Hard Numbers: Plea deal in 9/11 case, Ukrainians worn down by war, Death toll rises in Indian landslides, EU inflation ticks up and Fed holds rates steady, Venice cuts tourist group sizes, Myanmar junta extends emergency

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is shown in this file photograph during his arrest on March 1, 2003.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is shown in this file photograph during his arrest on March 1, 2003.
REUTERS/Courtesy U.S.News & World Report/Files

23: Three alleged 9/11 conspirators — including suspected mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, have reached a plea deal with prosecutors nearly 23 years after the attacks on the World Trade Center that killed nearly 3,000 people. Details about the agreement are still under wraps, but the men will reportedly plead guilty at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay to avoid the death penalty.

44: Russian drones rained down on Kyiv early Wednesday, shaking the Ukrainian capital in ways unseen since the beginning of the 2022 invasion – and Ukrainians appear to be growing weary of war. A July survey shows that about 44% of Ukrainians now want to see talks started with Moscow and a third are ready to cede territory to Russia – three times as high as a year ago.

151: Rescuers are frantically searching through debris in Kerala state in southern India, where several landslides brought on by heavy rains have killed at least 151 people and injured hundreds more.

2.6: Having lowered three key interest rates in June by 25 basis points, the European Central Bank must now grapple with the fact that Eurozone inflation ticked up to 2.6% in July. The increase could lower the chance of another rate drop in September. The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, indicated on Wednesday that it would hold US rates steady but suggested that a reduction could come in September.

25: Shh! Big noisy tourist groups in Venice are a thing of the past as of today. In a bid to reduce the impact of mass tourism, the Italian city famed for its stunning canals and St Mark’s Basilica has limited the size of tourist parties to 25 people and banned the use of loudspeakers for tour guides. Those caught flouting the rules will be fined.

6: Myanmar’s junta has extended its state of emergency by another six months, further delaying long-promised elections. The junta, which ended the Southeast Asian country’s 10 years of democracy – has been suffering losses to armed minority groups in recent months. The military leaders claim they can’t hold fresh polls “due to the terrorist acts.”

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

The world is quietly being reshaped by a demographic time bomb: Birthrates are plummeting, and the global population is rapidly aging. By 2050, one in six people will be over 65. While the overall population is still increasing—driven by growth in developing countries like Nigeria and Pakistan—experts predict it will peak in about 60 years. The shift to depopulation will have huge implications for the future of work, healthcare, and retirement. So what can we do about it? On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the different strategies governments are using to try to get people to have more kids, particularly in East Asia, where the population crisis is severe.

The Puerto Princesa Forest Restoration Initiative is a project to plant more than 400,000 seedlings to restore Palawan forests destroyed by Super Typhoon Odette in the Philippines. It’s part of a larger global effort by the Priceless Planet Coalition, launched by Mastercard with Conservation International and the World Resources Institute, to fund the restoration of 100 million trees around the world. These projects extend beyond carbon sequestration — they’re aimed at creating economic opportunities for women in the region, enabling them to better provide for their families. Read more about how many local women and community members are leading the charge on nursery construction, maintenance, and seedling production.

- YouTube

Listen: The world is on the brink of one of the most fundamental demographic shifts in modern human history: populations are getting older, and birth rates are plummeting. By 2050, one in six people on Earth will be over 65, which will have a huge impact on the future of work, healthcare, and social security. On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Jennifer Sciubba, President & CEO of the Population Reference Bureau, to discuss declining fertility, the aging crisis, and why government efforts all over the world to get people to have more babies don’t seem to be working.

Republican U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz speaks at a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump in Henderson, Nevada U.S. October 31, 2024.
REUTERS/Mike Blake

President-elect Donald Trump’s unconventional picks for a number of important Cabinet positions in his second administration have set him on a collision course with the GOP-led Senate.

Accompanied by tugs, the LNG tanker "Hellas Diana" transports a cargo of LNG to the "Deutsche Ostsee" energy terminal.
Stefan Sauer/Reuters

While other countries in Europe still import small amounts of Russian LNG under long-term contracts, the EU broadly is looking to import more of the stuff from the growing American market.

Luisa Vieira

Cabinet-building has long been crucial for both the success of a presidency and the direction of the United States. From the presidencies of Abraham Lincoln to Donald Trump, the team often tells the tale of power. Publisher Evan Solomon looks at what Trump’s Cabinet picks are telling us all.