Hard Numbers: Dog title temporarily revoked, Young Irish adults live with parents, Russian air travelers live in fear, Houthi strikes crush cargo

The dog, Bobi, that broke the record for oldest dog ever at 30 years-old, is pictured at Conqueiros, in Leiria, Portugal, February 4, 2023.
The dog, Bobi, that broke the record for oldest dog ever at 30 years-old, is pictured at Conqueiros, in Leiria, Portugal, February 4, 2023.
REUTERS/Catarina Demony
31: Hold up, dawg. Guinness World Records has temporarily rescinded the title of World’s Oldest Dog that was awarded last year to a Rafeiro do Alentejo guard dog in Portugal that was allegedly 31 when it died (that’s more than 200 human years). New vet testimony has cast doubt on the dog’s real age.

⅔: Ireland is suffering from a serious housing crisis. Rents are so high that some two-thirds of Irish young adults live with their parents, which is nearly 20 points higher than the EU average. Experts blame a failure to invest in social housing and an overreliance on market solutions, which created incentives for developers to build luxury or short-term rental properties rather than lower or middle-income housing.

8: Russia’s commercial airline industry is hitting some serious turbulence. In the first eight days of December, according to a new report, Russian civilian airliners suffered at least eight separate serious mechanical failures. The rash of incidents is part of a wider problem: Western sanctions preventing the delivery of parts and service to Western-made aircraft in Russia are causing Russia’s commercial fleets to fall apart,

65: Houthi airstrikes on commercial ships navigating the Red Sea have caused cargo volumes through that waterway to fall 65% from normal levels. On Tuesday, even after two rounds of US-led airstrikes on Houthi targets, a Houthi missile struck a Greek-owned ship off the Yemeni coast. The Houthis say they’ll stop when there’s a cease-fire in Gaza, a call echoed by Qatar’s prime minister on Tuesday at Davos. (See our explainer on why Qatar is a small country with big influence these days.)

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