Hard Numbers: Berlin expels protesters, French judge gets protection, US disaster aid slows to a trickle, Tesla slumps, Haiti’s anarchy continues, Adams finds his independence, Hungary to leave ICC
German police forcibly dispersed a pro-Palestinian protest in Berlin on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025.
4: Berlin’s immigration authorities have ordered three EU citizens and one American to leave Germany by April 21 or face deportation following accusations that the four had committed antisemitic acts in support of terrorism. In a joint statement, the four accused Berlin authorities of trying to “silence pro-Palestinian voices.” Officials say the expulsion was connected to protests at Berlin’s Free University during which “a violent, masked group of individuals” caused “significant property damage.”
90: The head of a three-judge panel that barred far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running in France’s 2027 presidential election this week has been placed under police protection following death threats and the online publication of her home address. A poll published Monday found that more than half of French respondents say Le Pen got a fair trial, while nearly 90% of her National Rally supporters say the court treated her more harshly than other politicians.
2 million: In 2023, Washington sent 225 US Agency for International Development workers and $185 million to Turkey and Syria for relief and recovery efforts following a devastating earthquake. President Donald Trump’s adviser Elon Musk is currently finalizing plans to shut down the USAID, and the US State Department announced on Monday that a team of three people and a donation of $2 million to humanitarian organizations working in Myanmar are headed for the site of a 7.7-magnitude quake last Friday.
13: Tesla, the electric vehicle maker led by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that its global sales for the first three months of 2025 fell 13% from the same period last year. Musk’s controversial role in Donald Trump’s White House and his public advocacy for far-right parties and politicians in Europe likely contributed to the slump.
500: Haiti’s violent chaos continues. On Tuesday, gang members stormed the town of Mirebalais, 30 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital, and freed about 500 prison inmates. The UN says that gang violence killed more than 5,600 people in Haiti last year.
3,750: New York City Mayor Eric Adams has confirmed that he will seek reelection as an independent rather than a Democrat. He must collect 3,750 signatures by May 27 to make it onto the November ballot. It’s been quite a week for Adams: A judge dismissed the criminal corruption case against the mayor on Wednesday, and his party switch was announced Thursday morning.
3: Hungary is set to become the third country to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, following the path of Burundi and the Philippines. Viktor Orban’s government announced the move on Thursday amid a visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an arrest warrant from the ICC over alleged war crimes.