Hard Numbers: Shanghai lockdown, US billionaire tax, Amazonian NFTs, Houthi truce

Hard Numbers: Shanghai lockdown, US billionaire tax, Amazonian NFTs, Houthi truce
Medical staff in PPE walk in front of barriers of a Shanghai area under lockdown.
REUTERS/Aly Song

2,631: Shanghai will go into lockdown after reporting a record 2,631 new asymptomatic COVID infections on Sunday. China’s largest city had been trying to avoid this extreme measure, but authorities ultimately caved to Xi Jinping’s zero-COVID policy.

100 million: On Monday, the Biden administration will propose a 20% minimum income tax on US households worth at least $100 million in order to cut the deficit. This includes taxing unrealized capital gains, which Democrats failed to pass in Congress last year.

150: A Brazilian company that owns some 150 square miles of the Amazon is funding conservation efforts by auctioning off sponsorship of rainforest lots as non-fungible tokens. NFT holders will not own the land itself but rather get access to information about how it is being preserved.

7: On Saturday, Houthi rebels declared a three-day truce with the Saudi-led coalition to mark the seventh anniversary of Yemen’s civil war. The olive branch came a day after the Houthis attacked a Saudi oil plant near the Formula One race track in Jeddah, to which Riyadh responded with airstrikes on rebel-held cities in Yemen.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi enter a hall for a family photo before a plenary session of the BRICS 2024 Summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 23, 2024.
MAXIM SHIPENKOV/Pool via REUTERS

The guns may now be silent in Kashmir, but India and Pakistan are still locked in a war of words, with each dispatching officials abroad to shape the narrative.

Open Call is the heart of Walmart’s $350 billion commitment to US manufacturing, supporting products made, grown or assembled in America. The pitch event represents a unique opportunity for selected entrepreneurs to meet face-to-face with Walmart merchants and earn a chance to get their products on store shelves nationwide. Last year, finalists from across the country represented 48 states, with entrepreneurs from over half these states receiving deals. It’s all a part of Walmart’s investment in American jobs and communities. Learn more about Walmart’s annual Open Call.

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