400: On Wednesday, Egypt allowedmore than 400 people, injured Palestinians and foreign nationals, to enter the country from Gaza. These were the first refugees allowed across the border, and Egypt will face international pressure to accept many more. Egypt’s government, fearing the long-term burden that large numbers of refugees might impose, will continue to resist.
70: Indian software billionaire NR Narayana Murthy kicked off a furious debate within his country with a recent comment that India’s young people should work 70 hours per week. (Mr. Murthy is the father-in-law of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.)
43: Taiwan’s Defense Ministry announced Wednesday it had detected 43 Chinese warplanes and seven naval vessels near the island in a single 24-hour period. There are many reasons why Beijing is unlikely to launch a war anytime soon, but it does hope to persuade Taiwan’s voters to elect a new president in January who has a more cooperative relationship with Beijing than the outgoing incumbent has had.
1.7 million: On Wednesday, authorities in Pakistan began nationwide arrests of Afghan refugees who lack permission to remain in the country as the deadline passed for undocumented Afghans to leave. There are some 1.7 million undocumented Afghans still in Pakistan, and Pakistan’s government hopes the arrests will spur more to leave on their own.Microsoft, Europol, and industry partners took coordinated action to disrupt Tycoon 2FA, a major phishing‑as‑a‑service operation designed to bypass multifactor authentication. Active since 2023, the service fueled large‑scale online impersonation, enabling fraud, data theft, and disruptions across sectors, including healthcare and education. Acting under a US court order, the coalition seized hundreds of domains powering Tycoon 2FA’s infrastructure — underscoring the need for global, public‑private cooperation that is essential to counter industrialized cybercrime and protect digital trust. Read the full blog here.
As missiles fly and oil prices soar, the Iran war is exposing another major resource vulnerability in the Middle East: water. Fresh water has been a scarce commodity in a region defined by a dry climate and low rainfall, but attacks on the region’s desalination plants, which convert seawater into drinking water, threaten to open a new front.
Two weeks into his war against Iran, the US president is now calling on other countries to send forces to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.
Mexicans participate in an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record, where organisers aim to break the mark for the world's largest football (soccer) lesson as part of efforts to promote the country ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, at Zocalo square in Mexico City, Mexico, March 15, 2026.
9,500: The number of people in Mexico City who participated in a soccer training session on Sunday, smashing a Guinness World Record as part of a campaign ahead of the World Cup in June.