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Hard Numbers: Tongan volcano, Ukrainian cyberattack, Zemmour fined over hate speech, NK-China border reopens

January 17, 2022
Carlos Santamaria
Hard Numbers: Tongan volcano, Ukrainian cyberattack, Zemmour fined over hate speech, NK-China border reopens
The eruption of an underwater volcano off Tonga, which triggered a tsunami warning for several South Pacific island nations, is seen in an image from the NOAA GOES-West satellite taken at 05:00 GMT January 15, 2022.
CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS

100,000: We're still waiting for news from the Pacific nation of Tonga, two days after a massive underwater volcanic explosion triggered a tsunami that was felt thousands of miles away and sent a plume of ash 100,000 feet into the sky. With communications mostly cut off, Australia and New Zealand have sent airplanes to assess the damage.

70: Ukraine blamed Russia for a cyberattack that knocked offline some 70 Ukrainian government websites on Friday amid heightened tensions with Moscow. The next day, Microsoft said that it had detected on the same sites a very dangerous form of malware waiting to be turned by an unknown actor.

10,000: Far-right French presidential candidate Éric Zemmour was fined 10,000 euros ($11,412) after being convicted of hate speech when referring to unaccompanied migrant children. Zemmour is currently polling fourth in voter intention for the April vote.

2: North Korea and China reopened their land border after two years. Kim Jong Un is eager to resume COVID-halted trade by land with China, which buys 90 percent of North Korea’s exports and is its only source of many basic supplies.

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