Hard Numbers: UK-India trade deal signed, Zelensky backs down on anti-corruption move, Columbia settles with Trump, Togo protests escalate, & Trump’s name reportedly makes an Epstein file cameo

​India Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Chequers Estate, United Kingdom, on July 24, 2025.
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer as they sign a free trade agreement at the Chequers Estate, United Kingdom, on July 24, 2025.
Indian Prime Minister Office handout/EYEPRESS

£6 billion: India and the United Kingdom formally signed a trade deal worth £6 billion ($8.1 billion).Under the deal, first announced in May, India will drop its tariffs on UK cars and whisky imports, while the UK will reduce barriers to imports of Indian textiles and jewelry. The agreement also includes efforts to tackle illegal migration.

2: After two days of protests in Kyiv against a government decision to subsume independent anti-corruption bodies, President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to retreat on the move, approving new legislation that would preserve these agencies’ independence. Zelensky’s decision came after he received advice on the matter from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

5: At least five demonstrators have died in Togo in recent weeks amid protests against long-time leader Faure Gnassingbé’s successful effort to circumvent constitutional term limits and remain in power. The Togolese leader had occupied the role of president, but has now adopted a new role as the all-powerful prime minister. More protests are expected Friday.

$221 million: Columbia University will pay fines of $221 million in a settlement with the Trump administration over allegations that the school failed to prevent the harassment of Jewish students. The elite school also pledged to stop using race as a factor in admissions and hiring. In exchange, the government will restore hundreds of millions of dollars in suspended research funding.

300: President Donald Trump’s name reportedly appears somewhere in the Justice Department’s 300 gigabyte trove of Jeffery Epstein investigation documents and, according to the Wall Street Journal, Trump knows it, having heard directly from Attorney General Pam Bondi in May. Separately, DOJ officials are interviewing Epstein sidekick Ghislaine Maxwell in Florida today.

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