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Hard Numbers: Fewer Hong Kongers vote, UN aid suffers shortfall, Israeli gun ownership soars, Iranians dance for Sadegh

December 11, 2023
Willis Sparks
People are crossing the road in front of banners for a candidate of the 2023 District Council Election in Hong Kong, China, on December 10, 2023. This is the first district council election since the government introduced a new electoral system. (Photo by Vernon Yuen/NurPhoto)
People are crossing the road in front of banners for a candidate of the 2023 District Council Election in Hong Kong, China, on December 10, 2023. This is the first district council election since the government introduced a new electoral system.
Vernon Yuen/NurPhoto via Reuters

27.5: A district council election held in Hong Kong amid 2019’s surge in anti-government protests set a record for turnout with 71.2% of registered voters casting a ballot. But on Sunday, just 27.5% turned up for the first vote since Beijing passed new restrictions on who is allowed to run for office.

64: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Monday that a funding shortfall will cut the number of people who can expect the agency’s help in 2024 by 64 million. With one-third less funding in 2023 than hoped for, investments in food, water, and health projects will benefit 181 million people rather than the hoped-for 245 million.

600: In Israel, a country with strict firearm control laws, gun license applications have increased 600% since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. In recent weeks, the government has relaxed gun ownership rules, speeding up applications and supplying rifles to new volunteer rapid-response units.

128,000: Large numbers of Iranians have taken to social media to post videos of themselves dancing as a way of protesting the censorship of a video of a dancing 70-year-old man known as “Sadegh Booghi.” Authorities labeled Sadegh’s move-busting videos, which had reportedly earned him 128,00 followers, as “criminal content."

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