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10,000: Around 10,000 students boycotted the first day of school in Hong Kong on Monday, the latest twist in the Chinese territory's pro-democracy protests. The walk-out follows a tense weekend in which protesters threw fire-bombs and police beat and pepper-sprayed people in the Hong Kong Metro.

21.2: The average tariff applied to Chinese products crossing the US border hit 21.2 percent on Sunday after the latest round of US trade levies took effect. That's up from an average of 3.1 percent at the beginning of the Trump administration. The figure is due to rise further in December if the two countries can't find a way to resolve their escalating trade dispute.


882,000: Colombian president Ivan Duque is offering an $882,000 bounty for the capture of former FARC leaders who appeared in a video recording last week calling for followers to resume their armed struggle against the government. It's the latest sign that the 2016 peace deal that ended the guerilla group's 50-year Marxist insurgency is in danger of falling apart.

18: The US war in Afghanistan turns 18 years old next month. On Sunday, the US lead negotiator said the country was "at the threshold" of an agreement with the Taliban, which is expected to involve the withdrawal of roughly 14,000 US troops and other foreign forces from the country. Over the weekend, the Taliban stepped up a military offensive in northern Afghanistan.

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​U.S. President Donald Trump, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Tshisekedi and President of Rwanda Paul Kagame take part in a signing ceremony at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 4, 2025.

U.S. President Donald Trump, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Tshisekedi and President of Rwanda Paul Kagame take part in a signing ceremony at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 4, 2025.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
6,500: The number of M23 rebels fighting in Congo. On Monday, the US imposed sanctions on the Rwandan government for allegedly supporting the rebels, who’ve been accused of human rights abuses, despite a peace deal that Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi signed in Washington, D.C., last year. Rwanda disputes the [...]
​German Chancellor Friedrich Merz holds the framed birth certificate of U.S. President Donald Trump's grandfather as Merz and Trump shake hands during a meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 5, 2025.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz holds the framed birth certificate of U.S. President Donald Trump's grandfather as Merz and Trump shake hands during a meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 5, 2025.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
You probably know some of the more familiar German words in English: Schadenfreude, say. Or Angst. Maybe Realpolitik. And if nothing else: Hamburger.But here’s a deeper cut for those in the know: Drahtseilakt. It means “highwire act,” and it describes what German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the unpopular leader of Europe’s largest economy, needs to [...]
​Fighters from the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an Iranian Kurdish opposition group, are pictured near the border with Iran in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, in the outskirts of Sulaimaniya, Iraq, June 21, 2025.

Fighters from the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an Iranian Kurdish opposition group, are pictured near the border with Iran in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, in the outskirts of Sulaimaniya, Iraq, June 21, 2025.

REUTERS/Ako Rasheed
Trump reportedly speaks to Kurdish leaders in the Iran conflictAs the Iran conflict shows no signs of slowing, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu appear to be seeking allies within the country. The US president reportedly spoke with Kurdish leaders in Iraq after the attacks on Tehran over the weekend. The Kurds – considered one of the world’s [...]
​FILE PHOTO: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands before posing for a photo during the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, in Alberta, Canada, June 17, 2025.

FILE PHOTO: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands before posing for a photo during the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, in Alberta, Canada, June 17, 2025.

REUTERS/Amber Bracken/File Photo
Canada-India relations continue to recoverIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney struck a series of deals during a meeting in New Delhi on Monday, including a 10-year nuclear energy deal under which Canada will provide India with uranium. The two sides also agreed to finalize a free trade deal by year’s end. [...]