Hard Numbers: Ecuador’s prison emergency, Sarkozy convicted again, India tells rich to foot climate bill, Ethiopia vs UN

September 30, 2021

Soldier stand guard outside a prison where inmates were killed during a riot that the government described as a concerted action by criminal organisations, in Guayaquil.

REUTERS/Vicente Gaibor del Pino

116: Ecuador's government has declared a nationwide state of emergency after 116 inmates were killed — six of them beheaded — in a gang war inside a jail in the port city of Guayaquil. Prison violence is a massive problem in Ecuador, a transit country for Colombian and Peruvian cocaine where Mexican drug cartels are becoming more influential.

1: A French court found former president Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of violating campaign finance laws during his failed 2012 re-election bid and sentenced him to one year in jail. Sarkozy, the first French president to actually do time, is already serving a one-year sentence at home for corruption.

100 billion: India wants wealthy nations to cough up at least $100 billion to help developing countries fight climate change ahead of next month's COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. The Indians have long demanded that rich nations pay more because their economies benefited from using dirty fuel systems for many decades.

7: Ethiopia has kicked out seven UN officials for "meddling" in the country's affairs, after they warned about lack of access to the war-ravaged Tigray region. UN agencies have repeatedly said that closing off Tigray will cause famine, but the Ethiopian government claims that aid workers are siding with the Tigrayan rebels.

Now the real work begins

Democratic nominee for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani getsures on stage after winning the 2025 New York City mayoral race, at an election night rally in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York, USA, on November 4, 2025.

REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City yesterday following a social-media-first campaign that was laser-focused on affordability. His real challenge, though, has only just begun.

Hard Numbers: Ecuador’s prison emergency, Sarkozy convicted again, India tells rich to foot climate bill, Ethiopia vs UN

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Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City yesterday following a social-media-first campaign that was laser-focused on affordability. His real challenge, though, has only just begun.

Hard Numbers: Ecuador’s prison emergency, Sarkozy convicted again, India tells rich to foot climate bill, Ethiopia vs UN

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

More from GZERO Media

These days, US farmers aren’t just worried about the weather jeopardizing their harvests. They’re keeping a close eye on geopolitical storms as well.

As AI begins to understand us better than we understand ourselves, who will decide how it shapes our world? Ian Bremmer cautions, "The winner or the winners are going to determine in large part what society looks like, what the motivating ideologies are."

The United States is #winning. But while the short-term picture looks strong, the United States is systematically trading long-term strategic advantages for more immediate tactical gains, with the accumulating costs hiding in plain sight.

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

Let no one drain your peace #PUPPETREGIME

Beneath steady wage growth, the labor market is shifting. New data from Bank of America points to weaker job growth and widening income gaps that could reshape recovery trends. Subscribe to Bank of America Institute for the full view of the US job market.

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City yesterday following a social-media-first campaign that was laser-focused on affordability. His real challenge, though, has only just begun.