Hard Numbers: Pakistan suffers blast, Phoenix melts, Bolivia embraces yuan, US aids Taiwan, Barbie rakes it in
45: At least 45 people were killed and over 150 injured in a bomb blast Sunday in Pakistan at a convention of the country’s conservative Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Party in Bajaur ahead of this year’s elections. No group has claimed responsibility, but a local branch of the Islamic State group in Pakistan is believed to have launched recent attacks in Bajaur.
31: As of Sunday, the city of Phoenix, AZ, had sweltered in 110-degree heat for a record 31 days, according to the National Weather Service. The previous record was 18 days, set in 1974. But luckily, it looks like things are set to cool off with the arrival of late monsoon rains.
10: Bolivia announced that 10% of its trade between May and July was done in yuan, rather than the American dollar. Following in the footsteps of Argentina and Brazil, Bolivia is the third South American nation to begin to pivot from the greenback to the yuan.
345 million: On Friday, the US announced a $345 million military aid package for Taiwan to help counter China. In addition to education, training, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, Washington will send man-portable air defense systems, firearms, and missiles.
750 million: "Barbie" is predicted to top $750 million in box office earnings worldwide after its second weekend in theaters, making it 2023’s fourth-biggest domestic release ("The Super Mario Bros. Movie," "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3" in the 1-2-3 positions). But in case you’ve forgotten that we’re living in a Barbenheimer world, "Oppenheimer" was expected to pull in a cool $400 million by the end of the weekend.