Hard Numbers: Cocaine bandits, Mpox hits the DRC, Ukraine in contention, Trump Bibles, Lieberman's passing

March 27, 2024

A member of Colombia's Navy checks cocaine seized in the Gulf of Morrosquillo

REUTERS

6,600: Following a high-speed boat chase in the Caribbean Sea on Tuesday, Colombia’s navy seized about 6,600 pounds of cocaine from drug smugglers.

400: The Democratic Republic of Congo is now seeing record levels of Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox. Some 400 suspect cases are reported each week, mainly in children, and this strain of the virus kills about 10% of those infected, a remarkably high level.

2-1: Ukraine’s national soccer team has qualified for this summer’s European Championships with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Iceland, sending tens of thousands of Ukrainians inside the Wroclaw Stadium in Poland into rapturous celebration.

59.99: Presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee Donald Trump is partnering with country music star Lee Greenwood to sell “God Bless the U.S.A. Bibles.” The price? $59.99, not including shipping and handling fees. “Religion and Christianity are the biggest things missing from this country, and I truly believe that we need to bring them back,” said Trump at the product launch.

1 of 1:Joseph Lieberman, the former US senator for Connecticut, died on Wednesday at the age of 82 due to complications from a fall. Lieberman was nearly the first Jewish vice president in US history. He was a centrist and foreign policy hawk known for his dogged individualism, which could be controversial at times. Lieberman was the first Jewish candidate on a major party’s presidential ticket in the disputed 2000 election and unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004. In 2008, Lieberman enraged many Democrats when he endorsed Republican Sen. John McCain for the presidency over then-Sen. Barack Obama, but was also applauded by liberals over the years for his strong support for abortion rights and gay rights. “In an era of political carbon copies, Joe Lieberman was a singularity. One of one," Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said in a tweet.

Can the IMF change to help more women?

Matthew Kendrick

When a country hits rock bottom financially, the International Monetary Fund is meant to step in with funds to stabilize the economy without damaging its society — or the gender gap. But studies show that these programs often push women out of work at a disproportionate rate to men as the economy contracts. Matthew Kendrick reports from the World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings on a push to build more equitable programs.

North Korean troops move into Russia’s border area with Ukraine

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un attend a farewell ceremony before Putin's departure at an airport in Pyongyang, North Korea June 19, 2024.

Gavriil Grigorov/Reuters

Kyiv says that roughly 12,000 North Korean troops are in Russia, a far greater number than reported by the US, though it remains unclear precisely how many have entered what Ukraine referred to as the “combat zone.”

Will Japan’s LDP lose its grip on power?

October 23, 2024, Kamagaya, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister and leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Shigeru Ishiba reacts to his supporters after he delivered a campaign speech for his party candidate Hisashi Matsumoto for the general election at Kamagaya in Chiba prefecture, suburban Tokyo on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.

(photo by Yoshio Tsunoda/AFLO)

As Japan heads to the polls this Sunday, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s decision to call an early election just weeks after taking office is turning out to be a high-stakes gamble.

Global economy at risk if Middle East conflict expands, says World Bank's Ayhan Kose

- YouTube

youtu.be

While the global economy shows signs of growth and decreasing inflation, the near future involves risks, including the escalation in the Middle East impacting oil prices, strained China-US relations, and an increasingly challenging tariff and trade environment, said Ayhan Kose, World Bank Deputy Chief Economist. He discussed the geopolitical tensions influencing the global economy with GZERO's Tony Maciulis at the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington, DC, in a GZERO Global Stage interview.

Hard Numbers: Cocaine bandits, Mpox hits the DRC, Ukraine in contention, Trump Bibles, Lieberman's passing

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More from GZERO Media

This week World Bank announced a bold initiative to bridge the gender divide by creating more economic opportunity, broadening female leadership, and reducing gender-based violence in the next 5 years as 2030 approaches.

There are times when we need more context, and there are times when we do not. How do we tell the difference?

Kyiv says that roughly 12,000 North Korean troops are in Russia, a far greater number than reported by the US, though it remains unclear precisely how many have entered what Ukraine referred to as the “combat zone.”

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

Georgian Dream insists the country is still on track to join the EU, as critics accuse the party of pushing Georgia in an increasingly anti-Western, authoritarian direction.

In 2001, a Goldman Sachs economist coined an acronym for the four largest and most promising “emerging market” economies: Brazil, Russia, India, and China became known as the “BRIC” countries.

With the latest polls still showing Donald Trump and Kamala Harris neck and neck in the swing states, both candidates are heading to Texas, a far less competitive state, with hopes of reaching key voter groups nationwide.

As Japan heads to the polls this Sunday, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s decision to call an early election just weeks after taking office is turning out to be a high-stakes gamble.