Hard Numbers: Haiti's looted aid, Cuba’s gay marriage breakthrough, Kazakhstan’s red carpet for Russians, India’s “anti-national” crackdown

A demonstrator holds a sign reading "No more Core Group (a group of international diplomats), no more BINUH (the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti)" during a protest against the government in Port-au-Prince.
A demonstrator holds a sign reading "No more Core Group (a group of international diplomats), no more BINUH (the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti)" during a protest against the government in Port-au-Prince.
REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol

6 million: Amid recent protests over Haiti’s soaring food and fuel costs, looters have swiped at least $6 million worth of UN humanitarian aid, including thousands of tons of food. The UN now says the Caribbean nation is on the brink of “humanitarian catastrophe.”

66.9: In Cuba, 66.9% of voters approved a new, government-backed “Family Code” that legalizes same-sex marriage and adoption. Reuters notes that the 33% “no” vote was uncharacteristically large by the standards of Cuba’s one-party state. The referendum was the first since the widespread legalization of mobile internet access.

100,000: Nearly 100,000 Russians have fled to Kazakhstan since Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization. Kazakhstan says it is ready to welcome them and “ensure their safety.” Ties between the two former-Soviet giants have been strained since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

57: Police in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, arrested 57 people linked to the Popular Front of India, an Islamic organization that the government accuses of violence and “anti-national activities.” In recent weeks, the Indian government has cracked down on the PFI in a number of states. Critics of the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP say it discriminates against Muslims.

This article comes to you from the Signal newsletter team of GZERO Media. Sign up today.

More from GZERO Media

A woman votes during the parliamentary elections, in Pristina, Kosovo, February 9, 2025. R
REUTERS/Florion Goga

The Republic of Kosovo held parliamentary elections on Sunday, with exit polls showing Prime Minister Albin Kurti's party, Vetëvendosje (Self-Determination Movement) leading with 42% of the vote – a drop from the 50% Kurti got in 2021, meaning that Vetëvendosje may need to form a coalition to stay in power.

Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami, hostages held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack, are released by Hamas militants as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel on Feb. 8, 2025.

REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

Hamas released three Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners. But the return of Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami, and Or Levy sparked outrage in Israel due to their severely malnourished state.

President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington, on Feb. 5, 2025.
REUTERS/Kent Nishimura

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday halting all “non-essential” assistance to South Africa. He also ordered American agencies to assist white South Africans fleeing racial discrimination and resettle them as refugees in the US.

Spanish Vox party leader Santiago Abascal presided over the European Patriots Summit in Madrid over the weekend. The event brought together numerous conservative leaders from across Europe under the banner of "Make Europe Great Again."

Photo by David Cruz Sanz/Alter Photos/Sipa USA via Reuters

Leaders of the far-right Patriots for Europe bloc addressed 2,000 supporters in Madrid on Saturday under the slogan “Make Europe Great Again.”

Listen: President Trump has already made sweeping changes to US public health policy—from RFK Jr.’s nomination to lead the health department to withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization. On the GZERO World Podcast, New York Times science and global health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli joins Ian Bremmer for an in-depth look at health policy in the Trump administration, and what it could mean, not just for the US, but for the rest of the world.

Elon Musk walks on Capitol Hill on the day of a meeting with Senate Republican Leader-elect John Thune (R-SD), in Washington, U.S. December 5, 2024.

REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

As the deadline for federal employees to resign in exchange for eight months of pay closed in on Thursday, a federal judge in Massachusetts stepped in and temporarily blocked it. Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. ordered that a hearing be held on Monday afternoon. In response, the Office of Personnel Management – the agency Elon Musk has harnessed to carry out the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to downsize the government – has postponed the deadline until Monday.