Hard Numbers: The Spaniards are Going Home

89: In South Korea, 89% of consumer payments are now cashless, and paper money is becoming increasingly rare in Chinese cities. Here's an interesting look at what happens when cash disappears.

47 million: Spain's population grew in 2018 to 47 million, its highest point ever. The growth comes from an influx of migrants from North Africa but also from other European countries. In addition, the number of Spaniards returning home last year topped those who left the country for the first time in at least seven years. This population surge is fueled in part by a national economic growth rate that's forecast at double the Eurozone average in 2019.

76: According to a new survey from Gallup, 76% of US adults say immigration is good for the country — the highest figure to date by just one percentage point. But 23% say immigration is the country's most important problem — also the highest figure ever by one point.

0: The masses headed for this weekend's famed Glastonbury Music Festival are in for a surprise. Just two years ago, the Glastonbury crowd consumed one million plastic bottles. This year, that number will be zero as event organizers take the festival green. No word yet on what all those people will be drinking from.

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Demonstrators carry the dead body of a man killed during a protest a day after a general election marred by violent demonstrations over the exclusion of two leading opposition candidates at the Namanga One-Post Border crossing point between Kenya and Tanzania, as seen from Namanga, Kenya October 30, 2025.
REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

Tanzania has been rocked by violence for three days now, following a national election earlier this week. Protestors are angry over the banning of candidates and detention of opposition leaders by President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Illegal immigrants from Ethiopia walk on a road near the town of Taojourah February 23, 2015. The area, described by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as one of the most inhospitable areas in the world, is on a transit route for thousands of immigrants every year from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia travelling via Yemen to Saudi Arabia in hope of work. Picture taken February 23.
REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

7,500: The Trump administration will cap the number of refugees that the US will admit over the next year to 7,500. The previous limit, set by former President Joe Biden, was 125,000. The new cap is a record low. White South Africans will have priority access.

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In an era characterized by rapid technological advancement, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence present both challenges and opportunities. At the 2025 Paris Peace Forum, GZERO’s Tony Maciulis engages in an insightful conversation with Dame Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, and Lisa Monaco, President of Global Affairs at Microsoft, discussing strategies for a secure digital future.

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