Hard Numbers: Violent crime falls in the US, Germany’s economy to slump again, Albania mulls new Muslim microstate, Droughts darken Ecuador

3: Overall violent crime in the US fell by 3% in 2023, with intentional killings falling by nearly 12%, and rapes down 9%, according to new FBI data. The data, which cover areas that are home to more than 300 million Americans, suggest crime is returning to levels seen before the pandemic-related surge. But a closer look at the data shows a nuance: While violent crime fell in big cities, it rose slightly in medium-sized ones. Donald Trump has put perceptions of rising crime at the center of the 2024 race, claiming lawlessness is “through the roof.”

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0.1: Das ist NICHT gut! Germany’s GDP is expected to shrink by 0.1% this year, according to leading German economic forecasters. This would mark a second straight year of contraction in Europe’s largest economy, which shrunk 0.3% last year. Weak global demand for German exports, coupled with high energy costs are to blame, say experts.

27: The government of Albania is planning to give a sect of Shiite Sufi Muslims their own Vatican-style state on 27 acres of land in the capital city of Tirana. The project is the brainchild of Baba Mondi, leader of the Sufi Bektashi Order, which has millions of followers, and Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama. The purpose of the microstate – which would permit alcohol and allow women to dress as they please – is to promote a tolerant vision of Islam and to combat “the stigma of Muslims.”

12: The worst drought in recent memory is forcing the people of Ecuador into the dark. The government this week announced that nationwide power cuts would last for 12 hours every day, to give a breather to the Andean nation’s parched hydroelectric dams. Will it work? “I can’t predict something that only God knows,” Energy Minister Antonio Goncalves told Reuters.