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.

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REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

After a weekend of mass protests in Turkey, a court in Ankara has postponed its decision in a highly charged case that could oust Turkey’s main opposition leader – and boost the fortunes of long-time President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.