Hard Numbers: Swedish unrest, global economic slump, Libyan oil trouble, salty e-chopsticks
40: Riots in ... Sweden? At least 40 people have been wounded after several days of rare political unrest in the Nordic country, where a far-right, anti-immigration group wants to burn copies of the Quran in cities with big Muslim populations during Ramadan.
3.6: The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday predicted the global economy will grow by only 3.6% this year, 0.8 percentage points less than it anticipated in January, mainly due to the war in Ukraine. The gloomy outlook comes amid rising fears that stagflation — stagnant GDP growth plus double-digit inflation — might hit many economies in 2022.
600,000: Libyan oil production has declined to 600,000 barrels per day, half of the country's capacity, due to the recent closure of several production facilities. There’s a political angle: many of the sites have been blocked by opponents of interim PM Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, whose term expired in late December but refuses to hand over power to his successor picked by parliament.
50: If you love salty food but worry about your sodium levels, you’re in luck: Japanese scientists have developed electronic chopsticks that enhance salty taste by 50%. But wait, there's more! They're also working on — we kid you not — a lickable TV screen that mimics food flavors.