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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.

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