Hard Numbers

1,500: A “refugee caravan” of 1,500 migrants from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador — many of them unaccompanied children — has begun a month-long journey to the United States, where they intend to seek political asylum. The group plans to challenge the more stringent asylum rules put in place by the Trump administration.

1,127: In 2017, 1,127 people were able to defect from North to South Korea. That’s about one third the annual number who survived the crossing before Kim Jong-un came to power in 2011.

200 billion: Estimates of Vladimir Putin’s personal wealth range from $50 billion to $200 billion. Good job, if you can get it.

70: Some 70 percent of guns recovered at crime scenes in Mexico and traced since 2009 were purchased in the US and trafficked across the border. #BuildTheWall

90:The Continental Free Trade Area, the new blockbuster trade deal signed by 44 African leaders, will eliminate tariffs on 90 percent of goods and liberalize services. Nigeria and South Africa, the continent’s two largest economies, are among 11 African governments that haven’t yet signed. Negotiations continue.

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​Signage for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group (WBG) 2024 Annual Meetings is seen at the IMF secondary headquarters, in Washington, D.C., on Monday, October 21, 2024.
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(Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA)

The last time the World Bank and International Monetary Fund held their landmark conference in April, speakers placed great emphasis on each institution’s role in helping the world’s poorest people get a leg up.

Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen is pictured at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania in this December 28, 2004 file photo.
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An exiled Turkish cleric who founded a global Islamic movement and was an adversary rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan died Sunday in the United States.

A woman and three children flee their home from gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti October 20, 2024.
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Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk speaks as Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. president Donald Trump looks on during a rally at the site of the July assassination attempt against Trump, in Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 5, 2024.
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Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris reacts as she speaks during a campaign event in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., October 19, 2024.
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Since leaping onto the main stage in late July, Harris has been dogged by questions about her foreign policy experience and potential priorities.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards a plane, en route to the Middle East, as he departs Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., October 21, 2024.
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Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: We're facing a global leadership void, says Ian Bremmer. The US and China have not been able to end the wars between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East. Where will that take us geopolitically?