Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Hard Numbers

Hard Numbers: Superyacht sinks off Sicily, Cholera spreads in Sudan, China and Vietnam agree on crocodiles, Nicaragua clamps down further, Israel recovers hostages’ bodies

​Divers operate in the sea to search for the missing, including British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, after a luxury yacht sank off Sicily, Italy August 19, 2024.

Divers operate in the sea to search for the missing, including British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, after a luxury yacht sank off Sicily, Italy August 19, 2024.

Vigili del Fuoco/Handout via REUTERS

22: A luxury superyacht carrying 22 people sank off the coast of Sicily early Monday after getting caught in a severe storm. So far, one of the passengers is confirmed dead, and six remain missing, including leading UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah Lynch, and Morgan Stanley executive Jonathan Bloomer.

354: An outbreak of cholera has deepened the misery of war-torn Sudan, where 354 cases of the highly infectious disease have been detected in recent weeks. So far, 78 people have died this year, according to local health officials, including nearly two dozen in just the past few weeks. Last week, cease-fire talks meant to end the country’s 15-month civil war fell apart, as neither of the main players showed up.


14: China and Vietnam signed major economic 14 agreements during a visit to Beijing by new Vietnamese leader To Lam. Highlights included expanded cross-border rail development between the two communist-led, Asian manufacturing powerhouses, as well as streamlining trade in coconuts and crocodiles.

1,500: Nicaragua outlawed 1,500 non-governmental organizations on Monday in the latest sweeping crackdown on civil society by strongman President Daniel Ortega. Many of the groups affected are affiliated with the Catholic church, which has come under intense pressure since intervening on the side of mass anti-government protests back in 2018.

6: Israel says it has recovered the bodies of six hostages taken by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack last year, five of whom were known to have died in Gaza. Of the roughly 250 hostages abducted in the attack, roughly 100 are believed to still be in Gaza, and 30 of those are confirmed or very likely to be dead.

More For You

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)'s Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant, one of the world's largest nuclear facilities, stands along the seaside in Kashiwazaki, Niigata prefecture, Japan December 21, 2025.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)'s Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant, one of the world's largest nuclear facilities, stands along the seaside in Kashiwazaki, Niigata prefecture, Japan December 21, 2025.

REUTERS/Issei Kato
54: Japan is reopening the world’s largest nuclear power plant after a regional vote gave the greenlight on Monday. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, located 136 miles outside of Tokyo, had its 54 reactors shuttered following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that spurred the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. The decision reflects Japan’s push to [...]
French President Emmanuel Macron arrives at the July 14, 2025 military parade on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. - 14/07/2025 - France / Ile-de-France (region) / Paris

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives at the July 14, 2025 military parade on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. - 14/07/2025 - France / Ile-de-France (region) / Paris

Julien Mattia / Le Pictorium.
1: French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to build France’s first aircraft carrier in decades, as Europe accelerates rearmament. The ship won’t be ready before 2038. Germany, similarly, plans to recruit 80,000 troops and spend up to 3.5% of GDP on defense by 2029. [...]
Zambia, Collum Coal Mine ZAMBIA, Sinazese, chinese owned Collum Coal Mine, underground mining of hard coal for copper melter and cement factory, loading place ***SAMBIA, Collum Coal Mine eines chinesischem Unternehmens, Untertageabbau von Steinkohle, Ladeplatz Sinasese Zambia

Zambia, Collum Coal Mine ZAMBIA, Sinazese, chinese owned Collum Coal Mine, underground mining of hard coal for copper melter and cement factory, loading place ***SAMBIA, Collum Coal Mine eines chinesischem Unternehmens, Untertageabbau von Steinkohle, Ladeplatz Sinasese Zambia

  • imago images/Joerg Boethling via Reuters Connect
$753 million: Angola secured $753 million in loans from the US and South Africa to revamp a railway line linking mining regions in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. For Washington, the investment is strategic: the Lobito corridor offers the shortest route from the DRC’s copper and cobalt belt to Atlantic shipping lanes, helping secure [...]
​A Boeing 737 Max 8 with Afghans on board lands at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) on December 16, 2025.

A Boeing 737 Max 8 with Afghans on board lands at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) on December 16, 2025. 160 Afghans have come to Berlin on a charter flight organized by the German government.

Fabian Sommer/dpa via Reuters Connect
500: By the end of the year, Germany plans to accept over 500 Afghan refugees who assisted German troops on the ground in Afghanistan, or face threats from the Taliban. Although these refugees have already been approved for admission, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition government delayed their entry into the country. [...]