Hard Numbers: The US gets tear gassed, Peru's GDP plunges, global investment dries up, Moldova seeks a billionaire crook

98: Law enforcement officers have used tear gas in at least 98 different US cities in response to the George Floyd protests. That's the most widespread use of the chemical for crowd control in the country since the massive social unrest of the late 1960s and early 1970s, according to a scholar at Johns Hopkins.

1 trillion: The pandemic could cause global foreign direct investment (FDI) to plunge by half over the next 2 years, falling below $1 trillion for the first time since 2005, according toa new report by the Conference on Trade and Development. As global investment flows dry up, developing economies are expected to be the hardest hit.

40: Peru's GDP plunged by more than 40 percent in April, the worst monthly output drop in the country's history. Coronavirus lockdowns have clobbered the mining sector, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of the Peruvian economy. Although Peru was one of the first countries in South America to impose a lockdown, it is now second in cases and deaths only to Brazil, which has a population seven times as large.

1 billion: Moldova has asked the US to hand over Vladimir Plahotniuc, an influential oligarch accused of swindling up to $1 billion — about one-eighth of the country's GDP — from three local banks in 2014-2015. Plahotniuc, a former legislator and one of Moldova's richest men, is also wanted by Russia for alleged involvement in a cybercrime gang.


More from GZERO Media

Marc Fogel, an American schoolteacher detained in Russia since August 2021, gestures on an airplane flying him back to the United States after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff secured his release February 11, 2025.
Adam Boehler/Handout via REUTERS

3.5: Marc Fogel, a 63-year-old American teacher imprisoned in Russia since 2021 for marijuana possession, has been released following negotiations by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Fogel, who taught at the Anglo-American School of Moscow, served 3.5 years of a 14-year sentence for bringing medical marijuana into the country.

President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Jordan's King Abdullah attend a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, on Feb. 11, 2025.
REUTERS/Nathan Howard

King Abdullah II of Jordan visited US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday to discuss Gaza’s post-war future, including Trump’s plan to relocate some 2.1 million Palestinians to other countries in the Middle East.

The first U.S. military aircraft to carry detained migrants to a detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, who Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin called "highly dangerous criminal aliens," is boarded from an unspecified location on Feb. 4, 2025.

DHS/Handout via REUTERS

On Sunday, Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales of the Federal District Court for New Mexico granted a temporary restraining order on jurisdictional grounds barring three Venezuelan men from being moved to the US military base at Guantánamo Bay.

A boy holds a placard depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the "Howdy Modi" event in Houston, Texas in 2019. This week the two men will meet for the first time since Trump's re-election.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The two men have enjoy a famously good rapport, but tough issues are on the agenda.

Plumes of smoke rise during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, on Sept. 26, 2024.
REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Sudan’s Armed Forces may be headed for a milestone after nearly two years of war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s forces appear to be closing in on Khartoum, the country’s capital, advancing to within just two kilometers of the country’s presidential palace.

Walmart is fueling American jobs and strengthening communities by investing in local businesses. Athletic Brewing landed a deal with Walmart in 2021. Since then, co-founders Bill Shufelt and John Walker have hired more than 200 employees and built a150,000-square-foot brewery in Milford, CT. Athletic Brewing is one of many US-based suppliers working with Walmart. By 2030, the retailer is estimated to support the creation of over 750,000 US jobs by investing an additional $350 billion in products made, grown, or assembled in America. Learn more about Walmart’s commitment to US manufacturing.

In this new episode of Tools and Weapons, Microsoft's Vice Chair and President Brad Smith and Dr. Fei-Fei Li reflect on poignant moments from her memoir, "The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI," highlighting the crucial role of keeping humanity at the center of AI development. They also explore how government-funded academic research, driven by curiosity rather than profits, can lead to unexpected and profound discoveries that propel innovation and economic opportunities. Dr. Li is a pioneering AI scientist breaking new ground in computer vision, and she is a Stanford professor who is currently leading the innovative start-up World Labs. While her career is deeply rooted in technical expertise, Dr. Li's journey is driven by an insatiable curiosity. Subscribe and find new episodes monthly, wherever you listen to podcasts.

Courtesy of Midjourney

In the first few weeks of Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, the president dispatched the world’s richest man, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and an army of engineers to hack and slash the federal bureaucracy. But Musk isn’t just seizing control of the executive branch; he’s using artificial intelligence as his weapon of choice.