Europe

Hard Numbers: African migrant tragedy, G7 Russian gold ban, cocky Boris, Sri Lanka out of oil

Hard Numbers: African migrant tragedy, G7 Russian gold ban, cocky Boris, Sri Lanka out of oil
Gabriella Turrisi

23: At least 23 African migrants died on Friday while trying to jump the fence to enter Melilla, one of Spain's two enclaves in Morocco. It's the first such attempt since Madrid and Rabat recently eased long-simmering tensions over Western Sahara.

$15.45 billion: US President Joe Biden announced Sunday at the G7 summit in Germany that (most of) the group will ban imports of Russian gold to stop oligarchs from hoarding bullion to offset Western sanctions. Last year, Russia sold $15.45 billion worth of gold, with G7 member countries gobbling up 90% of exports.

2: After his Conservative Party lost two by-elections in once-safe Tory seats on Friday, Boris Johnson said he wants to stay on as British PM ... until the mid-2030s. Really? He barely survived a no-confidence vote earlier this month, but Johnson has shown he has the political survival instincts of a cockroach.

15,000: Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is now down to a measly 15,000 tons of fuel to serve the country of 22 million. The government's solution? Haggle for heavily-discounted Russian oil.

More For You

US President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva meet on the sidelines of the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 26, 2025.
REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Trump hosts Brazil’s Lula at White House today, Britons go to the polls, Morocco’s young prince steps into the spotlight

Natalie Johnson

Israel’s right-wing government has overseen a record expansion of settlements in the West Bank in recent years. The settlements, which are illegal under international law, are driving the displacement of Palestinians. One proposal the government is now advancing is the controversial E1 settlement plan, which would effectively slice the West Bank in two and severely undermine Palestinian aspirations for a contiguous state.