HARD NUMBERS: Singapore busts chip scofflaws, Israel’s West Bank crackdowns continue, EU asylum applications fall, Golden Arm flexes for final time
3: Last week, Singapore arrested three men accused of flouting US export controls on advanced NVIDIA microchips. The suspects were caught exporting servers containing the chips from Singapore to Malaysia, where authorities believe they were destined for re-export to China. The US has dramatically tightened restrictions on the export of US-made semiconductors to China as part of Washington’s broader technology rivalry with Beijing.
13,000: As part of an intensifying Israeli security crackdown in the West Bank, the IDF has cleared out virtually all of the 13,000 residents of the Nur Shams refugee camp, which is located near the city of Tulkarm. The move comes after similar recent operations in several other refugee camps. Israel says it is cracking down on Hamas and other militant groups. Palestinian advocates worry it is prelude to a wider strategy of outright annexation of the West Bank.
11: Applications for political asylum in the EU, Norway, and Switzerland fell by 11% last year, dropping for the first time since 2020, but still surpassing 1 million overall for the second year in a row. Germany, Spain, and Italy were the top destination countries, while Syrians, Afghans, Venezuelans, and Turks topped the list of application nationalities. More than half of the applications reportedly have a low chance of approval, complicating matters for the EU as it tries to devise a humane and efficient way to repatriate hundreds of thousands of failed asylum-seekers.
2.4 million: An Australian man whose blood saved the lives of as many as 2.4 million babies died on Monday at the age of 88. James Harrison’s blood contained a rare antibody that is used to treat a disorder in which pregnant women’s immune systems mistakenly attack their own fetuses. The “Man with the Golden Arm” donated blood twice a week every week from his 18th birthday until he was 81.