Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Hard Numbers: A leak kills in India, Americans trust governors, criminals stash cash, and the UK nosedives

Hard Numbers: A leak kills in India, Americans trust governors, criminals stash cash, and the UK nosedives

13: A gas leak at a chemical plant in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has left at least 13 dead and hundreds sick. The LG Polymers facility was attempting to reopen after idling for seven weeks under India's nationwide lockdown. Local police said the long period of inactivity had contributed to a chemical reaction that caused the leak.


71: All politics is local, the saying goes – especially, it seems, when it comes to pandemics. A whopping 71 percent of American voters told an FT/Peterson survey that they trust their own state governor over President Trump when it comes to deciding when to reopen the economy.

12.6 million: Lockdowns are evidently making it hard for criminals to move money around these days. Dutch money laundering investigators recently turned up 12.6 million euros in cash in a home in the city of Eindhoven, the largest find of its kind in the country's history. In case you wondered, the stash weighted more than five hundred pounds (255kg).

300: The Bank of England says the UK is set for its worst economic downturn in 300 years, as coronavirus-related lockdowns slash GDP by 30 percent in the first half of this year. For those with a macabre sense for history, 1720 was the year of Europe's last major outbreak of the Black Plague.

More For You

Indra Brown of Australia during the women's skiing halfpipe final at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games on Feb. 22, 2026.

Indra Brown of Australia during the women's skiing halfpipe final at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Livigno Snow Park, Livigno, Italy, on Feb. 22, 2026.

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
⅔: The share of Italians who reportedly watched the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, which ended yesterday. More Italians consumed these Winter Games than the previous three combined. Audience numbers also jumped outside the host nation, with broadcasters in Europe, the UK, the US, and even Brazil reporting huge growth. The ice hockey rivalry [...]
​Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg departs the court after taking the stand at a trial in a key test case accusing Meta and Google's YouTube of harming kids' mental health through addictive platforms, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 18, 2026.

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg departs the court after taking the stand at a trial in a key test case accusing Meta and Google's YouTube of harming kids' mental health through addictive platforms, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 18, 2026.

REUTERS/Mike Blake
When social media debuted in the early 2000s, it was hailed as a way to stay connected to family and friends, share milestones, and create new communities. But over time, as engagement grew exponentially, many young users began reporting higher levels of anxiety, body image issues, screen addiction, and, in the worst cases, self-harming behavior. [...]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to the crowd during the opening ceremony at AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi on Thursday. Switzerland President Guy Parmelin also present.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to the crowd during the opening ceremony at AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi on Thursday. Switzerland President Guy Parmelin also present.

DPR PMO/ANI Photo
“For India, AI stands for all inclusive,” reads the billboard outside this week’s AI Impact Summit in New Delhi organized by the Indian government, the first major gathering on the subject in the Global South. Alongside the slogan is an image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose ambitions for the country of 1.5 billion people are clear: to [...]
A general view of U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 20, 2026.

A general view of U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 20, 2026.

REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
US Supreme Court strikes down bulk of Trump’s tariffsIn a massive blow to US President Donald Trump’s trade and foreign policy agenda, the US’s top court ruled that the president overstepped his authority when he used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs. The decision was 6-3. Trump was the first US leader to [...]