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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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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with journalists to comment on new U.S. sanctions targeting two major Russia's oil producers, as well as other international issues, in Moscow, Russia, October 23, 2025.
Sputnik/Alexander Shcherbak/Pool via REUTERS

The US has paused Russian oil sanctions in a bid to stabilize energy markets rocked by the war with Iran. Administration officials stress that it’s a “tailored” measure, applying only to oil already loaded onto tankers, but it’s still a gift to Russia, which has already been clocking an extra $150 million daily in oil revenues since the war began.

A Boeing C-135 Stratotanker / Stratolifter military aircraft known as KC-135 of the United States Air Force USAF configured as Air Tanker Transport for aerial refueling, powered by 4x CFMI jet engines and tail number 63-8003. The military plane spotted flying over the Netherlands in the blue sky from Mainland USA to Tel Aviv TLV to support the Israel USA - Iran war known as Operation Epic Fury by the US Department of Defense. Venlo, the Netherlands on March 2, 2026
Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto

4: The number of crew members aboard a US refuelling plane – out of six total – who died after the aircraft crashed in neighboring Iraq on Thursday, US Central Command said this morning.