Hard Numbers: Duterte in trouble, China's "dark fleet", billions without help, COVID in America

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Reuters

7,987: A prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague has found sufficient evidence to investigate Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity related to his brutal "war on drugs." The country's police reported 7,987 deaths in its drug enforcement operations as of the end of October, but Human Rights Watch believes the true figure is closer to 30,000 since Duterte took office in June 2016 because it adds thousands of unofficial "deaths under investigation" in the same raids.

11: The Chilean navy is keeping a close eye on 11 Chinese fishing boats that have ventured into waters within Chile's exclusive economic zone in the Pacific. The vessels belong to a fleet of more than 400 fishing boats that were previously chased away from Ecuador's biodiversity-rich Galápagos Islands, where Chinese fishers were accused of depleting local squid stocks.

2.7 billion: About 2.7 billion people, a third of the global population, have received no government assistance to deal with the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report by Oxfam. The study reveals huge gaps between rich and poor countries and blames a host of low and middle-income nations for not investing in social safety networks prior to the crisis.

40: COVID-19 is currently killing one American every 40 seconds as the US experiences yet another surge in cases, deaths, and hospitalizations after the Thanksgiving holiday. Despite the rollout of the first vaccines this week, health experts fear the death toll will continue to rise during the winter months.

More from GZERO Media

A woman lights a cigarette placed in a placard depicting Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, during a demonstration, after the Hungarian parliament passed a law that bans LGBTQ+ communities from holding the annual Pride march and allows a broader constraint on freedom of assembly, in Budapest, Hungary, on March 25, 2025.
REUTERS/Marton Monus

Hungary’s capital will proceed with Saturday’s Pride parade celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, despite the rightwing national government’s recent ban on the event.

American President Donald Trump's X Page is seen displayed on a smartphone with a Tiktok logo in the background
Avishek Das / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

In August 1991, a handful of high-ranking Soviet officials launched a military coup to halt what they believed (correctly) was the steady disintegration of the Soviet Union. Their first step was to seize control of the flow of information across the USSR by ordering state television to begin broadcasting a Bolshoi Theatre production ofSwan Lake on a continuous loop until further notice.

Small businesses are more than just corner shops and local services. They’re a driving force of economic growth, making up 90% of all businesses globally. As the global middle class rapidly expands, new opportunities are emerging for entrepreneurs to launch and grow small businesses.

U.S. President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at a NATO leaders summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025.
REUTERS

The two-day NATO summit at the Hague wrapped on Wednesday. The top line? At an event noticeably scripted to heap flattery on Donald Trump, alliance members agreed to the US president’s demand they boost military spending to 5% of GDP over the next decade.