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HARD NUMBERS: Trump pitches Europe on joint tariffs, Mexico nabs uniformed diesel smugglers, Hong Kong lawmakers veto same-sex bill, Apple holds prices steady

​U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, after an announcement of a trade deal between the U.S. and EU, in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 27, 2025.

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, after an announcement of a trade deal between the U.S. and EU, in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 27, 2025.

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
100: In his ongoing, and so-far fruitless, efforts to convince Vladimir Putin to stop the war in Ukraine, Donald Trump reportedly asked the EU to apply 100% tariffs on India and China, the Kremlin’s most important trade partners. The report also said Trump was prepared to apply those same tariffs himself if the EU agreed.

14: Mexican authorities have detained 14 people, including several active duty Marines, for smuggling diesel fuel into the country from the United States. The scandal could put further pressure on an already-strained relationship between the US and Mexico, key allies in Washington’s “War on Drugs.”

71: Hong Kong’s legislature vetoed a government-backed bill that would have granted some additional marital rights to same-sex couples registered overseas. Seventy-one lawmakers voted against the bill, with 14 in favor.

5.6: Apple on Wednesday introduced a new, slimmer iPhone “Air” model which is just 5.6mm thick. But the fatter news from the event is that the company has decided not to increase prices for iPhones, despite the impact of new US tariffs, which are currently costing the tech giant more than $1 billion per quarter.

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A flood victim stands at her flooded home after weeks of heavy rainfall in Boane District, Maputo, Mozambique, January 19, 2026.

REUTERS/Amilton Neves/File Photo
392,000: The estimated number of people displaced across Mozambique by recent rain-induced floods. Severe flooding in the southern African nation, as well as in South Africa and Zimbabwe, has killed over 100 people. Experts say climate change has exacerbated the rainfall and flooding. [...]
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REUTERS/Norlys Perez
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Fighters of the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, attend a rally marking the 35th anniversary of the group's foundation in Gaza City on December 14, 2022.

Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto
10,000: The number of Hamas officers that the militant group reportedly wants to incorporate into the US-backed Palestinian administration for Gaza, in the form of a police force. This move could act as a workaround for Hamas’ disarmament, which is a key condition of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire. Israel will likely oppose this move, [...]
Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing (R) arrives at a polling station in the Myanmar capital of Naypyitaw on Dec. 28, 2025.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing (R) arrives at a polling station in the Myanmar capital of Naypyitaw on Dec. 28, 2025, for the country's first general election since a 2021 coup.

Kyodo
57: The number of seats – out of 61 – that Myanmar’s military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party has won in the lower house following Sunday’s election, according to a party official. The election, the first since the army seized power in 2021, was widely viewed as a sham, with many townships refusing to vote. [...]