Hard Numbers: UK economic meltdown, Nigerian pirate convictions, pandemic bling, foreign spy bust in Iran

August 12, 2020

20.4: The UK economy is now officially in a recession for the first time in 11 years, after British economic growth plunged by 20.4 percent quarter-on-quarter from April to June 2020. The quarterly decline — attributed to the economic crisis fueled by the coronavirus pandemic — is double that of the US and second only to Spain's in Europe.

3: A Nigerian court issued the country's first-ever piracy convictions to three men who pleaded guilty to hijacking a tanker in waters off Equatorial Guinea last March. Although they got off with just a fine, this is still a major step for Nigeria, where the global shipping industry has been calling for tougher law enforcement action against rising attacks by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea.

1.5 million: The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed inequality in many ways, but none quite like this. An Israeli jeweler is working on what he claims will be the world's most expensive anti-coronavirus face mask — made of gold encrusted with diamonds (and fitted with N99 filters) for a whopping $1.5 million.

5: Iran has arrested 5 government employees for allegedly spying on behalf of Israel, Germany and the UK. This comes as the Islamic Republic has recently sentenced two of its citizens to ten years in prison for similar espionage crimes, and last month executed a defense ministry staffer for (allegedly) spying for the CIA.

Hard Numbers: Tesla approves $1 trillion Musk package, Kazakhstan wants to join Abraham Accords, Typhoon rips through Vietnam, & More

Elon Musk attends the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022.

Patrick Pleul/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

$1 trillion: Tesla shareholders approved a $1-trillion pay package for owner Elon Musk, a move that is set to make him the world’s first trillionaire – if the company meets certain targets. The pay will come in the form of stocks.

Q+A: Climate tries for a comeback at COP30

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz walk after a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), in Belem, Brazil, on November 7, 2025.

REUTERS/Adriano Machado

When it comes to global warming, the hottest ticket in the world right now is for the COP30 conference, which runs for the next week in Brazil. But with world leaders putting climate lower on the agenda, what can the conference achieve?

What We’re Watching: Orbán seeks Russian oil carveout from Trump, Nigerien uranium to pass through risky area, Israel hits southern Lebanon

US President Donald Trump and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán shake hands as they pose for a photo, at a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, amid a US-brokered prisoner-hostage swap and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on October 13, 2025.

Yoan Valat/Pool via REUTERS

Hard Numbers: UK economic meltdown, Nigerian pirate convictions, pandemic bling, foreign spy bust in Iran

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More from GZERO Media

Author and tech analyst Dan Wang joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World Podcast to talk about the similarities between the US and China, and what Washington can learn from Beijing’s race to build the future.

On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down how the US and China are both betting their futures on massive infrastructure booms, with China building cities and railways while America builds data centers and grid updates for AI. But are they building too much, too fast?

Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt asks whether the world is sliding back into the dangerous era of open nuclear weapons testing, and it all started with a misunderstanding by US President Donald Trump.

Don't let a chummy White House visit fool you. He's on the ropes.

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

$1 trillion: Tesla shareholders approved a $1-trillion pay package for owner Elon Musk, a move that is set to make him the world’s first trillionaire – if the company meets certain targets. The pay will come in the form of stocks.

When it comes to global warming, the hottest ticket in the world right now is for the COP30 conference, which runs for the next week in Brazil. But with world leaders putting climate lower on the agenda, what can the conference achieve?

As the United Nations marks its 80th anniversary, UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan argues that reform must begin with recognizing how much the world has changed since 1945.

Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.