Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Hard Numbers

Hard Numbers: Japan contracts, North Korea launders, Chile freezes, Microbes resist

A man walks past advertisements for massage parlours in Tokyo's Kabukicho red-light district

A man walks past advertisements for massage parlours in Tokyo's Kabukicho red-light district

Make us preferred on Google
0.5: The GDP of Japan contracted by 0.5% in the first three months of this year. The dip raises concerns that the world’s third-largest economy could be headed for recession after showing no growth in the last quarter of 2023 and a slight decline last summer. Last month, Japan’s central bank raised interest rates above zero for the first time in 17 years in a bid to boost the value of the Yen, which recently hit a 34-year low, denting consumer spending as imported goods become more expensive.

147.5 million: North Korea laundered at least 147.5 million worth of cryptocurrency in March alone, according to UN investigators. That money was part of the more than $3.5 billion that Pyongyang’s hackers have allegedly stolen from crypto exchanges since 2017.

74: Call it “Santiago, Chilly.” The South American capital has suffered its worst cold snap in 74 years, with temperatures abruptly plunging to just above freezing in what is normally a temperate autumn time of year. Chilly Chilean authorities have declared a “code blue” emergency to assist people living on the suddenly freezing streets.

130 million: The most widespread form of #resistance in the world is actually invisible. Bacteria, viruses, and other parasites are developing “superbug” immunity to antibiotics, which are often overprescribed. The UK government and leading global drugmaker GSK are committing £130 million ($171 million) to address this problem of “antimicrobial resistance.”

More For You

A princess among men
Will Fitzpatrick
No, the change wasn’t a publicity stunt for the newly announced Princess Diaries 3. On Saturday, Liechtenstein’s hereditary prince announced that the tiny country of around 40,000 people would end male-only succession and adopt firstborn inheritance, opening the door for the first woman to lead the monarchy since the House of Liechtenstein was [...]
Mexico’s newest export boom
Natalie Johnson
Mexico’s top export to the US might surprise you. For decades, cars dominated trade, but computer servers have taken the top spot, according to a Financial Times analysis. Over the past year, Mexico has rapidly increased exports to the US of servers used in AI data centers. As in the auto industry, many core components come from Asia, particularly [...]
Japan’s outside-the-icebox way to stay cool
Will Fitzpatrick
A Japanese company has come up with a novel way to beat the heat: a human-sized refrigerator. The “Do Hiemon” personal cooling booth blasts users with cold air and claims it can lower body temperature in just minutes. The product comes as Japan endures another punishing summer marked by temperatures over 104 degrees and a surge in heat-related [...]
Europe’s first full solar eclipse in decades
Natalie Johnson
The skies over Greenland, Iceland, and Spain will briefly darken today as continental Europe experiences its first total solar eclipse in over 25 years. Millions more across Canada, the northern US, and northwest Africa will see a partial eclipse. The celestial spectacle has also revived an earthly debate: Do you really need special glasses to [...]