News
Hard Numbers: Marcos’ tax bill, Russian cash in Swiss banks, Cubans sentenced, Mali vs French media
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during a campaign rally in Metro Manila, Philippines.
REUTERS/Lisa Marie David
3.9 billion: Philippine presidential frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Jr. owes a whopping $3.9 billion in unpaid taxes from the estate of his dad, the late dictator. Marcos, of course, says this is fake news, but his rivals hope it'll hurt his chances in the May 9 election.
213 billion: That’s the amount in dollars of Russian wealth stashed away in Switzerland’s banks, according to the Swiss Bankers Association. The revelation is a surprise move from famously neutral Switzerland, which has long prided itself on bank secrecy.
30: A total 28 Cubans have been sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for joining rare anti-government protests last summer. The Castro brothers may be gone, but the regime is cracking down on dissent as hard as ever.
71: Mali says it’ll suspend French state-funded stations RFI radio and France 24 for reporting what it calls “false allegations” by the UN and Human Rights Watch that Malian soldiers had killed 71 civilians since December. Relations between Bamako and Paris have cratered since the 2020 coup in Mali and the subsequent withdrawal of French troops.We’ve put together a cheat sheet of 11 races to watch, based on the Cook Political Report’s ratings: contests that lean Republican, contests that lean Democratic, and toss-ups.
With the US no longer providing financial support for Ukraine, Europe is footing the bill. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski says that gives Europe a right to be included in negotiations for how the war ends.
Daylight Saving Time ends as Americans turn clocks back, renewing debate over the seasonal time change and its origins in World War I.
Russia is testing NATO’s red lines with escalating drone attacks and airspace violations. Can Europe defend Ukraine and itself without help from the US? Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.