We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
Hard Numbers: El Salvador's Bitcoin city, British Columbia's deadly mudslide, America's faithful, Iranians on trial over jet-downing
300,000: El Salvador's crypto-loving populist President Nayib Bukele announced plans to build a "Bitcoin city," at the base of the Conchagua volcano in the country's southeast. Bukele estimates that it will cost 300,000 Bitcoins (currently trading at $60,000 a piece) to fund the project, and says the town will use the area's geothermal energy to power Bitcoin mining.
4: At least four people have died after a mudslide hit British Columbia, Canada, in recent days. Torrential rains swept cars off the road, causing highway closures and rationing of gas sales in the province to keep people off the roads.
10: Ten Iranian military personnel went on trial Sunday over the downing of a Ukrainian airliner in January 2020, which killed 176 people. After initially denying involvement, the Iranian military admitted it accidentally shot down the commercial jet amid an escalating confrontation between Tehran and Washington.
15: Americans are much more likely to derive meaning from religion than people in other wealthy economies. According to a Pew poll, 15 percent of Americans said faith "makes life meaningful," compared to 5 percent of New Zealanders, 4 percent of Aussies, and 3 percent of Dutch and Canadians.