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Hard Numbers: Money for Your Cow Dung

1 billion: West African leaders have pledged $1 billion to combat the growing threat of Islamic extremism in the region. Mali-based insurgent groups with links to the Islamic State and al Qaeda have since spilled over into neighboring countries, hitting Burkina Faso particularly hard in recent months.

45: When polls closed in Tunisia on Sunday evening, just 45 percent of eligible voters had turned out to vote in the presidential election, down 19 percentage points from 2014 when that country held its first post-Arab Spring election after 22 years of dictatorship.

60: India's newly created National Cow Commission has promised to fund 60% of the startup capital for any companies that commercialize a curative product known as panchagavya which is made by mixing milk, cow urine, and cow dung. The ruling Hindu nationalist BJP government has been very cow-friendly.

100 million: As fires continue to ravage the Amazon rainforest, the US and Brazil have agreed on a $100 million biodiversity conservation fund to help save the area, led by the private sector. This plan is already facing pushback from environmentalists who say it's a roundabout way to open the rainforest to even more mining, logging and farming.

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World Central Kitchen staff hand out free soup in a neighbourhood that experiences electricity and heating outages following recent Russian attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure during subzero temperatures in Kyiv, Ukraine February 3, 2026.
REUTERS/Thomas Peter

1,170: The number of high-rise buildings in Kyiv that were left without heating following a barrage of Russian attacks last night on Ukraine’s capital and its energy facilities, per Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

Protesters gather during a candlelight vigil, and interfaith prayer at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as airport workers and faith leaders rally calling on the federal government to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haiti on Jan. 28, 2026.
Diaz/Miami Herald via ZUMA Press Wire

Over the past five years, Haiti has endured extreme political turmoil, escalating violence, and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Microsoft unveiled a new set of commitments guiding its community‑first approach to AI infrastructure development. The strategy focuses on energy affordability, water efficiency, job creation, local investment, and AI‑driven skilling. As demand for digital infrastructure accelerates, the company is pushing a new model for responsible datacenter growth — one built on sustainability, economic mobility, and long‑term partnership with the communities that host it. The move signals how AI infrastructure is reshaping local economies and what people expect from the tech shaping their future. Read the full blog here.