HARD NUMBERS: New cholera epidemic emerges, House impeaches Mayorkas, US inflation disappoints, Global military spending soars, Oil spill “blackens” Caribbean coastline

​A man administers the cholera vaccine to a child at a temporary cholera treatment center set up to deal with the latest deadly cholera outbreak in Lusaka, Zambia.
A man administers the cholera vaccine to a child at a temporary cholera treatment center set up to deal with the latest deadly cholera outbreak in Lusaka, Zambia.
REUTERS/Namukolo Siyumbwa

4,000: The worst outbreak of cholera in a decade has already claimed at least 4,000 lives in half a dozen countries of central and southern Africa. Experts say the resurgence of the waterborne illness is due to wetter weather, vaccine shortages, and underinvestment in water and sewage infrastructure.

214: The US House of Representatives voted late Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, 214-213, on charges that he has “willfully” refused to enforce border laws and breached public trust. This marks an escalation of Republican efforts to attack President Joe Biden and Democrats over immigration.

3.1: In the latest round of the monthly “did inflation ease more/less than we thought?” sweepstakes, the US came up short, posting annual consumer price growth of 3.1% in January, two-tenths of a point higher than expected. The data suggests the US Fed will chill a bit longer before cutting key interest rates, which currently sit between 5.25% and 5.5% as a result of a two-year-long campaign to tame inflation.

9: A nine-mile stretch of coastline in Trinidad and Tobago is “blackened,” the government says, following an oil spill by an unknown vessel last week. The origin and type of the boat, which ran aground and flipped over off the southwest coast of Tobago, is still unknown, and the situation is “not under control.” The disaster comes as the Caribbean nation prepares for its world-famous carnival, a major tourist draw.

2.2 trillion: There’s hardly a business like the arming business, it seems — global defense spending jumped 9% last year to a record high of $2.2 trillion, according to a new report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. The Ukraine war and NATO’s increased defense spending are a big part of the story, but with China growing more assertive and the Middle East embroiled in fresh conflict, the report warns that we are entering a global “era of insecurity.”

More from GZERO Media

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to attend the G7 Leaders' Summit at the Rocky Mountain resort town of Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 15, 2025.
REUTERS/Chris Helgren/Pool

The G7 is no longer setting the table; it’s struggling to hold the cutlery. Once a pillar of the post-war world order, the group today is splitbetween the US and the rest, casting about for common ground.

- YouTube

Tensions in the Middle East escalate as Israel launches a surprise military strike against Iran, prompting international concern and speculation about broader conflict. In his latest Quick Take, Ian Bremmer calls Israel’s strike on Iran “a huge success for the Israelis” and a significant blow to Iran’s regional influence.

Iranian policemen monitor an area near a residential complex that is damaged in Israeli attacks in Tehran, Iran, on June 13, 2025.
Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto

Israel bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities Thursday night, causing “significant damage” at the country’s main enrichment plant, killing leading Iranian military figures and nuclear scientists, and sparking fears that the Middle East is on the verge of a wider war.

A tank on display at a park in Washington, D.C., on June 12, 2025, two days ahead of a military parade commemorating the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary and coinciding with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday.

Kyodo via Reuters Connect

The official reason for this weekend’s military parade in Washington DC is to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the US Army – but the occasion also just happens to fall on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.