Hard Numbers: Khashoggi verdict, food insecurity in southern Africa, Aussie journalists leave China, human toll of US War on Terror

A Vigil is held at Saudi Embassy for Journalist Jamal Khashoggi

8: A Saudi court has issued "final verdicts" against eight people for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi back in 2018, with five of the defendants receiving 20-year prison terms. It's widely believed that the killing was directed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, a claim that Riyadh has long denied.

45 million: Around 45 million people living in southern Africa do not have enough to eat, according to the World Food Program (WFP), a UN agency. The COVID crisis and the effects of climate change are the main reasons for the uptick in food insecurity, with Zimbabwe being the worst affected country in the region. Around 8.6 million Zimbabweans may not have access to affordable and nutritious food by the end of 2020, the WFP says.

2: The last two journalists working for Australian media in China have left the country after being held and questioned by Chinese authorities. More than a dozen Australian journalists were expelled from China in the first half of 2020 as the two countries have clashed over alleged Chinese hacking in Australia as well as Canberra's recent backing of an international probe into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

37 million: A new report from Brown University in the United States says that 37 million people have been displaced by America's far-reaching War on Terror since September 2001. Most civilians displaced are from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, the Philippines, Libya, and Syria, the study says.

More from GZERO Media

A combination photo shows a person of interest in the fatal shooting of U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U.S. shown in security footage released by the Utah Department of Public Safety on September 11, 2025.
Utah Department of Public Safety/Handout via REUTERS
A drone view shows the scene where U.S. right-wing activist, commentator, Charlie Kirk, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U.S. September 11, 2025.
REUTERS/Cheney Orr

The assassination of 31-year old conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a college event in Utah yesterday threatened to plunge a deeply divided America further into a cycle of rising political violence.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro stands next to members of the armed forces, on the day he says that his country would deploy military, police and civilian defenses at 284 "battlefront" locations across the country, amid heightened tensions with the U.S., in La Guaira, Venezuela, September 11, 2025.
Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS

284: Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has deployed military assets to 284 “battlefront” locations across the country, amid rising tensions with the US.

A member of Nepal army stands guard as people gather to observe rituals during the final day of Indra Jatra festival to worship Indra, Kumari and other deities and to mark the end of monsoon season.
REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

Nepal’s “Gen-Z” protest movement has looked to a different generation entirely with their pick for an interim leader. Protest leaders say they want the country’s retired chief justice, Sushila Karki, 73, to head a transitional government.