Hard Numbers: Afghan aid cut, humanizing Italy, covert corona cases

60: Scientists believe that asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus are spreading the disease at staggering rates. Some estimate that as many as 60 percent of all infections globally are "covert cases" – that is people who aren't even aware that they have the disease, and go about their everyday life.

1 billion: In a major blow to the Afghan government, the US State Department said it was cutting $1 billion in aid to Afghanistan this year, and potentially another $1 billion in 2021, after rival leaders – who both claim to be Afghanistan's legitimate president – failed to support a unified government, a condition that U.S. diplomats consider crucial for peace talks to make progress.

7: Teleworking while under quarantine just isn't possible for most Americans. In 2019, only 7 percent of the country's 140 million civilian workers said that working from home was a feasible option for them.

2,000: More than 2,000 Italians died from the coronavirus in the four days leading up to March 24. With the influx of horrendous news it's sometimes hard to remember that these are people, not statistics. Watch this clip where a man flips through 10 pages of obituaries in his local newspaper.

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U.S. President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at a NATO leaders summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025.
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Members of the Basij paramilitary force hold Iranian flag, Lebanese flag, and various militia flags, during a rally commemorating International Quds Day in downtown Tehran, April 14, 2023.
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