Hard Numbers — An All Fours Friday: Egypt vs. Batman, Russian execs vs. death, Oz vs. variant, McFly vs. flies

4: The latest summer blockbuster features Egyptian strongman Abdel Fattah el Sisi vs. The Caped Crusader. Local authorities have arrested four Facebook users for planning a fake street battle in Cairo to determine which of them is the “real Batman.” Police charged the men with “planning a riot.” Egypt’s human rights record remains darker than the Knight.

4: Australia is expanding the rollout of a fourth COVID vaccine dose for the general population as the country confronts a fresh wave of infections from the BA.4 and BA.5 variants. Australia, one of the most vaccinated countries on earth, has set aside its earlier policies of strict lockdowns and travel restrictions.

4: The boss of a Russian shipping firm that worked with state gas giant Gazprom was found shot to death in the pool of a swanky cottage outside St. Petersburg this week. Yury Voronov, who headed Astra Shipping, was the fourth Gazprom-linked businessman to die under shady circumstances this year.

4: Speaking of dropping like flies, as you may recall from a recent hump day recommendation, Signal writer Alex and his son purchased a Venus flytrap last month. They now report that the thing actually catches flies. McFly, as the plant has been named, is currently munching on no fewer than FOUR insects. Next, we’ll try a drop of human blood — what could possibly go wrong?