Hard Numbers

Hard Numbers: Ships collide in the North Sea, Stocks slide on recession fears, Luxembourg royal dies of rare disease, Military drones kill civilians in Africa, Snow swamps ski hills in Japan

​Two ships on a collision course in the North Sea
Two ships on a collision course in the North Sea
  • Quentin Top / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect
32: An oil tanker and a cargo ship collided in the North Sea off the coast of East Yorkshire, causing a massive fire andinjuring 32 people. The vessels involved include a US-flagged tanker called the Stena Immaculate and a container ship called the Solong sailing under the flag of Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal. There is still no word on what caused the collision.

4: Markets continued to plunge Monday due to investor uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4%, the S&P 500 dropped by over 2.5%, and the Nasdaq plummeted as much as 4%, adding to losses of more than 2% last week. The election Sunday of Canadian Liberal leader Mark Carney, who signaled a tough stance on tariffs, also added further volatility ahead of key inflation reports and Federal Reserve data to be released later this week.

2:Prince Frederik of Luxembourg has died from POLG mitochondrial disease, a rare genetic disorder that affects the body’s ability to produce energy and leads to progressive organ failure and significantly reduced life expectancy. Approximately2% of the population carry POLG mutations, but not all will have symptoms:An Australian study found that 10% of adults with the mutation fell ill to varying degrees.

1,000: Military drone attacks have killedover 1,000 civilians in Africa and injured hundreds more in at least 50 strikes between 2021 and 2024, according to a report by Drone Wars UK. Drone strikes have been conducted in conflicts in Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ethiopia, and the report calls for immediate international action to address their “indiscriminate” use in warfare.

12: Call it too much of a good thing: Japan’s northern ski resorts have experienced record snowfall this season, with some areas receivingover 12 feet of snow. While the heavy snow has attracted a surge of tourists, it has also closed roads, caused avalanches, and proved a headache for ski resorts struggling to groom trails and keep common spaces, such as parking lots, clear for visitors.

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