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Hard Numbers: Murder in Manhattan, Prigozhin gets a statue, Namibia elects first female president, EU cracks down on Temu and Shein, Mexico hikes minimum wage

December 04, 2024
Riley Callanan
An image of the individual sought in connection to the investigation of the shooting death of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth's insurance unit, is seen in this still image from a surveillance video taken outside a hotel in the Manhattan borough of New York City
An image of the individual sought in connection to the investigation of the shooting death of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth's insurance unit, is seen in this still image from a surveillance video taken outside a hotel in the Manhattan borough of New York City.
Reuters

371.6 billion: New York City police are looking for the gunman responsible for the targeted shooting and murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, one of the world’s largest companies and the most significant health insurance company in the US. In 2023, UnitedHealth Group reported $371.6 billion in revenue, a 14.6% increase from the previous year.

1: Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has become Namibia’s first female leader, winning 57% of the vote, according to official results. Nandi-Ndaitwah is the current vice president. Her win extends the Swapo party’s 34 years of power. Opposition parties are disputing the results, citing ballot papers shortages and other issues.

16: In 16 feet (five meters) of bronze glory, a monument to the former leader of Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and his right-hand man Dmitru Utki, has been erected in the Central African Republic. The two were killed in a plane crash last year after Prigozhin attempted a coup in Russia. The Wagner Group, renamed Corps Africa, has a huge security footprint throughout Africa. The statue was a thanks from the government for the group’s success in reigning in rebel groups.

4 billion: The European trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is preparing to crack down on Temu and Shein by implementing a new tax on the ultra-cheap e-commerce platforms’ revenues. The tax will be part of an initiative to make them less competitive against European companies facing higher production costs to adhere to EU standards. The Asian online retailers have delivered approximately 4 billion parcels to the EU this year, triple the amount from 2022.

12: Mexico’s government announced a 12% minimum wage hike starting next year to combat poverty. In response to critics, the new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said the policy would not inflame inflation but would support a “humanist” economy. It’s also likely in anticipation of Donald Trump taking issue with low labor costs undercutting American manufacturing.

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