35: Remember last year's big semiconductor shortage? It's over. High inflation, China's zero-COVID policy, and Russia's war in Ukraine have slashed global demand for chips, with the benchmark Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropping 35% in 2022.
60: The Democratic Republic of Congo will expand its main border post with Zambia to ease congestion. Trucks loaded with precious minerals like copper are often stuck in lines up to 60 km (37.3 miles) long.
Those without access to today’s digital world are losing out on opportunities for education and prosperity, not to mention economic stability. A partnership between Mastercard and KaiOS, a technology platform dedicated to advancing digital and financial inclusion, aims to close that gap and pave the way to a global economy that empowers everyone. Read more about the challenges small businesses face in emerging markets and how the partnership can bring the promise of the digital economy to millions of entrepreneurs around the world.
As Election Day approaches, US cybersecurity chief Jen Easterly warns that while America’s voting systems are more secure than ever, the period between voting and certification remains vulnerable, with foreign adversaries poised to exploit any internal divisions during this critical time. Watch her interview with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
Listen: On the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Jen Easterly, the top US official behind America’s election security infrastructure. As Director of Homeland Security's Center for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), she is on the frontlines of safeguarding the voting process. In their conversation, Easterly talks about the massive improvements to the nation’s voting systems and emphasizes “with great confidence that election infrastructure has never been more secure.” Yet what worries Easterly is the potential for election meddling and disinformation after voting ends and before certification is complete.
As Americans head to the polls, election officials face the dual challenge of safeguarding both the voting process and public confidence in it, with foreign adversaries and domestic actors ready to exploit any lingering doubts about election integrity. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer discusses the roots of Americans’ mistrust in the security of their votes, even though election systems are indeed secure.
Listen: The world is grappling with intense political and humanitarian challenges—raging wars, surging nationalism, and a warming climate, to name a few. Yet, we also stand at the brink of some of the most transformative opportunities in human history. So how do we make sense of the future and what’s next? Ian Bremmer breaks it all down in a special edition of the GZERO World Podcast: The 2024 State of the World.
A new analysis by Cyabra, in partnership with GZERO, found that roughly 20% of the accounts interacting with election-related tweets from Musk were, in fact, bots.
What did Game 4 of the World Series and so-called election interference have in common? Senior Writer Alex Kliment weighs in.
Eight out of Mexico’s 11 Supreme Court justices announced late Wednesday that they would resign their positions in opposition to a judicial overhaul that requires them to stand for election, while at the same time Congress passed new legislation that will prohibit legal challenges to constitutional changes.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says North Korean soldiers are expected to deploy in combat against Ukrainians in the coming days, while American Deputy UN Ambassador Robert Wood said 8,000 of Pyongyang’s soldiers are in the Kursk region, which Ukraine has partially occupied.