HARD NUMBERS

273 million: Following a search of properties linked to Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor, police have seized jewelry, handbags and cash worth $273 million. The haul included a $1.6 million necklace, 14 tiaras, and 272 Hermes bags.

223: The governments of some oil-producing countries manage their finances more effectively than others. Brent oil sold on Thursday for about $77 per barrel. To balance its federal budget, Russia needs an oil price of $40, Iran needs $68, Saudi Arabia needs $88, and Venezuela needs $223.

20: To all you Saudi women set to get behind the wheel, be careful. Signal reader Noor Shakfeh reports that a significant percentage of Saudi drivers are insane. The total number of traffic accidents across the kingdom as a percentage of the population is more than double the global average. About 20 people per day were killed on Saudi roads in 2017.

-1: In the United States, income for the top 0.1 percent of earners rose 321 percent from 1978 to 2015. The bottom 50 percent saw their income fall by 1 percent.

More from GZERO Media

Disgraced AfD leader Maximilian Krah.
Disgraced AfD leader Maximilian Krah.
DPA via Reuters

Even the far right has its limits. The European Parliament’s “Identity and Democracy” group of populist right-wing parties – including the Alternative for Germany, France’s National Rally, and Italy’s League, among others – expelled all nine AfD members on Thursday.

An adult female Anopheles mosquito bites a human body to begin its blood meal at Tehatta, West Bengal; India on 24/02/2023.
Soumyabrata Roy via Reuters Connect

The coastal country of Djibouti, one of the smallest by population in Africa, has a big problem in a tiny package.

Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced 'No Spoiler' pledge for the upcoming elections at a campaign stop in Brooklyn, NY on May 1, 2024.
Lev Radin/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Last week, President Joe Biden and Donald Trump agreed to debate on CNN on June 27 and on ABC News on Sept 10. Under the rules laid out by the networks, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could qualify to participate.

Lieutenant General Vadim Shamarin, deputy head of the army's general staff, is seen in this image on October 6, 2023.
Reuters

Vadim Shamarin, detained on Thursday, is the fourth high-ranking Russian officer to be jailed for graft over the past month.

Modi clear favorite in India elections, but not close to supermajority | Ian Bremmer | Quick Take

Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is saying he thinks his party will win a supermajority in India's elections. In reality, it's going to be a lot closer. But it does look pretty clear that he is going to win. Because he is one of the most popular leaders in any major democracy in the world today.

Singer Taylor Swift performs at her concert for the international "The Eras Tour" in Tokyo, Japan February 7, 2024.
Kim Kyung-Hoon/REUTERS

The lawsuit has been in the works for nearly two years, but it received a big jolt last year after Taylor Swift fans found themselves unable to buy tickets for the singer’s “Eras” tour because of a botched rollout on Ticketmaster.

Charles Davenport, a leading proponent of the now-discredited field of eugenics, which advanced racist theories that helped to drive major immigration restrictions in 1924.
MBLWHOI Library

As a society, we believe all kinds of seemingly scientific things that later turn out to be wrong. A hundred years ago, a particularly vile set of hypotheses led to the most sweeping immigration restrictions in American history, writes Alex Kliment.

GZERO Media has won five Telly Awards. Puppet Regime led the way with three silver awards in the Comedy category. The jury awarded two GZERO World episodes with two other silver awards in the History and Interview & Talk Show categories.