HARD NUMBERS

20: El Salvador last week granted early release to three women serving 30-year prison sentences for having abortions after each spent a decade behind bars. As many as 20 other women remain imprisoned in the Central American country on similar charges, according to activists.

70: White farmers control about 70 percent of farms in South Africa that are held by individual owners, according to government statistics. President Cyril Ramaphosa's governing African National Congress, under pressure from the far-left, is pushing to change the country's constitution to allow expropriation of farmland ahead of elections in the country later this year.

50: The Taliban killed or captured an entire Afghan army company – about 50 soldiers – during ongoing US peace talks. That's one way to drive a hard bargain.

29: A recent Pew study showed that 29% of US adults say they make no purchases using cash during a typical week, up from 24% four years ago. Going cashless is convenient for some, but a number of US cities are considering banning cashless businesses, because of concerns that they exclude poorer people who don't have credit/bank cards. Philadelphia has already done so, and others may follow soon.