Members of Iranian women’s soccer team granted asylum, Another Canadian MP defects to Liberals, Strike planned at world’s largest meat producer, Drone strikes in the DRC

7: The number of members of the Iranian women’s soccer team who were granted asylum in Australia on Wednesday – including six players and one of the team’s support staff – after they refused to sing the national anthem during the Asian Cup soccer tournament there. However, one of the seven women withdrew her request on Wednesday and is set to return to Iran, despite fears of possible reprisals against the protesting players.

4: The number of Canadian MPs who have defected to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party since last year’s election, after Lori Idlout – formerly of the New Democratic Party – announced on Tuesday she was crossing the floor. Idlout’s switch puts Carney’s party within striking distance of a majority.

3,800: The approximate number of workers planning to go on strike next week at the world’s largest meat producer, JBS USA, in the first labor strike in the industry in decades. The walkout could further increase meat prices at a time when the Trump administration is trying to bring down the cost of living.

3: The number of people killed following drone strikes on Goma, a city in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that is currently held by the M23 rebels, a militant group allegedly backed by Rwanda. It was the first such attack on the city since the rebels seized the town late last year – M23 blamed it on the Congolese army – highlighting the challenge in implementing the US-brokered peace deal signed last year.