April 28, 2021
300: As Lebanon grinds through an ongoing economic crisis that has crippled the value of its currency, the cost of an Iftar meal — the meal at which Muslims break their Ramadan fast each day — has increased 300 percent over the past two years. That's in part because the cost of imported agricultural goods like seeds and pesticides has forced farmers to cut back production or raise prices.
27.5 million: To encourage young people to get vaccinated, the Republican governor of the US state of West Virginia wants to give everyone who gets the jab a $100 savings bond. The total cost of the plan is so low, just $27.5 million, that the governor says critics can "kiss my butt."
4: A US Navy vessel in the Persian Gulf recently fired warning shots at an Iranian boat for the first time in four years, the Pentagon says. Tense face-offs between American ships and Iranian speedboats operated by Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have increased recently, right as the two sides are exploring ways to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.
50,000: Opponents of same-sex marriage in Switzerland reached the 50,000 signatures needed to force another referendum on the issue, even though the Swiss parliament has already allowed the practice and 80 percent of Swiss support it.
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PA via Reuters Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych, with his helmet, which features pictures of people killed in the war with Russia. Heraskevych was ruled out of the Men's Skeleton event by the International Olympic Committee just over an hour before competition began, pictured at the Cortina Sliding Centre, on day six of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Italy. Picture date: Thursday February 12, 2026.
20: The number of fallen Ukrainian athletes and coaches depicted on a Ukrainian skeleton racer’s helmet at the Winter Olympics, which prompted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to disqualify him on Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends his annual end-of-year press conference and phone-in in Moscow, Russia December 19, 2025.
Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS
The Russian government has begun blocking the popular messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram in a sweeping crackdown aimed at forcing Russians to use a state-backed alternative called MAX, which critics say would enable censorship and surveillance.
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