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Hard Numbers: A Kiwi crackdown on foreign political cash

20: When an image of tennis god Roger Federer is imprinted on a Swiss 20 franc silver coin in January, the 20-time Grand Slam winner will become Switzerland's first living person to have their likeness minted on a coin. Naturally, the "heads" side of the coin will show Federer executing his signature one-handed backhand.


58: Madrid may currently be hosting the UN Climate Change Conference, but 58 percent of Spaniards surveyed say they are "dissatisfied" with their country's environmental conservation efforts.

50: New Zealand's government has introduced legislation that would cap all foreign donations to political campaigns at just NZ $50 ($32 USD) in a bid to reduce foreign influence over domestic politics. Last year, the country's opposition leader was accused of failing to declare a $100,000 donation from a Chinese businessman.

208: Iranian state TV has confirmed that security forces shot and killed people in their brutal crackdown on nationwide protests last month, but said that those who died were "thugs and rioters." The broadcast didn't give a specific death toll, but the human rights watchdog Amnesty International says at least 208 people were killed.

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​Iranian pro-government protesters wave national flags while participating in an anti-war protest gathering against the U.S. and Israeli military attacks in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, on February 28, 2026.

Iranian pro-government protesters wave national flags while participating in an anti-war protest gathering against the U.S. and Israeli military attacks in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, on February 28, 2026.

Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto
The US and Israel struck several sites in coordinated attacks across Iran this morning. The total number of casualties across Iran is also unknown, though one of the missiles hit a girls’ school in Iran, reportedly killing 53 people. The country is under a near-total internet blackout.In response, Tehran has launched airstrikes at Israel, as well [...]
Hard Numbers: Kenya restarts railroad project without China, South Africans return from Ukraine war, the rapper who wants to run Nepal, Russians say things are going well
$4 billion: The amount Kenya wants to raise in order to complete a partially built railway line that was abandoned in 2019. The project, which will link Nairobi with South Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya, came to a halt after initial funding from China dried up. This time around, Kenya wants to finance the project itself, through new import tariffs, [...]
​An army soldier stands guard at a post at the Friendship Gate, following exchanges of fire between Pakistan and Afghanistan forces, at the border crossing between the two countries in Chaman, Pakistan February 27, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone.

An army soldier stands guard at a post at the Friendship Gate, following exchanges of fire between Pakistan and Afghanistan forces, at the border crossing between the two countries in Chaman, Pakistan February 27, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone.

REUTERS/Abdul Khaliq Achakzai
Pakistan and Afghanistan in “open war”Pakistan has declared “open war” against Afghanistan, as the two sides engage in the fiercest clashes in years. On Thursday, Afghan’s Taliban-run forces launched six cross-border attacks on Pakistani military positions. Pakistan retaliated today with air attacks on Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia, hitting Afghan [...]
Former British ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson leaves his residence after he was released following his arrest by London police on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following the release of U.S. Justice Department files linked to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in London, Britain, February 26, 2026.

Former British ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson leaves his residence after he was released following his arrest by London police on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following the release of U.S. Justice Department files linked to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in London, Britain, February 26, 2026.

REUTERS/Toby Melville
The ghost of Jeffrey Epstein continues to haunt the world.This week kicked off with British police arresting Peter Mandelson, former UK ambassador to Washington, on suspicion of “misconduct in public office” from his time as business secretary between 2008 and 2010. Mandelson wasn’t named in the arrest records, part of the UK’s rules banning them [...]