500: By the end of the year, Germany plans to accept over 500 Afghan refugees who assisted German troops on the ground in Afghanistan, or face threats from the Taliban. Although these refugees have already been approved for admission, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition government delayed their entry into the country.
662 million: Under current trends, China’s population is set to plummet over the rest of the century: The US Census Bureau’s global projections say it will fall from 1.4 billion to 662 million by 2100. It’s no surprise, then, that China plans to start imposing a tax on condoms and other contraceptives on Jan. 1.
27: Brazil’s Congress passed a bill reducing jail time for former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in jail for plotting a coup to overturn the 2022 elections. The measure now goes to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who plans to veto it, though lawmakers may override it.
48: There are 48 spots at next year’s FIFA World Cup – the largest in history. Yet Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is going to miss out after it lost on penalties to the Democratic Republic of the Congo last month. However, Abuja has since launched a complaint, arguing that the DRC fielded players who have European passports, even though the DRC itself forbids dual citizenship. Some of those players switched national teams during their careers, and FIFA requires them to hold a passport from their new country. Did the DRC break its own laws, or FIFA’s?
