Hard Numbers: Bulgaria bus horror, Portugal ditches coal, Washington DC the homicide capital, Myanmar's "revolution" bonds

A view shows the site where a bus with North Macedonian plates caught fire on a highway, near the village of Bosnek, Bulgaria, November 23, 2021.

45: At least 45 people – including several children – were killed in Bulgaria Tuesday when a bus caught fire while traveling on a highway back from Istanbul. Poor infrastructure and road safety have resulted in Bulgaria recording the second-highest number of traffic fatalities in the European Union after Romania.

4: Portugal has become the fourth European country to stop burning coal to generate electricity. It has invested heavily in green energy and joins Belgium, Sweden, and Austria in ditching coal, by far the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

200: Washington DC has recorded its 200th murder this year, a homicide rate not seen in the US capital in almost two decades. Crime has spiked in dozens of major US cities over the past 18 months, in part because the pandemic upended social safety nets, disrupted court proceedings, and cleared out jails.

6.3 million: A coalition of pro-democracy forces in Myanmar raised $6.3 million on the first day of selling what it is calling "revolution" bonds, the proceeds of which it wants to use to topple the junta that took power following a coup last February. The group, which includes the ousted civilian government, has not said how it will use the funds but hopes to raise $1 billion in the near term.

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

Forget the fancy cars, futuristic gadgets, and martinis “shaken, not stirred.” In his book "Sell Like a Spy: The Art of Persuasion from the World of Espionage", Jeremy Hurewitz tells GZERO's Tony Maciulis that intelligence officers are a lot more like therapists than James Bond-style action heroes.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI, Rama Duwaji, MIRA NAIR, MAMOOD MAMDANI during an election night event at The Brooklyn Paramount Theater in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.
(Photo by Neil Constantine/NurPhoto)

Last Tuesday, a self-identified democratic socialist who ran on making New York affordable for the 99% won the city’s mayoral race in a landslide, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo. And the reactions have been predictably hysterical.

A fruit and vegetable stall is lit by small lamps during a blackout in a residential neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on November 6, 2025, after massive Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure in October.
(Photo by Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto)

As a fourth winter of war approaches, Russia is destroying Ukraine’s energy grid faster than it can be rebuilt.

Walmart’s $350 billion commitment to American manufacturing means two-thirds of the products we buy come straight from our backyard to yours. From New Jersey hot sauce to grills made in Tennessee, Walmart is stocking the shelves with products rooted in local communities. The impact? Over 750,000 American jobs - putting more people to work and keeping communities strong. Learn more here.

Last week, Microsoft committed $15.2 billion to the UAE. This strategic investment expands cloud and AI infrastructure in the Middle East. It aims to boost regional innovation, economic diversification, and digital resilience. The move underscores tech’s role in shaping global competitiveness and security. A milestone for the UAE — and a signal of where the digital future is headed. Read the full blog here.