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

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.”