Hard Numbers: Migrants overwhelm Italy, Myanmar activists executed, EU gas solidarity tested, China's BRI sours on Russia

Hard Numbers: Migrants overwhelm Italy, Myanmar activists executed, EU gas solidarity tested, China's BRI sours on Russia
Sea Watch crew member gives lifejackets to migrants on an overcrowded inflatable boat in the Mediterranean Sea.
Nora Bording/Sea Watch/Handout via REUTERS

1,200: Almost 1,200 undocumented migrants from Africa and the Middle East arrived over the weekend in Italy, where immigration centers are already overwhelmed. Giorgia Meloni, the far-right frontrunner to become the next PM, has vowed to crack down hard on migration if she gets the top job.

4: Myanmar's military junta executed four pro-democracy activists, the first time the country has carried out the death penalty since 1988 according to the UN. The four include a former MP and all were convicted of committing "terror acts."

15: Some EU member states are pushing back against Brussels' plans to cut natural gas consumption by 15% to ensure winter supplies as Russia lowers deliveries. So much for EU solidarity in the face of possible gas rationing for much of the bloc.

0: Investment in Russia by China's Belt and Road Initiative has dropped to zero for the first time. Although the Chinese are buying a lot more Russian fossil fuels since the invasion of Ukraine, Beijing worries that future infrastructure projects inside Russia could become exposed to Western sanctions.

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