Hard Numbers

$143 million: If you think you had a rough Valentine's Day, things could be worse. In 2018, the US Federal Trade Commission recorded over 20,000 romance scams, whereby individuals were lured by phony online profiles and eventually exploited for their money, costing the affected $143 million dollars. That was up from $33 million in losses in 2015.

5,000:The humanitarian goods awaiting entry into Venezuela from Colombia could feed around 5,000 people for ten days and provide medical assistance to 10,000 people for 90 days, according to the American embassy in Colombia.

73: Sectarian divisions run deep in Nigeria. The Muslim and Christian populations are roughly equal, but their political views diverge. Some 73 percent of Muslims approve of the current government, against just 24 percent of Christians.

31: Turkish President Erdogan has pledged to sell cheap food dubbed "people's vegetables" to combat rising food costs that saw prices rise 31 percent in January. Erdogan says he's resolved to put an end to "food terrorism."

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

A military confrontation between India and Pakistan in May nearly pushed the two nuclear-armed countries to the brink of war. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the complicated history of the India-Pakistan conflict, one of the most contentious and bitter rivalries in the world.

A combination picture shows Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with Arkhangelsk Region Governor Alexander Tsybulsky in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region, Russia July 24, 2025.
REUTERS/Leah Millis

In negotiations, the most desperate party rarely gets the best terms. As Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska today to discuss ending the Ukraine War, their diverging timelines may shape what deals emerge – if any.

The Caryn influencer artificial intelligence AI page is seen in this illustration photo taken in Warsaw, Poland on 05 December, 2023.
(Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto)

Since its inception, generative AI such as ChatGPT has run primarily in the cloud: large data centers run by large companies. In that home, AI is reliant on electricity-hungry computers, robust internet connections, and centralized data.