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Hard Numbers: Turkish corruption probe, Shenzhen tech lockdown, costly Russian donation, giant pumpkin ride
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO Summit in Madrid.
Jakub Porzycki via Reuters Connect
5: Five Turkish opposition parties filed legal complaints to demand the state investigate allegations of corruption against allies of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling party, which the judiciary has long been thought to be soft on. The claims were first made in May 2021 by Sedat Peker, a fugitive mafia boss-turned-whistleblower who went viral with his unhinged YouTube clips detailing dirt on the president and his buddies.
11: China shut down the world's largest wholesale electronics market in Shenzhen after the southern megacity reported 11 COVID cases on Sunday. The closure of the tech hub will put even more pressure on already tight global supply chains due to Beijing's zero-COVID policy.
16: Russian journalist Andrei Zayakin was charged with illegally funding an extremist group after donating $16 to the Foundation for Fighting Corruption, a banned NGO started by jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Zayakin is the first person to be publicly charged for donating to the organization and faces eight years behind bars if convicted.
38: An American man from Nebraska celebrated his 60th birthday by floating for 38 miles along the Missouri River on a hollowed-out giant pumpkin. The trip is now being verified for the Guinness World Record for the world's longest on the orange vegetable.When eager minds need a weekend pass to an unforgettable museum, we are there. Learn more.
America used to be the anchor of the global humanitarian system, David Miliband tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, but after the US pullback of foreign aid, the world is confronting the consequences of what happens when that anchor is pulled up.
In the Pacific Northwest, acoustic monitoring is helping detect endangered southern resident orcas and alert nearby vessels in real time. By combining underwater sensors, edge computing, and AI, Microsoft and conservation partners are helping ships reduce noise and collision risks in critical feeding areas. The initiative offers a glimpse of how emerging technologies can support biodiversity conservation while balancing environmental and commercial interests. Read the full story here.
In his latest Quick Take, Ian Bremmer asks whether the United States should be pushing countries to choose between American and Chinese technology as the AI race accelerates.