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16 Mar 2025 — 5 min read

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Today, March 16, 2025, a fire broke out at around 3 AM in the Pulse nightclub in Kocani, North Macedonia, during a concert by the hip-hop duo DNK, resulting in at least 59 deaths and over 150 injuries. The blaze started when pyrotechnics used in the performance ignited the ceiling, which was constructed from flammable materials. The venue, reportedly hosting up to 1,500 people, quickly filled with smoke and flames, leading to a chaotic evacuation. Footage from the scene showed sparks hitting the roof, followed by attendees fleeing as the fire spread, with the band calling for everyone to exit.

Emergency services extinguished the fire by morning, though parts of the nightclub’s corrugated iron roof had collapsed. Many of those affected were young, aged 14 to 24. Authorities detained approximately 20 individuals, including the club manager and local officials, amid allegations of regulatory violations, such as the absence of a valid operating permit.

Economics & Markets:

Geopolitics & Military Activity:

Yesterday, March 15, 2025, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) launched a series of precision airstrikes targeting Houthi positions in Yemen, with operations continuing into March 16. The strikes aimed primarily to destroy Houthi capabilities, including their missiles, drones, and overall operational capacity in the region, as outlined in official CENTCOM statements. Specific targets were not fully detailed in the initial announcements.

Separately, an unconfirmed report emerged around this time of a strike in Egypt, possibly resulting from a misfired ballistic missile. As of March 16, 2025, CENTCOM has not addressed this incident, and its connection to U.S. operations remains unclear. CENTCOM’s efforts remain focused on degrading Houthi capabilities in Yemen.

Environment & Weather:

Space:

Today, March 16, 2025, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft named Endurance successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) at 12:04 a.m. EST. Launched on March 14 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, it carried four astronauts: NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan’s Takuya Onishi, and Russia’s Kirill Peskov. The docking took place after a 29-hour journey, during which the spacecraft traveled at speeds of up to 17,500 mph to reach the ISS, located approximately 260 miles above Earth. This event was part of NASA’s Crew-10 mission, designed to ensure a continuous human presence on the ISS for scientific experiments and station upkeep.

The Endurance spacecraft will not be used to bring back astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been on the ISS since June 2024 after arriving on Boeing’s Starliner, which was later found unfit for their return. Instead, they will travel back to Earth on another Dragon spacecraft, Freedom, which docked at the ISS in September 2024 as part of the Crew-9 mission. Freedom launched with NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Aleksandr Gorbunov, leaving two seats open for Wilmore and Williams, and is scheduled to depart the ISS no earlier than March 19, 2025, landing off Florida’s coast. The Crew-10 astronauts will stay on the ISS for about six months, while Wilmore and Williams conclude an extended 286-day mission, originally planned as a short eight-day test, after a brief overlap with the new crew.

Science & Technology:

On March 15, 2025, Figure AI launched BotQ, a new high-volume manufacturing facility dedicated to producing humanoid robots. Initially designed to manufacture 12,000 robots per year, the facility represents a significant step in scaling up production to meet growing demand. Located in an undisclosed site, BotQ is described as the world’s highest-volume humanoid production line, built from the ground up by Figure’s engineering teams over the past eight months to streamline assembly and ensure quality control through in-house manufacturing processes.

The company has already begun scaling BotQ beyond its original capacity, with plans to support a fleet of 100,000 robots in the coming years. This expansion aligns with Figure AI’s goal to deploy its humanoid robots, such as the Figure 02 model, across commercial sectors like manufacturing and logistics, as well as potential home applications. The facility’s rapid development and ambitious growth reflect Figure’s strategy to meet commitments to major clients, including BMW and a recently signed undisclosed U.S. company, while advancing its mission to integrate advanced AI-driven robots into everyday environments.

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