Hard Numbers: Indian wheat, Czech worker shortage, Pyongyang airport missile launch, TSA no-mask fines
10 million: India plans to export 10 million metric tons of wheat this year to make up for the shortfall caused by the war between top producers Russia and Ukraine. Wheat prices have hit record highs in recent days amid wider fears of a looming global food price crisis.
2.2: The Czech Republic now has the lowest unemployment rate in the EU, at 2.2%. While that’s normally a good thing, the Czech economy is actually struggling to fill many jobs — in part due to a pandemic-fueled worker shortage.
12.4: Since North Korea doesn’t get a lot of international flights these days, Kim Jong Un has turned Pyongyang’s airport into a makeshift missile launch site. A rocket fired from there on Wednesday blew up after traveling 12.4 miles in less than a minute, reportedly shedding debris over the capital.
644,000: That’s the total amount of fines in dollars issued by the TSA to Americans who violated the federal mask mandate in US airports. Despite many states having recently lifted mask mandates for indoor activities, the TSA wants to keep it in place for US airports until at least April 18.