Hard Numbers: Turkey/Syria quake death toll, Modi ally’s biz empire crumbles, West Bank violence, AMLO believes in elves

Destroyed buildings in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake, in Antakya, Turkey February 19, 2023..
Destroyed buildings in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake, in Antakya, Turkey February 19, 2023.
REUTERS/Nir Elias

50,000: The death toll of the Feb. 6 Turkey/Syria earthquakes topped 50,000 on Sunday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is feeling the heat over allegedly corrupt practices that led to so many collapsed buildings on his watch ahead of the May 14 election.

145 billion: The industrial empire of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani lost $145 billion — 60% of its value — in the month following allegations of fraud by Hindenburg Research, a US-based short seller, which Adani virulently denies. The Adani Group has faced years of corruption allegations, but it remains to be seen if the longtime ally of PM Narendra Modi is too big to fail.

2/1: Violence ensued in the West Bank on Sunday after a Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli settlers. That sparked a retaliatory rampage by settlers on the village of Hawara that killed at least one Palestinian, bringing the West Bank to boiling point.

7 million: Did someone leave the wardrobe open?! Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known as AMLO, tweeted a photo of what he claims is an “aluxe”, a mischievous woodland spirit from Mayan folklore requiring gifts to appease it. The tweet had 7 million views as of Monday morning and is not out of character for AMLO, who has long revered indigenous beliefs and culture.

More from GZERO Media

In a first-of-its-kind deal, Nvidia and AMD will hand 15% of revenues from AI chip sales to China over to the US government in exchange for export licenses.

Riley Callanan

In a first-of-its-kind deal, Nvidia and AMD will hand 15% of revenues from AI chip sales to China over to the US government in exchange for export licenses.

Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, gives a statement after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sacked Finance Minister Christian Lindner, before a session of the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, in Berlin, Germany, November 7, 2024.
Reuters/Liesa Johannssen

Friedrich Merz’s first 100 days as chancellor of Germany have marked an assertive shift in the country’s role on the European and global stage.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with Judiciary Officials in Tehran, Iran, on July 16, 2025.
Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

Twelve days of war earlier this summer demonstrated that Iran has little capacity to defend its cities or its nuclear facilities from Israeli and US strikes. But it still likely retains some uranium supplies, so it has options.