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  "path": "/news/hard-numbers/hard-numbers-foreign-nationals-become-a-growing-target-in-the-sahel-us-and-guinea-sign-health-deal-israel-shuts-gaza-border-again-more",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-02T16:44:21.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gzeromedia.com",
  "tags": [
    "Foreign nationals kidnapping",
    "Islamist insurgencies",
    "Rafah border gaza",
    "Snap election bulgaria",
    "West african states",
    "_kidnapped_",
    "_threatening the broader region_",
    "_number of elections_",
    "_snap election_",
    "_softer stance_",
    "_open_",
    "_reopened_",
    "_further reduce_",
    "_killed_",
    "_shooter_",
    "_naturalized_"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\n**30:** The number of foreign nationals who were _kidnapped_ in Mali and Niger in the first 11 months of 2025, according to data from the independent conflict monitor ACLED, up from seven in the preceding three years combined. The Islamist insurgencies in these West African states have been _threatening the broader region_, but it could now turn into a more expansive issue with international visitors being seized.\n\n* * *\n\n**7:** The _number of elections_ that corruption-saddled Bulgaria has held over the last five years – a number that will rise to eight following the _snap election_ on April 19. President **Iliana Iotova** announced the vote last month. Former President **Rumen Radev** , who has a _softer stance_ on Russia, formally moved toward running again on Monday by registering an alliance called Progressive Bulgaria. Polls indicate that any faction led by Radev will win.\n\n**26:** The number of days that the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt was _open_ before Israel shut it again on Saturday as it launched strikes on Iran. The border had been largely shut for 20 months amid the Israel-Hamas war, before the Israelis _reopened_ it Feb. 2. There are fears that the re-shutting of the border will _further reduce_ Gaza’s limited fuel and food supplies.\n\n**2:** The number of people _killed_ during a shooting at a bar in Austin, Texas, on Saturday evening. Another 14 were injured. The _shooter_, who was killed by police, was a Senegalese national who became a _naturalized_ US citizen in 2013. A motive hasn’t been determined yet.",
  "title": "Hard numbers: Foreign nationals become a growing target in the Sahel, Bulgaria’s ex-president to run again, Israel shuts Gaza border again, Shooting in Texas bar"
}