Hard Numbers: Zelensky goes to London, French protesters at it again, Korea compensates Vietnam victim, Brazilian wildcats seek help, Russian vodka in Africa

February 07, 2023

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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky walks outside No. 10 Downing Street in London, ahead of a bilateral meeting with British PM Rishi Sunak.

PA Images via Reuters Connect

20,000: The UK military will train an additional 20,000 Ukrainian soldiers in 2023, British PM Rishi Sunak announced during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit on Wednesday, his first trip to London since the Russian invasion almost a year ago. The UK is expanding its training program to cover pilots to fly fighter jets, which Zelensky is desperate to get his hands on despite NATO resistance and Sunak's own reservations.

3: It’s an encore of the encore. French trade unions have now led three waves of strikes against proposals to raise the retirement age. Tuesday’s walkouts hit public transport, schools, and oil refineries. The government wants most French people to retire at 64 instead of 62 — why is that so contentious? Read more here.

30 million: For the first time, South Korea will compensate a Vietnamese victim of atrocities carried out by Korean forces that fought alongside the US in Vietnam. Nguyen Thi Thanh, who survived a massacre of civilians, will receive 30 million won (about $24,000.)

20,000: As many as 20,000 illegal “wildcat” miners who have occupied — and allegedly terrorized – an indigenous reservation in northern Brazil are asking the government to help them leave ahead of a planned military operation to evict them.

15: A Russian-owned distillery in the Central African Republic produces packets of Wa Na Wa vodka for 15 cents apiece. This is just a small example of a vast economic, military, and cultural push by the Kremlin to win friends and influence people across sub-Saharan Africa.

Europe divided over Macron’s “reassurance force” for Ukraine

France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference following a summit for the "coalition of the willing" at the Elysee Palace in Paris on March 27, 2025.

LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS

At the third summit of the so-called “coalition of the willing” for Ukraine on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a multinational “reassurance force” to deter Russian aggression once a ceasefire is in place – and to engage if attacked.

How Imamoglu’s arrest is deepening Turkey’s economic woes

A group demonstrators chant slogans together as they hold posters during the protest. The ongoing protests were sparked by the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Sopa Images via Reuters

Last week’s arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu sparked the largest anti-government rallies in a decade and resulted in widespread arrests throughout Turkey. Nearly 1,900 people have been detained since the protests erupted eight days ago.

Chain reaction: Why Trump pulled Stefanik’s UN nomination

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the then-nominee for US ambassador to the UN, during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.

Al Drago/Pool/Sipa USA

An internal GOP poll found a Republican candidate trailing in a special election for a conservative-leaning district in Florida, forcing US President Donald Trump to make a decision aimed at maintaining the Republican Party’s majority in the House.

South Sudan’s vice president arrested, country on brink of civil war

South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar, pictured here addressing the press in 2020.

REUTERS/Samir Bol

Alarm bells are ringing ever more loudly in South Sudan, as Vice President Riek Machar — chief rival to Prime Minister Salva Kiir — was arrested late Wednesday in an operation involving 20 armored vehicles at his compound in Juba. He was placed under house arrest, a move that is fueling fears that the country will soon descend into civil war.

US-Taliban relations thaw amid race for Afghanistan’s mineral riches

Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, pictured here at the anniversary event of the departure of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 28, 2022.

REUTERS/Ali Khara

The Trump administration has dropped multimillion-dollar bounties on senior Afghan officials from the Haqqani network, a militant faction that carried out some of the deadliest attacks on American troops but has now positioned itself as a moderate wing within the Taliban government. But why?

Accelerating the net-zero transition through new collaboration models

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Hard Numbers: Zelensky goes to London, French protesters at it again, Korea compensates Vietnam victim, Brazilian wildcats seek help, Russian vodka in Africa

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Europe divided over Macron’s “reassurance force” for Ukraine

At the third summit of the so-called “coalition of the willing” for Ukraine on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a multinational “reassurance force” to deter Russian aggression once a ceasefire is in place – and to engage if attacked.

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How Imamoglu’s arrest is deepening Turkey’s economic woes

Last week’s arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu sparked the largest anti-government rallies in a decade and resulted in widespread arrests throughout Turkey. Nearly 1,900 people have been detained since the protests erupted eight days ago.

Chain reaction: Why Trump pulled Stefanik’s UN nomination

An internal GOP poll found a Republican candidate trailing in a special election for a conservative-leaning district in Florida, forcing US President Donald Trump to make a decision aimed at maintaining the Republican Party’s majority in the House.

South Sudan’s vice president arrested, country on brink of civil war

GZEROMEDIA

US-Taliban relations thaw amid race for Afghanistan’s mineral riches

The Trump administration has dropped multimillion-dollar bounties on senior Afghan officials from the Haqqani network, a militant faction that carried out some of the deadliest attacks on American troops but has now positioned itself as a moderate wing within the Taliban government. But why?

You vs. the News: GZERO’s Weekly News Quiz, March 28, 2025

Have you stayed atop GZERO’s news coverage this week? Here’s your chance to prove it.

Who’s meddling in Canada’s election?

Canada’s foreign interference watchdog is warning that China, India, and Russia plan on meddling in the country’s federal election. The contest, which launched last weekend, has already been marked by a handful of stories about past covert foreign interventions and threats of new ones.

Accelerating the net-zero transition through new collaboration models

HARD NUMBERS: Measles on the rise, Tariffs drive steel layoffs, US consumer confidence drops, Tesla targeting investigated

Hard Numbers: Zelensky goes to London, French protesters at it again, Korea compensates Vietnam victim, Brazilian wildcats seek help, Russian vodka in Africa

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

More from GZERO Media

At the third summit of the so-called “coalition of the willing” for Ukraine on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a multinational “reassurance force” to deter Russian aggression once a ceasefire is in place – and to engage if attacked.

Last week’s arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu sparked the largest anti-government rallies in a decade and resulted in widespread arrests throughout Turkey. Nearly 1,900 people have been detained since the protests erupted eight days ago.

An internal GOP poll found a Republican candidate trailing in a special election for a conservative-leaning district in Florida, forcing US President Donald Trump to make a decision aimed at maintaining the Republican Party’s majority in the House.

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

The Trump administration has dropped multimillion-dollar bounties on senior Afghan officials from the Haqqani network, a militant faction that carried out some of the deadliest attacks on American troops but has now positioned itself as a moderate wing within the Taliban government. But why?

Have you stayed atop GZERO’s news coverage this week? Here’s your chance to prove it.

Canada’s foreign interference watchdog is warning that China, India, and Russia plan on meddling in the country’s federal election. The contest, which launched last weekend, has already been marked by a handful of stories about past covert foreign interventions and threats of new ones.