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Hard Numbers: Israel expands humanitarian zone, Bitcoin bounces, Italy’s Meloni loses in court, OECD prices remain high, A very late book return

​Displaced Palestinians walk in a tent camp amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Nov. 9, 2024.

Displaced Palestinians walk in a tent camp amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Nov. 9, 2024.

Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Reuters
30: On Monday, Israeli officials announced they have expanded a humanitarian zone in southern Gaza just ahead of the expiration of the Biden administration’s 30-day deadline to provide more aid to Gaza’s civilian population. US officials have warned that failure to comply could have “implications for US policy,” including on US materiel support for Israel. It remains unclear whether Israel’s plan will offer Palestinians much help or satisfy US demands.

84,653: The price of bitcoin hit a record high of $84,653 on Monday afternoon on hopes that President-elect Donald Trump will offer cryptocurrency-friendly policies. A year ago, bitcoin sold for about $37,000.

7: An immigration court in Italy has rejected Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s bid to detain Europe-bound asylum-seekers in Albania. The judge ruled that seven Bangladeshi and Egyptian men brought to Albania by an Italian warship must be taken to Italy and remain there as they await a decision on their asylum application.

30: Though the inflation rate has cooled across wealthy countries, average price levels across the OECD remained about 30% higher in September 2024 than in December 2019, before COVID and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent inflation surging.

51: A book called “The Early Work of Aubrey Beardsley” was returned to a public library in Massachusetts last week. The book was due for return on May 22, 1973, making it 51 years late. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed that China’s government will pay the fine. (Just kidding.) The Worcester Public Library does not charge late fees.

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​US Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial, in Yerevan, Armenia, February 10, 2026.

US Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance hold flowers as they walk towards the eternal flame at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial, in Yerevan, Armenia, February 10, 2026.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Pool
1.5 million: The number of Armenians killed by Ottoman Turkss during World War I, per one estimate, in what historians consider to be a genocide. Why mention this now? US Vice President JD Vance visited a memorial to the mass killing in Yerevan on Tuesday. His office then posted about it on social media, before deleting it. The reversal may have [...]
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Protesters carry posters during a demonstration in support of Palestine at the Asia-Africa Monument in Bandung, West Java. They demand the Indonesian government's immediate withdrawal from the Board of Peace and express solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine involved in the conflict with Israel.

Credit Image: © Dimas Rachmatsyah/ZUMA Press Wire
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​Bad Bunny performs during the Super Bowl halftime show at Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California, on Feb. 8, 2026.

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