Hard Numbers: Crossing the Channel

6,000: The death toll from a measles outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has surpassed 6,000, according to the World Health Organization. The body said that lack of funding is "a huge impediment" to disease containment. It is asking countries to fork out a collective $40 million over six-months to extend vaccination programs, and to implement other elements of the outbreak response.

9: China and Pakistan have embarked on a nine-day joint naval drill in the Arabian Sea to enhance the security alliance between the two countries. The exercise, covering an area that hosts many crucial Indian ports, comes at a time of increased tensions between Pakistan and its arch-rival India over New Delhi's crackdown in disputed Kashmir.

176: A Ukrainian airliner carrying 176 people crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran's airport Wednesday, killing everyone on board. As tensions between Washington and Tehran escalate, dueling narratives persist regarding the cause of the crash: the US maintains that Iran mistakenly shot down the airliner.

1,800: More than 1,800 migrants successfully made the journey in small boats across the English Channel to Britain in 2019, representing a six-fold increase over the previous year. The surge likely reflects the closing of several French migrant camps, as well as Europe's crackdown on the people smuggling trade, prompting migrants to embark on the precarious channel crossing.