​Hard Numbers: Korean reparations rejected, Russians at US border, Saudi Arabia stuffs Turkey with cash, Brazil’s new Tinder nightmare

South Korean activists attend a protest denouncing a plan to resolve a dispute over compensating people forced to work under Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday.
South Korean activists attend a protest denouncing a plan to resolve a dispute over compensating people forced to work under Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday.
REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

0: Although Tokyo and Seoul reached a landmark agreement for a South Korean fund to compensate victims of Japan’s 20th-century colonization of the Korean peninsula, zero of the remaining survivors of Japan’s forced labor camps will accept the money.

5,000: There are now as many as 5,000 Russian asylum-seekers at the southern border of the US, according to the immigration-focused website Border Report. Most are wealthy Russians who have fled Vladimir Putin’s mandatory conscription.

5 billion: Saudi Arabia will give $5 billion to Turkey in a bid to stabilize Turkish foreign exchange reserves, which have taken a huge hit since last month’s earthquakes in the southeast. Bilateral ties have come a long way since the two countries clashed over Turkey’s support for Islamist movements in the region and Riyadh’s 2018 assassination of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. But Turkey needs the cash, and Saudi has lots and lots and lots of it.

90: Attention @tindernightmares! Over the past year, some 90% of all kidnappings in the Brazilian megalopolis of São Paulo occurred after the victim set up a meeting on a dating app. In recent years, mobile payment technologies have also abetted the rise of Brazil’s “flash kidnappings” in which victims are held for short periods and small ransoms.


More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

As the US economy continues to defy expectations, Eurasia Group Managing Director of Global Macro Robert Kahn says the key question is whether a slowdown has been avoided or merely delayed. “The headline here is the impressive resilience of the US, maybe also the global economy over the last six months,” Kahn tells GZERO Media’s Tony Maciulis on the sidelines of the 2025 World Bank–IMF Annual Meetings.

- YouTube

Yes, this is real. Puppet Regime Ministry of Merchandise is now OPEN. Head to www.shop.puppetregime.tv to show everyone on the bloc that you support The Regime VERY STRONGLY. #PUPPETREGIME

Former UK prime minister Tony Blair and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi attend the world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on October 13, 2025.

Egyptian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

At first glance, it might seem odd that Tony Blair is leading the Western proposal for the future of Gaza.

- YouTube

As a landmark Gaza ceasefire reshapes Middle East stability, what does it mean for Egypt’s growth outlook? Egypt’s Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat tells GZERO’s Tony Maciulis the deal is “a monumental moment” and durable.

- YouTube

As the global economy faces uncertainty, Axel van Trotsenburg, Senior Managing Director of the World Bank, warns that “a wait-and-see attitude” is holding back investment and growth, especially in developing countries. Speaking with GZERO Media’s Tony Maciulis on the sidelines of the 2025 World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings, van Trotsenburg highlights human capital and infrastructure as key priorities, with a growing urgency to bridge both the digital and AI divides.