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Hard Numbers: Party with Bolsonaro, Foxconn quits India, Egyptian inflation soars, China fights gluttony

July 11, 2023
Carlos Santamaria
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro with a happy birthday banner
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro with a happy birthday banner
Annie Gugliotta

149.9: Most former presidents would not be in a celebratory mood if they lost reelection and then got banned from running in the next two elections. But not Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro, who is now hawking a Bolsonaro-themed birthday party pack on his online store. The kit includes party hats, cake decorations, and a plastic banner featuring the smiling far-right firebrand saying: “It’s party time, alright?” If you’ve got 149.9 reais (about $30) burning a hole in your pocket, it can be yours.

19.5 billion: Foxconn, the Taiwanese company that makes iPhones in China for Apple, pulled the plug on a $19.5 billion joint venture to make semiconductors in India after its application for a government subsidy that would've covered more than half the investment got bogged down by red tape. This is bad news for PM Narendra Modi, who wants India to become a chipmaking hub and pushed hard for the plant to be in his home state of Gujarat.

36.8: Egyptian inflation reached a record 36.8% year-on-year in June, beating the previous high from 2017, when the country devaluated its currency following an IMF bailout. Prices have skyrocketed since Russia invaded Ukraine, which made wheat imports prohibitively expensive and depleted foreign exchange reserves, putting Egypt on the brink of default.

108: A restaurant in China is in trouble for offering a free meal to whoever eats 108 spicy dumplings the fastest, earning the title of "King of the Big Stomach." Authorities are looking into a possible violation of China's anti-food waste laws, enacted two years ago to crack down on gluttonous food influencers in a nation where it's customary to offer more food than your guests can gobble up.

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