Hard Numbers: Colombia ceasefire, Barbie ban, Libyan crude concerns, Holland vs. Smartphones

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro
6: The Colombian government and the ELN, the last remaining major guerrilla group in the country, said Thursday they would halt hostilities ahead of a historic six-month ceasefire meant to take effect in August. Colombia’s embattled President Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla who was elected last year as the country’s first left-wing leader, has pledged to secure “Total Peace” in a country still wracked by violence despite the 2016 peace deal signed with the FARC, the largest guerrilla group of all.

9: Ken, do something! Barbie has managed to wade into the choppy waters of geopolitics, as Vietnam has banned the new Warner Bros’s film because a scene shows a map reflecting China’s side of a territorial dispute with Vietnam. At issue is the infamous “nine-dash line,” which Beijing uses on maps of the South China Sea and which takes in islands and waters that at least half a dozen other countries dispute. International arbitration deemed the nine-dasher illegitimate in 2016 — but Beijing is unmoved.

1.2 million: Libya’s output of 1.2 million barrels of oil per day is in peril amid escalating disputes over revenue-sharing between the divided country’s rival power centers. Most production is located in the East, controlled by General Khalifa Haftar, a warlord backed by Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Russia. But revenues are clocked and distributed by the UN-recognized government in Tripoli. Haftar says a fair agreement has to be reached within two months or he’ll launch a fresh offensive.

0: Under a new Dutch government rule that takes effect next year, schools will allow zero smartphones, tablets, or similar devices in classrooms. “Mobile phones are intertwined with our lives,” said the education ministry, “[but] they do not belong in the classroom.” Fair enough, Dutch students probably shouldn’t be reading GZERO Daily during class anyway. See you at lunchtime!

More from GZERO Media

Graphic of exit poll data
Luisa Vieira

The votes are still being tallied following Donald Trump’s win in the US presidential election, but looking at preliminary voter data gives clues to what happened in the American electorate last week.

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.