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Hard Numbers: ISIS-K strikes, ripple effects of Canadian wildfires, eurozone recession, Aussies rescue humpback in distress

Security forces keeping watch after mosque explosion
Security forces keeping watch after mosque explosion
Reuters

11: At least 11 people, including two Taliban officials, were killed and dozens more injured in an explosion in a mosque in northeastern Afghanistan. The Islamic State offshoot has since taken responsibility for the blast. For more on ISIS-K and its ongoing beef with the Taliban, see our explainer here.

5,804: Smoke plumes from wildfires in Canada caused at least 5,804 delays on flights in and out of the US on Wednesday, as the Northeast in particular struggles with off-the-charts smoke pollution levels that have closed schools and public events. Meanwhile, experts say smoke plumes are expected to reach as far away as Norway after having recently passed over Greenland and Iceland.

0.1: The eurozone is technically in recession territory after recording two consecutive quarter contractions of 0.1% – in the last quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of this year. Still, the bloc’s economy is doing better than many initially anticipated at the outset of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and should grow by 0.9% this year.

40,000: Mesmerizing footage captured Australian marine workers rescuing a humpback whale that got tangled in a shark net off the coast of New South Wales. As more humpbacks — around 40,000 — head towards that coastline amid the northern migration season (May-November), Aussies have a special disentanglement crew ready to aid mammals that get stuck.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with journalists to comment on new U.S. sanctions targeting two major Russia's oil producers, as well as other international issues, in Moscow, Russia, October 23, 2025.
Sputnik/Alexander Shcherbak/Pool via REUTERS

The US has paused Russian oil sanctions in a bid to stabilize energy markets rocked by the war with Iran. Administration officials stress that it’s a “tailored” measure, applying only to oil already loaded onto tankers, but it’s still a gift to Russia, which has already been clocking an extra $150 million daily in oil revenues since the war began.

A Boeing C-135 Stratotanker / Stratolifter military aircraft known as KC-135 of the United States Air Force USAF configured as Air Tanker Transport for aerial refueling, powered by 4x CFMI jet engines and tail number 63-8003. The military plane spotted flying over the Netherlands in the blue sky from Mainland USA to Tel Aviv TLV to support the Israel USA - Iran war known as Operation Epic Fury by the US Department of Defense. Venlo, the Netherlands on March 2, 2026
Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto

4: The number of crew members aboard a US refuelling plane – out of six total – who died after the aircraft crashed in neighboring Iraq on Thursday, US Central Command said this morning.