News

The Graphic Truth: Top economies falter in first quarter

In recent weeks, data showing GDP figures for Q1 2020 have started trickling in, painting a grim picture of a global economy in turmoil. Coronavirus lockdowns have reduced both demand and supply of goods and services, pushing many of the world's largest economies into recession for the first time in years. Government-mandated business closures, meanwhile, have reduced the output of once-booming economies across Asia, Europe and the US, prompting an unprecedented rise in unemployment. So, how bad is it? Here's a look at the GDP contractions and unemployment rates for the world's largest economies.

More For You

Iran war threatens water access in Middle East
Natalie Johnson, Eileen Zhang

As missiles fly and oil prices soar, the Iran war is exposing another major resource vulnerability in the Middle East: water. Fresh water has been a scarce commodity in a region defined by a dry climate and low rainfall, but attacks on the region’s desalination plants, which convert seawater into drinking water, threaten to open a new front.