Briefly

ITALY

New cabinet wins 1st confidence vote

The new Italian cabinet led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni won the confidence of the lower house of Parliament on Tuesday, with 235 votes in favor, 154 against and five abstentions. The cabinet must now pass the second confidence test in the senate on Wednesday in order to become fully operative. Ahead of the vote, Meloni outlined the key points of her government's program, vowing to lead the country as best she can through what she described as some of the toughest times in decades.

IOM

29,000 migrants die on route to Europe

More than 29,000 migrants have died trying to reach Europe since 2014, with 5,000 deaths in the last two years, the International Organization for Migration said in a report on Tuesday. The United Nations agency's Missing Migrants Project spoke of "increasing numbers of deaths seen on routes across the Mediterranean, on land borders to Europe and within the continent". According to its report, the deadliest migration route continues to be the Central Mediterranean.

Agencies - Xinhua