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Hard Numbers: COVID bursts Olympic bubble, Italian prez re-elected, Yemeni child soldiers, Peruvian ecocide

January 30, 2022
Carlos Santamaria
Hard Numbers: COVID bursts Olympic bubble, Italian prez re-elected, Yemeni child soldiers, Peruvian ecocide
An employee is seen while people undergo PCR tests for COVID-19 upon their arrival at Beijing Capital International Airport ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics. The 24th Winter Olympic Games are scheduled to take place in Beijing on February 4-20, 2022.
Valery Sharifulin/TASS

34: The organizers of the Beijing Winter Olympics reported on Sunday 34 new COVID infections within the "bubble" set up for the Games, where athletes can only compete if they test negative twice in 24 hours. Troubling news for China's zero-COVID policy.

8: After eight rounds of secret voting, Italian lawmakers on Saturday "elected" Sergio Mattarella to serve another seven-year term as president. Mattarella, 80, agreed to postpone his retirement so Mario Draghi could stay on as PM.

2,000: According to the UN, almost 2,000 child soldiers recruited by Houthi rebels died fighting in Yemen's civil war from January 2020 to May 2021. GZERO World recently reported on the Yemeni conflict, the biggest humanitarian crisis you've probably never heard of.

12,000: Peru has barred execs from Spanish energy giant Repsol charged with "ecocide" from leaving the country, while authorities investigate an oil spill that leaked almost 12,000 barrels of crude into the sea. Repsol says the accident was caused by the tsunami triggered by a massive volcanic eruption in Tonga.

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North America is facing an energy emergency, says Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel

Enbridge

Getting access to energy, whether it's renewables, oil and gas, or other sources, is increasingly challenging because of long lead times to get things built in the US and elsewhere, says Greg Ebel, Enbridge's CEO, on the latest "Energized: The Future of Energy" podcast episode. And it's not just problems with access. “There is an energy emergency, if we're not careful, when it comes to price,” says Ebel. “There's definitely an energy emergency when it comes to having a resilient grid, whether it's a pipeline grid, an electric grid. That's something I think people have to take seriously.” Ebel believes that finding "the intersection of rhetoric, policy, and capital" can lead to affordability and profitability for the energy transition. His discussion with host JJ Ramberg and Arjun Murti, founder of the energy transition newsletter Super-Spiked, addresses where North America stands in the global energy transition, the implication of the revised energy policies by President Trump, and the potential consequences of tariffs and trade tension on the energy sector. “Energized: The Future of Energy” is a podcast series produced by GZERO Media's Blue Circle Studios in partnership with Enbridge. Listen to this episode at gzeromedia.com/energized, or on Apple, Spotify,Goodpods, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Jihadist violence surges in Nigeria as terror networks expand

An armored vehicle of Nigerian Security Forces drives by newly built homes, ahead of the community re-opening ceremony which was destroyed by Boko Haram armed militants in 2015, in Ngarannam, Borno State, Nigeria, October 21, 2022.
REUTERS/Christophe Van Der Perre

There has been a rise in attacks in northeastern Nigeria by Boko Haram and a rival group called the Islamic State West Africa Province, spurring concerns that jihadists might be making a strong return in the region.

HARD NUMBERS: Sectarian clashes hit Damascus, Will India attack Pakistan?, Trump eases auto-tariffs, Germany creates coalition government, Malnutrition soars in Gaza, Cuba jails top dissident again

A member of the Syrian security forces gestures next to a vehicle at the entrance of the Druze town of Jaramana, following deadly clashes sparked by a purported recording of a Druze man cursing the Prophet Mohammad, which angered Sunni gunmen southeast of Damascus, Syria, on April 29, 2025.
REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar

​Carney wins power, but showdown with Trump looms over Canada’s future

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with members of the media as he walks into his office after the Liberal Party staged a major political comeback to retain power in parliamentary elections, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on April 29, 2025.

REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier

Prime Minister Mark Carney may have won the battle for power in Canada, but his country’s war of words with US President Donald Trump is only just beginning. And before that all begins, the Liberal leader must form a government.

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