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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.

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​U.S. President Donald Trump, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Tshisekedi and President of Rwanda Paul Kagame take part in a signing ceremony at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 4, 2025.

U.S. President Donald Trump, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Tshisekedi and President of Rwanda Paul Kagame take part in a signing ceremony at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 4, 2025.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
6,500: The number of M23 rebels fighting in Congo. On Monday, the US imposed sanctions on the Rwandan government for allegedly supporting the rebels, who’ve been accused of human rights abuses, despite a peace deal that Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi signed in Washington, D.C., last year. Rwanda disputes the [...]
​Military personnel operate during the BAMEX'25 Defense Expo, in Bamako, Mali, November 11, 2025.

Military personnel operate during the BAMEX'25 Defense Expo, in Bamako, Mali, November 11, 2025.

REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko
30: The number of foreign nationals who were kidnapped in Mali and Niger in the first 11 months of 2025, according to data from the independent conflict monitor ACLED, up from seven in the preceding three years combined. The Islamist insurgencies in these West African states have been threatening the broader region, but it could now turn into a [...]
Hard Numbers: Kenya restarts railroad project without China, South Africans return from Ukraine war, the rapper who wants to run Nepal, Russians say things are going well
$4 billion: The amount Kenya wants to raise in order to complete a partially built railway line that was abandoned in 2019. The project, which will link Nairobi with South Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya, came to a halt after initial funding from China dried up. This time around, Kenya wants to finance the project itself, through new import tariffs, [...]
​People approach the entrance of the Provincial Clinical-Surgical Hospital "Arnaldo Milian Castro" in Santa Clara, Cuba, on February 25, 2026.

People approach the entrance of the Provincial Clinical-Surgical Hospital "Arnaldo Milian Castro," where, according to local information, injured people were being treated after an armed incident involving a Florida-registered speedboat and a Cuban patrol, at a time of heightened tensions with the United States, in Santa Clara, Cuba, on February 25, 2026.

REUTERS/Norlys Perez
10: The number of Cubans who took a Florida-registered speedboat to Cuba’s coast on Wednesday before engaging in a gunfight with border troops from the communist-run island. Four of them died in the shootout. All 10 reportedly resided in the United States. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the incident was not part of a US government operation. [...]