Hard Numbers: Chinese data hack, July 4 massacre, US Navy wants Iran tips, Uzbek unrest, Mali sanctions lifted

Hard Numbers: Chinese data hack, July 4 massacre, US Navy wants Iran tips, Uzbek unrest, Mali sanctions lifted
Gabriella Turrisi

1 billion: An anonymous hacker claims to have stolen the police records of about one billion Chinese citizens, almost three-quarters of the population. If true, it could be one of the biggest data hacks of all time — and very embarrassing for Beijing.

6: Six people were shot dead on Sunday after a gunman opened fire on an Independence Day parade in a suburb of the US city of Chicago. It's the first high-profile mass shooting in America since President Joe Biden signed the latest federal gun-safety laws and the Supreme Court ruled that Americans have a constitutional right to carry firearms.

100,000: The US Navy is offering up to $100,000 in rewards for information to help intercept weapons, drugs, and other illicit shipments in the Persian Gulf. The Americans worry about Iran supplying weapons to the Houthi rebels in Yemen despite an arms embargo and the ongoing truce in the country's civil war.

18: At least 18 people have been killed in Karakalpakstan, an autonomous province in the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan, since the government last week revealed plans to limit secession rights in the constitution. If President Shavkat Mirziyoyev needs outside help to end the crisis, he may have to patch things up with regional cop Russia after being lukewarm on the war in Ukraine.

300 million: West African leaders agreed on Sunday to lift economic sanctions against Mali after its junta promised to return to civilian rule by 2024. The sanctions forced post-coup Mali to default on $300 million of sovereign debt so far this year.

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Ian's Quick Take: The US Agency for International Development is in the process of being shut down. Nearly all Washington staff have been put on leave, they're closing missions abroad, the State Department moving to evacuate all staff around the world. Why should we care? Does this matter?