1,600: US-led coalition air and artillery strikes killed more than 1,600 civilians during the offensive to oust ISIS from the Syrian city of Raqqa in 2017, according to Amnesty International and monitoring group Airwars. The coalition has set the number of civilian casualties at 180.
18: A 2018 report from Freedom House, a democracy watchdog, noted that 18 countries (so far) now use Chinese-made intelligent monitoring systems and 36 have received training in topics like "public opinion guidance," a euphemism for censorship. The list of countries includes the UAE, Zimbabwe, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Kenya, and Germany.
94 trillion: The world will need $94 trillion in investment in roads, water systems, and telecom infrastructure by 2040, according to the G20's Global Infrastructure Hub. China's Belt Road Initiative will contribute about $1 trillion in investment, according to a new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. (Hat tip to Fareed Zakaria).
3: Three generals, all of them closely aligned with Sudan's deposed dictator Omar Bashir, have resigned in the face of mounting public protest. This is the latest sign that, at least for now, the balance of power in Sudan remains with demonstrators rather than the military.
