Monday☕️

Earth Intelligence

17 Feb 2025 — 5 min read

Economics & Markets:

Yesterday’s commodity market:

Yesterday’s crypto market:

Geopolitics & Military Activity:

Yesterday, February 16, 2025, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that its forces conducted a precision airstrike in northwest Syria on February 15, targeting and killing a senior finance and logistics official of the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din, an al-Qaeda affiliate. This operation is part of CENTCOM’s ongoing efforts to disrupt and degrade terrorist activities that pose a threat to U.S. interests and regional stability.

Hurras al-Din, established in 2018, operates primarily in Syria and maintains close ties with al-Qaeda. The group has been involved in planning and executing attacks against Western targets and continues to pose a security concern in the region. CENTCOM’s targeted operations aim to diminish the group’s operational capabilities and prevent future attacks.

Environment & Weather:

As of February 17, 2025, a powerful winter storm has caused severe flooding across the southern U.S., impacting states like Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Virginia. In Kentucky, at least eight people have died, leading Governor Andy Beshear to declare a state of emergency due to widespread flooding and damage. Over 39,000 homes have lost power across the region. Tennessee issued mandatory evacuations after a levee failure on the Obion River, while Virginia carried out water rescues as floodwaters rose.

The storm is now shifting northeast, bringing heavy snow and freezing temperatures to parts of the Midwest and Northeast. Many areas are experiencing hazardous road conditions and disruptions due to the lingering effects of the storm. The severe weather is expected to weaken and move out of the region by the end of today, February 17, finally bringing relief after days of extreme conditions.

Tropical Cyclone Zelia Update:

Tropical Cyclone Zelia, a Category 5 storm, made landfall on February 14, 2025, near the De Grey River mouth in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. With wind gusts between 270 and 290 km/h (168 to 180 mph), the cyclone caused flooding and infrastructure damage. Over 60 residents in Warralong were evacuated to South Hedland due to rising waters. While no fatalities have been reported, damages are estimated in the millions, including significant losses at the Pardoo Roadhouse. Major highways, such as the Great Northern Highway, were closed, affecting supply chains and leading to shortages in towns like Broome. Mining operations in the area had minimal damage but faced delays.

By February 16, the cyclone had weakened and dissipated inland, with recovery efforts underway. The Pilbara region regularly experiences tropical cyclones from November to April. Cyclone Zelia was one of the strongest to impact the area in recent years, following Cyclone Ilsa in 2023. The region’s coastal geography and warm ocean waters make it prone to these storms, which bring high winds, heavy rainfall, and flooding. Local industries and communities have systems in place for cyclone preparedness, and response efforts are ongoing as authorities assess the storms impact and work to restore damaged infrastructure.

Business:

On February 14, 2025, Uber Technologies filed a lawsuit against DoorDash, accusing it of engaging in anticompetitive practices in the food delivery industry. Uber claims that DoorDash pressures restaurants into exclusive partnerships by threatening to increase their commission fees if they also work with Uber Eats. According to Uber, these tactics limit competition, drive up costs for both restaurants and consumers, and negatively impact Uber’s own delivery service, Uber Direct. In response, Uber is seeking financial damages and a court order to stop DoorDash from continuing these practices.
DoorDash, which holds around 63% of the U.S. food delivery market compared to Uber Eats’ 25%, has denied the allegations, arguing that the lawsuit is a strategy by Uber to compete in court rather than in the market. The legal battle reflects the growing rivalry between the two companies, particularly as both have recently achieved profitability, and the outcome could reshape competition in the food delivery industry. DoorDash, founded in 2013 in Palo Alto, California, has grown into the largest food delivery service in the U.S., connecting customers with restaurants through independent drivers known as “Dashers.” The company has aggressively expanded its reach, securing exclusive partnerships and diversifying its offerings.
Uber Eats, launched in 2014 as a division of Uber Technologies, operates in multiple countries and provides not only restaurant delivery but also grocery and convenience store deliveries, leveraging Uber’s rideshare network. Both companies are in a significant competition for market share, constantly refining their services, pricing models, and business strategies to attract more users and restaurant partners. The outcome of this lawsuit could have long-term effects on how food delivery services negotiate partnerships and compete in the evolving delivery landscape.

Science & Technology:

In February 2025, Japan launched a hybrid quantum supercomputer by integrating the Reimei quantum processor with the Fugaku supercomputer. Reimei, developed by Quantinuum, is a 20-qubit trapped-ion quantum computer housed at RIKEN’s research facility in Saitama Japan. The system is designed to combine the strengths of quantum and classical computing, enabling researchers to tackle complex scientific problems, particularly in fields like physics and chemistry. By leveraging Fugaku’s classical processing power alongside Reimei’s quantum capabilities, the hybrid approach aims to accelerate calculations that would otherwise take significantly longer on traditional supercomputers.

Quantinuum, the company behind Reimei, is a major player in the quantum computing industry, known for its trapped-ion technology, which physically moves qubits to process information. RIKEN, one of Japan’s leading scientific institutions, is responsible for hosting and operating the system. The collaboration between these organizations represents an effort to explore how quantum computing can complement classical high-performance computing, potentially advancing research in areas that require highly complex simulations and calculations.

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