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

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.
(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.
REUTERS/Selahattin Sevi/Zaman Daily via Cihan News Agency

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.
REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol

Residents in Port-au-Prince’s government-controlled neighborhood of Solino have been sheltering from gang assaults that began late Thursday and intensified over the weekend.

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.
REUTERS/Carlos Barria

It's two weeks until Election Day, and both candidates are scrambling to pull ahead in the seven swing states that could decide the election.

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.
REUTERS/Dustin Chambers

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.
REUTERS/Nathan Howard

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is en route to Israel, where he is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday as part of a renewed push for a Gaza cease-fire.

- YouTube

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?