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2.5 million: An internet watchdog has uncovered an unsecured online database that reveals how a Chinese surveillance company tracks the movements of large numbers of people living in Xinjiang province, home to most of China's Uighur Muslim population. Authorities have used CCTV cameras and handheld devices equipped with cameras or ID scanners at 6.7 million location points—including mosques, hotels, police stations and internet cafes—to meticulously map the movement of at least 2.5 million people.

60: Speaking of tracking devices, NATO researchers announced this week they had used open source data—mainly via social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter—to identify 150 NATO soldiers in the field, locate multiple battalions, track troop movements, and even persuade some service members to leave their posts. The research team accomplished all this with $60 and an Internet connection.


68: British tourists traveling to continental Europe may have to pay £52 ($68) for a visa following Brexit. Why? Like everything else to do with Brexit, it's maddeningly complicated. The short version: A visa exemption for Britons is held up by a dispute within EU institutions over Spain's bid to classify Gibraltar as a "colony." Masochists may read the details here.

60: At a time of deadly protests against the government of President Jovenel Moise, 60 percent of Haiti's nearly 11 million people still live on less than $2 per day. In 2019.

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Workers are unloading coal from a cargo ship on the Turag River in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on May 06, 2024.

Iran conflict has Asia looking for coalMuch as Europe did when Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago, Asia is turning to a retro, highly-polluting fuel source as the Iran conflict limits the supply of liquefied natural gas: coal. The continent relies heavily on natural gas for its electricity, much of it imported – in the [...]
Venezuela outfielder Javier Sanoja reacts in the fifth inning during the 2026 World Baseball Classic Championship game at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, USA, on March 17, 2026.

Venezuela outfielder Javier Sanoja during the 2026 World Baseball Classic Championship game at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, USA, on March 17, 2026.

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
3: The number of runs scored by Venezuela’s national baseball team in their stunning upset of top-seeded USA in the World Baseball Classic final in Miami last night. In an epic game fraught with geopolitical overtones – the US government abducted Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro in January – the arepa-powered pitching staff held the fearsome US [...]
​Explosions in Iran and gas prices increasing.

Explosions in Iran and gas prices increasing.

Natalie Johnson
Nearly a month ago, the US and Israel started a war with Iran. Over 2,000 miles away, one continent that wants little to do with the war is nevertheless uniquely impacted: Europe.European Union leaders met in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss skyrocketing energy prices resulting from the conflict. It comes after US President Donald Trump issued a [...]
March 13, 2026, Tehran, Iran: ALI LARIJANI (C), Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, participates in the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day rally, a commemoration in support of the Palestinian people on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in Tehran.

March 13, 2026, Tehran, Iran: ALI LARIJANI (C), Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, participates in the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day rally, a commemoration in support of the Palestinian people on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in Tehran.

Supreme National Security Counci via ZUMA Press Wire
Israel says it has killed Iran’s security chief, as war drags onAli Larijani, who was head of the Islamic Republic’s influential security council and had effectively run the country since Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death, was killed in a strike overnight, Israel has said. Tehran has not confirmed his death. If it is true, Larijani would be the [...]