Hard Numbers: Mexicanas on strike, freedom falters, and coronavirus clears the air

10 – On Monday March 9, the first working day after International Women's Day, women's rights activists in Mexico will lead a nationwide women's strike to protest misogynist violence that claims the lives of 10 women in Mexico daily. El nueve ninguna se mueve! (On the 9th, no woman will move!)

14 – The world has become "less free" for 14 straight years, as democracies wobble and strongmen get stronger. That's according to watchdog Freedom House's latest Freedom in the World report, which ranks countries according to political rights and civil liberties. More than sixty countries are less free than they were last year. Read the whole (depressing) report here, or see how your country stacks up here.

5 billion – The United States is set to invest $5 billion in Ethiopia to deepen the already fast-growing country's embrace of free markets, as well as to counter growing Chinese influence in East Africa. The money will be allocated over the next several years by Washington's new International Development Finance Corporation.

200 million – For the month of February, the Coronavirus-related economic slowdown in China reduced the country's carbon dioxide emissions by 200 million tons, an amount equal to all of the pollution belched out by the United Kingdom every six months.

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The body of Pope Francis in the coffin exposed in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on April 24, 2025. The funeral will be celebrated on Saturday in St. Peter's Square.
Pasquale Gargano/KONTROLAB/ipa-agency.net/IPA/Sipa USA

While the Catholic world prepares for the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday – the service begins at 10 a.m. local time, 4 a.m. ET – certain high-profile attendees may also have other things on their mind. Several world leaders will be on hand to pay their respects to the pontiff, but they could also find themselves involved in bilateral talks.

A Ukrainian rescue worker sits atop the rubble of a destroyed residential building during rescue operations, following a Russian missile strike on a residential apartment building block in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 24, 2025.
Photo by Justin Yau/ Sipa USA
Members of the M23 rebel group stand guard at the opening ceremony of Caisse Generale d'epargne du Congo (CADECO) which will serve as the bank for the city of Goma where all banks have closed since the city was taken by the M23 rebels, in Goma, North Kivu province in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, April 7, 2025.
REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi

The Democratic Republic of the Congo and an alliance of militias led by the notorious M23 rebels announced a ceasefire on Thursday after talks in Qatar and, after three years of violence, said they would work toward a permanent truce.

Students shout slogans and burn an effigy to protest the Pahalgam terror attack in Guwahati, Assam, India, on April 24, 2025. On April 22, a devastating terrorist attack occurs in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of at least 28 tourists.
Photo by David Talukdar/NurPhoto

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has blamed Pakistan for Tuesday’s deadly terrorist attack in Kashmir, and he’s takenaggressive action against its government.