☰
HomeLiving Beyond BordersGZERO WorldSignalIn 60 SecondsPuppet RegimeGZERO World PodcastContact UsAbout UsCareersPrivacy PolicyTerms

Hard Numbers: US vaccine rollout, Sudan off US terror list, Swiss illegal adoptions, Japan's COVID spike

December 14, 2020
Gabrielle Debinski
Wall art depicting a doctor injecting vaccine into a COVID cell

3 million: About 3 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine were set to reach facilities across the US on Monday, marking the beginning of a massive logistical effort to combat a virus that continues to surge across the country. More than 600 US medical facilities are expected to receive the vaccine by Wednesday.

27: After 27 years of political and economic isolation, Sudan has been removed from the US "state sponsors of terrorism" list, restoring Khartoum's access to global financial markets and international aid. In exchange, Sudan has agreed to normalize ties with Israel and compensate victims of attacks on US embassies in Africa in the 1990s that were carried out by Sudanese backed al-Qaeda militants.

3,000: After appearing to contain the spread of the virus, Japan is now grappling with a new COVID surge, following reports of 3,000 new cases of COVID-19 in 24 hours, a new daily record. After implementing a program — "Go To Travel" — to incentivize domestic travel and stimulate the economy, the Japanese government now says the initiative will be suspended for 14 days from December 28 to try to curb the virus' spread.

950: After a report found that hundreds of Sri Lankan children were trafficked or illegally taken from their birth-families before being adopted by Swiss families in recent decades, the Swiss government will now conduct a broad probe of Switzerland's policies of adoption from developing countries. As many as 950 Sri Lankan children were "stolen" or "sold" before arriving in Switzerland between 1973 and 1998.

More from GZERO Media

How campus protests in the South could foreshadow the 2024 election

Police arrest Emory economics professor Caroline Fohlin during a rally in which Pro-Palestinian protestors set up an encampment at the Emory Campus in Atlanta, on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
Arvin Temkar/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS/ABACAPRESS.COM

Pro-Palestinian student demonstrations and encampments have popped up at dozens of US universities in recent weeks. Columbia University – where protests began – and other elite schools in the Northeast have grabbed plenty of headlines, but where they are facing the harshest pushback – and could ultimately help Republicans win back the White House – is in the South.

Can marijuana save Biden’s reelection campaign?

A cannabis rights activist waves a flag outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 24, 2022.
Alejandro Alvarez/Reuters

The Biden admin. says it’s high time to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, and it wants to knock it from Schedule I to Schedule III — meaning it would no longer be grouped with heroin and LSD.

Palestinian factions talk peace in Beijing

Supporters and armed members of the Fatah movement protest against the Palestinian Hamas government during a rally in Jabalya camp September 22, 2006.
REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Beijing, already a global economic power, wants to cut a larger figure in diplomacy, cultivating an image as a more honest broker than the US, with closer ties to the so-called “Global South.”

The battle over TikTok’s future, explained

TikTok logo on a phone surrounded by the American, Israeli, and Chinese flags.
Jess Frampton

Last Wednesday, as part of the sweeping foreign-aid package that included much-neededfunding for Ukraine’s defense, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill requiring that TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, sell the popular video-sharing app to an American buyer within a year or face a ban in the United States.

Russia and China benefit from US infighting, says David Sanger

Russia And China benefit from US infighting, says David Sanger | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

youtu.be

On GZERO World, Pulitzer prize-winning New York Times correspondent David Sanger argues that China's rise and Russia's aggressive stance signal a new era of major power competition, with both countries fueling instability in the US to distract from their strategic ambitions.

Chaos erupts overnight on US campuses. What’s next for student protesters?

NYPD officers arrive at Columbia University on April 30, 2024, to clear demonstrators from an occupied hall on campus.

John Lamparski/NurPhoto via Reuters

Last night, hundreds of NYPD officers entered Columbia University in riot gear, one night after students occupied a building on campus and 13 days after students pitched an encampment that threw kerosene on a student movement against the war in Gaza.

Israel intent on Rafah invasion despite global backlash

Israel seems intent on Rafah invasion despite global backlash | Ian Bremmer | World In :60

youtu.be

How will the international community respond to an Israeli invasion of Rafah? How would a Trump presidency be different from his first term? Are growing US campus protests a sign of a chaotic election in November? Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.

About UsCareers PressContact Us Privacy PolicyTerms of Use
© 2020 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.