Hard Numbers: Brazil's mounting death toll, Americans disapprove of Trump's pandemic performance, China's bid to go to space
50,000: Brazil now holds the dubious distinction of being just the second country in the world — after the US — to register more than 50,000 deaths from COVID-19. The country has also surpassed one million confirmed cases.
10 billion: Somebody alert the Space Force! In order to reduce its reliance on US navigation satellites, China has spent $10 billion on its own satellite navigation network, known as Bei-Dou-3. Beijing put the last of the system's 35 satellites in orbit this week, capping a major leap forward in China's bid to become a premier space power.
37: As confirmed coronavirus cases continue to surge in the US, a new poll finds that just 37 percent of Americans approve of President Trump's handling of the pandemic, the lowest mark on record. In recent days Trump has drawn fire for suggesting that less COVID-19 testing would yield rosier numbers.
4: Only four percent of Italians in a recent survey said the EU had been their country's most important ally during the horrific early phases of the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, 25 percent said the same of China. Overall respondents in nine EU countries took a dim view of Brussels' handling of the pandemic, but said more European cooperation was needed.