Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Hard Numbers: EU bans (most) Russian oil, Israel-UAE trade deal, crowdfunded drone for Ukraine, Pokemon zero-COVID protest

Hard Numbers: EU bans (most) Russian oil, Israel-UAE trade deal, crowdfunded drone for Ukraine, Pokemon zero-COVID protest

Models of oil barrels seen in front of a "stop" sign and the EU and Russia flag colors.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
Make us preferred on Google

2/3: After weeks of tense negotiations, EU leaders agreed late Monday to an embargo on two-thirds of the oil the bloc now imports from Russia. But there's a catch: holdout Hungary will likely get an indefinite exemption in order to drop its veto.


96: On Tuesday, Israel and the UAE will sign a landmark free trade agreement, Israel's first with an Arab country. The agreement will eliminate 96% of tariffs between the two countries, which normalized ties less than two years ago under the Abraham Accords.

5 million: Lithuanians chipped in 5 million euros ($5.4 million) in an online crowdfunding drive to buy a Bayraktar TB2 military drone for Ukraine. The Turkish-made UAVs are making a difference on the battlefield for the Ukrainians because they enable high-precision airstrikes.

200: A Pokemon character who always has a headache has become one of China's most in-demand toys because people are using it to vent about the government's zero-COVID policy. Plastic figures of Psyduck, given away in KFC children's meals, are being resold for $200 after going viral on social media.

This comes to you from the Signal newsletter team of GZERO Media. Subscribe for your free daily Signal today.

    More For You

    A damaged section of a highway in Nuwakot, central Nepal

    A damaged section of a highway in Nuwakot, central Nepal, is seen on August 27, 2026, following an outburst of a glacial lake in Tibet.

    Sanjit Pariyar/NurPhoto
    Catastrophic flooding in Nepal tests its young, new leaderA massive wall of mud and rock crashed into a river along Nepal’s Himalayan border with Tibet on Wednesday, triggering catastrophic flooding that swept away bridges, destroyed buildings, and swamped roads. Over 300 people were killed, and over 1,000 remain missing – including hundreds of [...]
    A big settlement for Big Tech
    Will Fitzpatrick
    The Facebook and Instagram owner settled with 47 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories on Wednesday, agreeing to pay financial penalties and make changes to its products over claims that its platforms endangered children. Meta agreed to limit how long teenagers can spend on its apps, allow teens to turn off “autoplay" on videos, and [...]
    Office of the United Nations in Geneva, second headquarters of the UN

    Office of the United Nations in Geneva, second headquarters of the UN in the Palais des Nations, main building with flags of the nations and UN flag at Place des Nations, June 3, 2026, Geneva, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland

    DPA/Picture Alliance
    On August 4, the Trump administration notified Congress of its intent to pay the United Nations $725 million – less than a fifth of the roughly $4 billion the UN says the United States owes in unpaid membership dues. It will also pay $125 million towards UN peacekeeping operations in Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo, although it was [...]
    Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on a vehicle in the north of Raqqa city, Syria February 5, 2017.

    Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on a vehicle in the north of Raqqa city, Syria February 5, 2017.

    REUTERS/Rodi Said
    Syria’s main Kurdish militia disbandsSome of our readers may recall German sociologist Max Weber’s famous definition of a state as having “a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence.” Well, now you can watch that monopoly expanding in real time in Syria as the country’s main Kurdish militia, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has officially [...]