The wild one
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that Vladimir Putin had gone ‘full tonto’. The word tonto is used in Spanish for ‘stupid’ or ‘foolish’, but one of its suggested origins has a meaning which would perhaps go down better with Putin himself. Tonto was used by Apache Indians as a term for the Western Apaches – mean ‘wild ones’. It went on to become the name of a native-American character in the 1930s radio show The Lone Ranger – later a TV series.
The colour of money
What will sanctions on the Russian economy mean? Potential losses in US dollars:
Largest Russian exports in 2019:
Crude petroleum $123bn
Refined petroleum $66bn
Gas $26bn
Coal $18bn
Wheat $8bn
Largest imports:
Cars $11bn
Medicines $10bn
Vehicle parts $8bn
Broadcasting equipment $7bn
Aircraft $5bn
Largest trading partners:
a) Exports
China $58bn
Netherlands $42bn
Belarus $21bn
Germany $19bn
Italy $17bn
b) Imports
China $47bn
Germany $30bn
Belarus $13bn
US $9bn
Italy $9bn
Source: www.oec.world
Dr Strangelove
Who has the most nuclear warheads, according to estimates by US scientists?
Russia 5,977
US 5,428
China 350
France 290
UK 225
Pakistan 165
India 160
Israel 90
North Korea 20
Of the world’s 12,700 nuclear warheads, more than 9,400 are currently in military stockpiles for use by missiles, aircraft, ships and submarines.
Source: Federation of American Scientists
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