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Hard Numbers: Hong Kong protests, Europe looks for big money, Afghan soldiers fall ill, greenhouse emissions drop

May 27, 2020
Alex Kliment
300: Police in Hong Kong arrested at least 300 people at protests against newly proposed security law that would give Beijing vast new powers over the city, effectively ending the "one country, two systems" model that Hong Kong has enjoyed since passing from British to Chinese control in 1997.

50: The US Department of Defense believes that at least 50 percent of the personnel in Afghanistan's security forces most likely have coronavirus, severely limiting the ability of US troops to train and patrol with their Afghan counterparts.

750 billion: The European Commission, which is the EU's executive branch, has asked member states for the power to borrow an unprecedented 750 billion euros to fund pandemic recovery efforts. The call sets off a fierce debate between more frugal northern European states, which want tight conditions on the money, and cash-strapped southern ones.

8: The International Energy Agency says global industrial greenhouse emissions in 2020 will drop by 8 percent as a result of coronavirus-related quarantines, the largest one-year drop since World War Two.

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