Hard Numbers: Thais call out king, Americans mostly pro-jab, crypto’s power surge, US troops hit zero in Afghanistan

Hard Numbers: Thais call out king, Americans mostly pro-jab, crypto’s power surge, US troops hit zero in Afghanistan
A pro-democracy protester wears a pot on her head as she flashes a three-finger salute during a rally demanding reforms on the monarchy in Bangkok, Thailand.
REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

112: About a thousand pro-democracy activists turned up in Bangkok on Thursday to resume their protests against the all-powerful monarchy. The protesters carried "112" signs, alluding to the number of the article in the Thai criminal code that prescribes up to 15 years in jail for anyone who offends the royal family.

17: According to a new AP poll, only 17 percent of Americans say they will definitely or likely not get a COVID jab. Experts are worried that vaccine skepticism — which is higher among young people, those without a college degree, Blacks, and Republicans — could hamper the country's vaccine rollout, which is now progressing at a more rapid pace after a shaky start.

121.36: Computers that "mine" cryptocurrencies across the globe now consume 121.36 terawatt-hours of energy a year, more than the entire country of Argentina, new research from Cambridge University shows. And with bitcoin prices hitting a record on Tuesday after gazillionaire Elon Musk said Tesla would accept payment in crypto, the mining bonanza is only going to expand.

0: The US military has reported zero combat deaths in Afghanistan over an entire year for the first time in almost two decades of presence there. The news comes as the Biden administration reviews the peace agreement that former US president Donald Trump brokered a year ago with the Taliban, and prepares for a May 1 deadline to start withdrawing US troops (if the Taliban keep their end of the deal).

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.