Hard Numbers

833,000: Inflation in Venezuela accelerated to 833,000 percent last month, and the IMF projects that it could hit 1.3 million percent by the year’s end.

50: Vietnam wants 50 percent of all its social media users to be on homegrown messaging, video and news platforms by 2020. It’s part of a wide-ranging cybersecurity plan unveiled last week, meant to give the government more tools to monitor and control social media.

13: Chinese exports to the US rose more than 13 percent last month compared to same period in 2017, despite the ongoing trade dispute between the two countries. The increase is due in part to a fall in the value of China’s currency, the yuan, which increases the global competitiveness of its exports. But it’s also because many US firms have front-loaded new purchases of inputs from China, fearing additional tariffs from the Trump administration in the near future.

1/50: Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. Since 2000, fewer than 100,000 people have died in conflictsworldwide per year. That is about one-sixth the rate observed between 1950 and 2000, and one-fiftieth the rate between 1900 and 1950, the period that included both World Wars.

More from GZERO Media

Palestinians carry an aid box distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, November 4, 2024.
REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to serve as US ambassador to Israel.

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) react during a campaign event at Dorton Arena, in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. November 4, 2024.
REUTERS/Jonathan Drake

Based on his picks so far, immigration will be at the top of Trump’s agenda as he appears poised to follow through with his campaign promises on this issue.

- YouTube

In a GZERO Global Stage discussion at the 7th annual Paris Peace Forum, Teresa Hutson, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, reflected on the anticipated impact of generative AI and deepfakes on global elections. Despite widespread concerns, she noted that deepfakes did not significantly alter electoral outcomes. Instead, Hutson highlighted a more subtle effect: the erosion of public trust in online information, a phenomenon she referred to as the "liar's dividend."

Photogrammetry, AI, and digital preservation combine to create a digital twin of St. Peter’s Basilica with over 400,000 images, allowing visitors to explore it in detail from anywhere in the world. La Basilica di San Pietro — a collaboration between the Vatican, Iconem, and Microsoft — gives everyone full access to Vatican City’s most iconic church via AI-enabled immersive exhibits and an interactive website. Learn more about the project and explore the digital twin here.

Proud Source Water became a Walmart supplier in 2021. Today, their team has grown 50%, and they're the largest employer in Mackay, ID. When local suppliers work with Walmart, their business can grow. In fact, two-thirds of Walmart's product spend is on products made, grown, or assembled in America. By working with Walmart, local businesses like Proud Source Water can reach more customers, hire more people, and help their communities thrive. Explore the positive impact of Walmart's $350 billion investment in US manufacturing.

A general view of the German lower house of parliament, in Berlin, Germany.
REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Under a plan agreed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the opposition, Europe’s largest economy is now headed toward early elections in February.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un attend a state reception in Pyongyang, North Korea, in June, 2024.

Sputnik/Vladimir Smirnov/Pool via REUTERS

North Korea's state-controlled news agency KCNA announced on Tuesday that the country has ratified a strategic partnership agreement that allows Russia to use North Korean troops to help push Ukrainians from Russia’s Kursk region.

Midjourney

Artificial intelligence was not a primary focus of the US presidential campaign for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, and AI-generated disinformation did not disrupt election proceedings like many experts feared. Still, with Republicans looking set for a clean sweep of the White House and both chambers of Congress, the election results have major implications for the future of AI.

AI-generated cyber threats have C-suite leaders on edge.
Fortune via Reuters

The Biden administration is planning to support a controversial United Nations treaty on cybercrime, which will be the first legally binding agreement on cybersecurity.