Trending Now
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
Then-Republican vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney points out something to then-Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush during a campaign stop in Casper, Wyoming, on July 26, 2000.
Hard Numbers: Dick Cheney dies, China sentences Myanmar scammers to death, Jamaica town left in ruins, OpenAI splashes cash on computing power
84: Former US Vice President Dick Cheney, a powerful and controversial leader who had outsized influence as President George W. Bush’s second-in-command, died on Monday at 84. Cheney was best known for pushing the 2003 invasion of Iraq, using flawed intelligence to justify the decision. His critics would later call him a war criminal. A stalwart of Wyoming and Republican politics, Cheney came to reject his own party after the rise of Donald Trump.
90%: As Jamaica continues to assess the damage from Hurricane Melissa, one town has found itself hit especially hard. In Black River, a town on the south of the Caribbean island, 90% of the homes have been destroyed. The power is still out in the town, phones are down, and food supplies are running out.
5: A Chinese court handed down death sentences to five members of a major Myanmar mafia as part of a larger crackdown on scamming in Southeast Asia. The convicts had run schemes worth billions of dollars involving human trafficking, fraud, sexual slavery and murder of Chinese citizens. Myanmar had extradited the scam leaders to Beijing early last year.
$38 billion: As part of its tireless, and expensive, race to to secure computing power, OpenAI signed a $38-billion deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) that will allow the loss-making AI firm to use AWS infrastructure to run its products. OpenAI has now committed to spending an eye-watering $1.5 trillion on computing resources.
Members of the military police special unit detain suspected drug dealers during a police operation against drug trafficking at the favela do Penha, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on October 28, 2025.
Hard Numbers: Massive drug raid in Brazil, Five Republicans vote to scrap Brazil tariffs, Wildlife charity eyes duke’s estate, & More
64: A massive police raid targeting a drug-trafficking organization in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, yesterday has left at least 64 people dead, including four police officers. The state governor said it was the “biggest operation” in Rio’s history. More than 40 bodies were seen strewn on the streets of the Penha favela on Wednesday.
5: Five Republican senators crossed party lines to vote to end the Trump administration’s 50% tariff on Brazil. The resolution is unlikely to pass the House, but the vote signaled growing resistance in the Republican ranks to President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff and trade agenda.
750,000: Cuba evacuated 750,000 people before Hurricane Melissa made landfall on the Caribbean island on Wednesday. The storm only adds to a torrent of challenges for the communist-ruled country, which has faced economic collapse, frequent blackouts, and a mass exodus of its citizens. The category 5 storm has weakened to category 2 since wreaking havoc in Jamaica, which is still assessing the cost.
99.9%: Will the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates today? Futures markets this morning gave a 99.9% chance of a 25 basis-point cut (that’s 0.25 percentage points). This would be the second consecutive month of rate cuts. Trump has pushed the Fed for deeper and faster rate cuts than that.
£30 million: After seven centuries of family control, the son of a British duke is looking to sell his family’s estate in north-east England, and one of the interested buyers is… a wildlife charity. The Wildlife Trusts already bought the western part of the estate last year, but the plot thickens: it’s now looking to buy the remaining 3,839 hectares for £30 million ($40 million). The charity would try to conserve and rewild the area, which is rich with wildlife. Editor’s note: People outside the UK may wonder why we included this fascinating number – but GZERO’s Zac Weisz assures us it’s a real banger for his fellow Brits.Hurricane Melissa, which has developed into a Category 5 storm, moves north in the Caribbean Sea towards Jamaica and Cuba in a composite satellite image obtained by Reuters on October 27, 2025.
Hard Numbers: Major hurricane sweeping through Caribbean, Insurgents implement blockade in Mali, Côte d’Ivoire’s octogenarian leader wins again, Diphtheria on the rise
160,000: Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents are blocking shipments of fuel in Mali, spurring a shortage that has forced schools and gas stations to close. The insurgents are attempting to topple the military-led government. Russia said it would deliver over 160,000 tons of petroleum and agriculture products as it tries to deepen ties with the West African country – though how and when this aid will arrive isn’t clear.
4: Côte d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara, who is 83, won a fourth term in office, with his former Commerce Minister Jean-Louis Billon conceding defeat following Saturday’s election. Ouattara had clamped down on both the opposition and protests in the build up to the election, and his main two rivals were barred from running (read more here).
30,000: Diphtheria, a bacterial disease that is fatal to young children, is making a worrying comeback in parts of the developing world. In Nigeria, the most-populous country in Africa, nearly 30,000 cases have been reported over the last two years. There have also been outbreaks in Chad, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Lower immunization rates have allowed the disease to spread.
A Canadian soldier stands guard by the Canadian embassy as violence spreads and armed gangs expand their control over the capital, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti March 29, 2024.
Canada dispatches troops to train Haiti mission
On Saturday, around 70 Canadian troops arrived in Jamaica at Kingston’s request to begin training some 330 soldiers from Jamaica, Belize, and the Bahamas in preparation for an expected Kenyan-led deployment to Haiti. Canada notably helped define the concept of UN peacekeeping, and this initial deployment – which came at the request of Jamaica’s government – is expected to last a month.
Haiti has been in a state of de facto anarchy for over a month since gangs seized key infrastructure while unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry was in Nairobi trying to sign the deal.
Police have effectively lost control of the country, and ordinary citizens have begun turning to vigilantism to protect themselves from heavily armed gangs. On Friday, people near the city of Mirebalais, located to the northeast of Port-au-Prince, “hacked to death” two men suspected of buying weapons for gang members. Police reportedly fired warning shots that did not stop the murder.
A UN report published Thursday found that self-defense organizations have been responsible for at least 59 such killings this year. That same report found Haiti would need the help of 4,000 to 5,000 foreign police officers to reestablish order. But the number of officers who might be dispatched remains unclear, with Kenya having pledged 1,000, Benin 2,000, the Bahamas 150, and unspecified numbers from other countries.
Nairobi has been clear it will not deploy before Haiti’s transitional presidential council is seated to replace the outgoing Henry. The council has been delayed by weeks of politicking, but its membership finally seems set, and we will be watching as it officially takes the reins in the coming days.