the issue of the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and China states that it will gradually resume the import of Japanese aquatic products that meet the regulations.
(Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto)