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Hard Numbers: Israel raids West Bank newsroom, far right comes up just short in Germany, coal mine explodes in Iran, gold breaks records, Trump looks to get cash for coins

September 22, 2024
Matthew Kendrick
​Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Walid al-Omari, reads from military order papers that were handed to him by Israeli soldiers at the Al Jazeera office in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, September 22, 2024 in this screen grab from video.
Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Walid al-Omari, reads from military order papers that were handed to him by Israeli soldiers at the Al Jazeera office in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, September 22, 2024 in this screen grab from video.
REUTERS TV/Al Jazeera via Reuters

45: Israeli soldiers on Sunday raided the office of Al Jazeera in Ramallah, the capital of the occupied West Bank, ordering it to close for at least 45 days. Israeli authorities said the facility was “being used to incite terror” without immediately supplying evidence.

31-32: Germany’s ruling Social Democratic Party narrowly edged out the far-right Alternative for Germany in local elections in Brandenburg, the former east German state that surrounds Berlin. Exit polls show the SPD earning 31-32% of the vote to the AfD’s 29%-30%. The AfD has performed well in the former East, ringing up a historical victory in Thuringia earlier this month.

51: At least 51 people died in a gas explosion at a coal mine in Iran’s South Khorasan province on Saturday, and another 20 are injured. The proximate cause seems to have been a buildup of methane, which must be properly vented from coal mines. Rescue operations were underway Sunday to evacuate workers.

2600: The price of gold broke $2,600 per ounce on Friday for the first time, as investors continued to buy the metal as a hedge against rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, as well as concerns that Fed rate cuts could weaken the dollar. Other precious metals, including silver, platinum and palladium have all seen price declines in the last month. Analysts say gold’s run – up 27% on the year – may soon come to an end.

100: In other overpriced metal news, the Trump campaign has begun hawking $100 commemorative silver coins with the former president’s face on them. It’s the former president’s latest effort to grab more cash for the campaign, following Trump sneakers, Trump Bibles, Trump NFTs, Trump playing cards, and much more. In case you’re weighing, by the way, each of the $100 coins only contains only about $30 worth of silver.

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