Hard Numbers: Malaysia detains Rohingya, US polling on Floyd killing, COVID cases hit 7 million

June 09, 2020

270: Malaysia has detained some 270 Rohingya Muslims who fled persecution in Myanmar in April. They had languished in rickety boats off the Malaysian coast ever since, unable to dock because of coronavirus-restrictions. Now that they have been taken into custody, their future in the country is uncertain.

75: For the first time in the United Nations' 75-year history, world leaders will not meet in in person for the annual General Assembly in New York this fall, because of pandemic-related travel restrictions and social distancing requirements. In the coming weeks, the UN will map out how heads of state can participate in the gathering virtually.

74: Some 74 percent of Americans believe the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis reflects a "broader problem" in American society, according to a recent ABC-Ipsos poll. Conversely, 26 percent of respondents saw Floyd's death as an isolated incident.

7 million: The world reached a grim milestone this week when the number of confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 7 million. This comes as the World Health Organization issued a stern warning Sunday that daily COVID-19 cases had reached new highs, suggesting that the pandemic is worsening globally.

Budget clash puts South African government on brink of collapse

African National Congress (ANC) members of parliament react after South African lawmakers passed the budget's fiscal framework in Cape Town, South Africa, April 2, 2025.

REUTERS/Esa Alexander

The second largest party in South Africa’s coalition, the business-friendly Democratic Alliance, launched a legal challenge on Thursday to block a 0.5% VAT increase in the country’s new budget, raising concerns that the fragile government could collapse.

Hard Numbers: Malaysia detains Rohingya, US polling on Floyd killing, COVID cases hit 7 million

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More from GZERO Media

Stocks have plummeted, layoffs have begun, and confusion has metastasized about the bizarre method the United States used to calculate its tariff formula. But Donald Trump says it’s “going very well."

The second largest party in South Africa’s coalition, the business-friendly Democratic Alliance, launched a legal challenge on Thursday to block a 0.5% VAT increase in the country’s new budget, raising concerns that the fragile government could collapse.

Remember the TikTok ban? The new deadline President Donald Trump set for the app to find an American buyer or be banned from US app stores, midnight Saturday, is rapidly approaching.

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Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

Overnight, the US moved to having the world’s highest tariffs by a long margin. Here is Ian Bremmer's Quick Take on the near and long-term fallout

Have you stayed atop GZERO’s news coverage this week? Here's your chance to prove it.

Someone needs to take National Security Advisor Michael Waltz’s phone out of his hand.

Donald Trump’s much-anticipated “liberation day” tariff announcement on Wednesday is the biggest disruption to global trade in decades, so the political, diplomatic, and economic impacts will take time to become clear.

Donald Trump is reportedly telling people that he and Elon Musk have agreed that Musk’s work in the US government will soon be done. Politico’s story broke just as Musk seems to have discovered the electoral limits of his charm.