Hard Numbers: X marks the spot in Brazil again, China stocks plummet on stimulus worries, Cameroon insists on presidential signs of life, Hungary embraces the olive

​FILE PHOTO: The X account of Elon Musk in seen blocked on a mobile screen in this illustration after Brazil's telecommunications regulator suspended access to Elon Musk's X social network in the country to comply with an order from a judge who has been locked in a months-long feud with the billionaire investor, Sao Paulo, Brazil taken August 31, 2024.
FILE PHOTO: The X account of Elon Musk in seen blocked on a mobile screen in this illustration after Brazil's telecommunications regulator suspended access to Elon Musk's X social network in the country to comply with an order from a judge who has been locked in a months-long feud with the billionaire investor, Sao Paulo, Brazil taken August 31, 2024.
REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo

5: X was officially reinstated in Brazil, ending a five week ban of the social media platform, which had failed to comply with court orders to remove accounts that were spreading disinformation. X owner Elon Musk had initially defied the orders and refused to pay related fines, styling himself as a defender of free speech. In the end, Musk and X caved as the ban had caused Brazil’s 40 million X users to start using other sites instead.

7: Mainland China’s benchmark stock index plummeted 7% on Tuesday, in the largest single day drop since February 2020, a time when COVID was first spreading rapidly in the country. Analysts suggested the drop, which snapped a 10-day streak of gains, reflected fading optimism that the Chinese government’s current stimulus policies will be enough to perk up a sluggish economy.

31: He is not dead. Repeat. Not dead. That’s the official word from the Cameroonian government about 91-year old president, Paul Biya, who has not been seen in public in 32 days. Biya, who has held power since 1982, was last spotted leaving a China-Africa summit in Beijing on Sept. 8. Since then, he has missed a number of high profile events, including the entire UN General Assembly in New York.

12.35: Hungary is known for the delicacy of its goulash, the harmonies of Franz Liszt, and the architectural beauties of Budapest. But olive oil? Too chilly right? Not any more. Hungarian farmers are increasingly planting olive trees as climate change shifts the temperate zones of Europe northward and inflicts more frequent droughts on traditional Mediterranean olive habitats like Spain. A mere tenth of a liter of the stuff from Hungary now fetches $12.35 in neighboring Slovenia.

More from GZERO Media

US Capitol at nighttime
Photo by Heidi Kaden on Unsplash

Amid the chaos of tariffs, trade wars, stock market slumps, and global conflicts, the US government could be heading toward a shutdown on Friday. The Senate is struggling to reach an agreement on a funding bill that would keep the government going after the House passed a continuing resolution, a stopgap measure, to do just that – at least in the short run. Eight Democrats are needed for the bill to pass.

A protester stands near the US Department of Education headquarters after the agency said it would lay off nearly half its staff.
REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo

The US Department of Education, which Donald Trump has sought to dismantle, is laying off roughly half of its 4,100-strong workforce. But attorneys general in Democratic states are pushing back.

President Donald Trump holds an executive order about tariffs increase, flanked by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 13, 2025.
REUTERS/File Photo

US tariffs and the resulting counter-tariffs threaten to disrupt supply chains, drive profits down for manufacturers, lead to job losses, and raise prices for consumers on both sides of the border.

From left, British Foreign Minister David Lammy, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock pose for a photo during the G7 foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Charlevoix, Quebec, on March 13, 2025.
SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS

Ahead of the 50th G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, this summer, foreign ministers from member countries are meeting in Charlevoix, Quebec, this week. Canada, as the current president of the G7, is hosting the confab, which may be a tad … awkward.

Canadian Liberal Party leader Mark Carney faces Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre in this composite, with Donald Trump hovering in the background.
Jess Frampton

Liberal Party leader Mark Carney’s previous, purported liabilities – being a staid, low-key, globalist technocrat who’s never been elected – may be seen as strengths as he prepares to call a snap election in the coming days. David Moscrop explains why.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin addresses commanders as he visits a control center of the Russian armed forces in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Kursk region, Russia, on March 12, 2025.
Russian Pool/Reuters TV via Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise battlefield visit on Wednesday, telling troops in the Kursk region of Russia to “completely destroy” the Ukrainian forces that have occupied parts of the area for nearly seven months.

Protesters hold Democratic Republic of Congo flags during a march to voice concerns about issues regarding the recent conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), outside the parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, February 7, 2025.
REUTERS/Esa Alexander

On Tuesday, Angola offered to mediate an end to the conflict between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group.