Hard Numbers: UK royal jubilee, North Korea ups weapons game, Moroccan tragedy, Costa Rican runoff
70: On Sunday, Queen Elizabeth II marked her 70th year as the British monarch, making a surprise announcement about wanting Prince Charles' wife Camilla to be named "Queen Consort" when the time comes. The UK is planning a series of Platinum Jubilee festivities this year, culminating over a long weekend in early June.
9: The US and its allies say North Korea conducted a record nine missile tests in January. A new UN report says Pyongyang has ramped up its weapons program throughout the pandemic, financing it partly with stolen crypto wealth. Officials from the US, Japan, and South Korea will meet on Thursday in Honolulu to discuss these and other issues, including the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
4: A 5-year-old Moroccan boy who was trapped for four days after falling deep in a well has died. Rescuers recovered Rayan’s body on Saturday. His plight grabbed global headlines, and the country’s king expressed his condolences to the boy’s family.
27.3: Former President José María Figueres won the first round of Costa Rica's presidential election on Sunday. Figueres got 27.3% of the vote with three-quarters of the ballots in. His rival in the April 3 runoff will be Rodrigo Chaves, a former finance minister and fellow centrist.