Hard Numbers: Saudi oil windfall, Castillo's friends, Chinese map raid, Truss ahead

August 14, 2022

Paige Fusco

48.4 billion: Saudi Aramco, the (almost entirely) state-owned Saudi oil company, made a record $48.4 billion in profits in the second quarter of 2022, up 90% year-on-year thanks to high global prices. Fist bump notwithstanding, US President Joe Biden’s call for Crown Prince MBS to pump more oil has so far fallen on deaf ears.

4: In a joint statement, four Latin American governments — Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Mexico — backed the embattled Pedro Castillo to continue as Peru's president. Castillo has already survived two impeachment attempts and is under six separate criminal investigations, including for obstruction of justice, after little over a year in power.

23,500: Chinese customs officials seized 23,500 "problematic" maps intended for export over their drawing of China's official national borders. The maps didn't accurately represent Beijing's vast maritime sovereignty claims in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.

22: UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is leading former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak by 22 percentage points in the race for Conservative Party leader and next British PM, according to a new poll. Truss is widely favored to win the contest as she's more popular with the Tory base than Sunak, who's coming under increasing pressure to drop out.

Israel strikes Syria, Netanyahu goes to court

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu smiles as he prepares to testify in his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv on Dec. 10, 2024.

Menahem Kahana/Pool via Reuters

Israel has launched over 60 airstrikes this week targeting naval bases, ships, ammunition depots, and weapon facilities across Syria, devastating the Syrian Army’s remaining capabilities, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Walmart associates are finding new ways to grow in their careers

Walmart

Walmart provides opportunities for associates to unlock their potential and grow their careers. With a $1 billion investment in career-driven training and development programs, Walmart provides associates with opportunities to grow from hourly roles to salaried management positions. In the past two years, over 300,000 associates have earned promotions into positions with higher pay and greater responsibility. Whether it’s a first job, next step, or second career, there is a path for anyone at Walmart. Learn how Walmart is supporting careers.

How AI can help advance the Sustainable Development Goals in Latin America and the Caribbean

Microsoft

In October 2023, 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean signed the "Declaración de Santiago," a commitment to responsible AI development tailored to the region's cultural context and needs. Microsoft’s Global Perspectives: Responsible AI Fellows and CAF Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean recently released a report exploring how AI can help achieve the UN SDGs. From health and wellness to gender equality and sustainable tourism, AI is unlocking solutions to longstanding challenges. Learn more.

Macron works to end France’s political deadlock

Marine Tondelier, of Les Ecologistes party, talks to journalists next to colleagues as they leave a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Dec. 10. They had met with the French president as part of consultations aimed at appointing a new prime minister.

REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

On Tuesday, France’s President Emmanuel Macron hosted a meeting with the leaders of center, center-right, and center-left political parties at the Elysee Palace in a bid to end France’s political crisis by building support for a new prime minister and a 2025 budget.

Can Trump's tariff plan boost the US economy?

- YouTube

youtu.be

President-elect Donald Trump has made no secret of his love of tariffs, vowing steep import taxes on China, Mexico, Canada, and almost every product that crosses the US border on his first day in office. Will they boost US jobs and manufacturing, as Trump promises, or lead to rising inflation, as many economists warn? On GZERO World, Oren Cass, founder and chief economist at conservative think tank American Compass, joins Ian Bremmer for an in-depth discussion about Trump’s tariff plan and the future of US-China trade policy.

Hard Numbers: Saudi oil windfall, Castillo's friends, Chinese map raid, Truss ahead

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Israel strikes Syria, Netanyahu goes to court

Israel has launched over 60 airstrikes this week targeting naval bases, ships, ammunition depots, and weapon facilities across Syria, devastating the Syrian Army’s remaining capabilities, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Walmart associates are finding new ways to grow in their careers

How AI can help advance the Sustainable Development Goals in Latin America and the Caribbean

Macron works to end France’s political deadlock

On Tuesday, France’s President Emmanuel Macron hosted a meeting with the leaders of center, center-right, and center-left political parties at the Elysee Palace in a bid to end France’s political crisis by building support for a new prime minister and a 2025 budget.

Hard Numbers: Tehran’s pollution closes schools, Social media swing vote, Militia controls Myanmar-Bangladesh border, Signs of Assad-era torture, Trump teases Trudeau

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Can Trump's tariff plan boost the US economy?

Microsoft gets OK to send chips to the UAE

The US government has reportedly permitted Microsoft to export advanced AI chips to one of its own facilities in the United Arab Emirates.

Nvidia forges deals in American Southwest and Southeastern Asia

The world’s leading AI chip designer has plans to expand its footprint both in the United States and around the globe.

Meet David Sacks, the new White House AI czar

Not only is he a close friend of Elon Musk, who is leading a government efficiency committee for Trump, but Sacks has spent the last few years as one of the loudest voices supporting Trump from the upper echelons of Silicon Valley.

Hard Numbers: Musk’s new money, A Marvell to behold, Enter the Chatbot Arena, Meta’s millions, OpenAI’s Sora

Hard Numbers: Saudi oil windfall, Castillo's friends, Chinese map raid, Truss ahead

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More from GZERO Media

Israel has launched over 60 airstrikes this week targeting naval bases, ships, ammunition depots, and weapon facilities across Syria, devastating the Syrian Army’s remaining capabilities, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

On Tuesday, France’s President Emmanuel Macron hosted a meeting with the leaders of center, center-right, and center-left political parties at the Elysee Palace in a bid to end France’s political crisis by building support for a new prime minister and a 2025 budget.

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

The US government has reportedly permitted Microsoft to export advanced AI chips to one of its own facilities in the United Arab Emirates.

The world’s leading AI chip designer has plans to expand its footprint both in the United States and around the globe.

Not only is he a close friend of Elon Musk, who is leading a government efficiency committee for Trump, but Sacks has spent the last few years as one of the loudest voices supporting Trump from the upper echelons of Silicon Valley.