4 million: The total number of Venezuelans displaced by the country’s ongoing political and economic crisis may have already reached 4 million, according to The Economist. At the current rate, the exodus could surpass the 6 million who fled Syria during the entirety of its civil war.
71: Despite substantial evidence to the contrary, 71 percent of Russians don’t believe their government tried to influence the 2016 US presidential election, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. That’s a testament to the effectiveness of Vladimir Putin’s propaganda machine.
60: While the global price of oil has increased by about 6 percent this year, the price tag for Turkey has risen by more than 60 percent because of the large depreciation in its currency. That adds insult to injury for a beleaguered economy that imports roughly 75 percent of its energy.
15: With around 15 percent of its imports coming from neighboring Iran, Iraq has started to feel the knock-on effect of America’s push to reimpose tough economic sanctions on Tehran. In an important turnaround, the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi signaled this week that it might ask the US for sanctions exemptions to help stem the pain.
5: Residents of Beijing can breathe easy—as the central government makes a push for clean energy, five of the seven months with the lowest air pollution in the capital city have been recorded since the beginning of last summer, according to data gathered by the US Embassy in Beijing.
