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Hard Numbers: Trump says Canada should join the US, Ireland’s new government braces for Trump tariffs, Research confirms Kremlin abducted Ukrainian children, Vietnam real-estate tycoon faces death sentence for fraud

​U.S. President Donald Trump talks with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Plenary Session at the NATO summit in Watford, Britain, December 4, 2019.

U.S. President Donald Trump talks with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Plenary Session at the NATO summit in Watford, Britain, December 4, 2019.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
51: During Friday’s tense dinner at Mar-a-Lago, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau implored Donald Trump to rethink his promise to impose a 25% tariff on Canada because it would cripple the Canadian economy. To which Trump responded, according to reports late Monday, that if Canada can’t “survive unless it’s ripping off the US to the tune of $100 billion,” it should become the 51st state. Trump has threatened to impose the tariff until Canada strengthens its border to limit the flow of immigrants and fentanyl into the US.

1,000: The winners of Ireland’s election last week are scrambling to put together a new coalition government before Donald Trump takes office in January, expediting a process that normally takes months. The rush comes from Irish lawmakers recognizing that they must form a government strong enough to withstand the threat of Trump’s tariffs and protectionist rhetoric. The nearly 1,000 American multinational companies operating in Ireland are by far the biggest contributors to the state’s income and corporate tax bases, leaving the Emerald Isle highly exposed if American companies begin reshoring to avoid tariffs.

314: Research from Yale’s School of Public Health revealed on Tuesday that Russia took 314 children from occupied Ukrainian territories, stripped them of their Ukrainian identity, and put them in the custody of Russian families using the Kremlin’s aircraft and funds. The report asserts that the deportations were part of a systemic, Putin-backed program to “Russify” Ukrainian children.

12.5 billion: A Vietnamese court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence for Truong My Lan, a real estate tycoon convicted of embezzling $12.5 billion. It offered to downgrade the sentence to life in prison if she reimbursed $11 billion, but her lawyers argued she had already repaid the money. The scale of Lan’s deception rattled Vietnam’s economic outlook earlier this year, spooking foreign investors at a time when Vietnam was trying to position itself as an alternative for businesses moving their supply chains away from China.

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REUTERS/Norlys Perez
10: The number of Cubans who took a Florida-registered speedboat to Cuba’s coast on Wednesday before engaging in a gunfight with border troops from the communist-run island. Four of them died in the shootout. All 10 reportedly resided in the United States. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the incident was not part of a US government operation. [...]
​He Weidong, Zhang Youxia, and Li Shangfu swear oaths as they are selected as China's Central Military Commission members during the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on March 11, 2023.

He Weidong, Zhang Youxia, and Li Shangfu swear oaths as they are selected as China's Central Military Commission members during the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on March 11, 2023.

The Yomiuri Shimbun
100: The estimated number of senior officials who’ve been sidelined or have disappeared from China’s military since 2022, according to a study released on Tuesday. According to analysts, those swept up in President Xi Jinping’s purge of his armed forces make up roughly half of the top military leadership. [...]
​Members of the Mexican army stand guard at a roundabout on a main avenue in Guadalajara, Mexico, on February 23, 2026.

Members of the Mexican army stand guard at a roundabout on a main avenue, following a military operation in which Mexican officials said cartel boss Nemesio Oseguera, "El Mencho," was killed in Jalisco state, in Guadalajara, Mexico, on February 23, 2026.

REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez
62: The number of people killed – including 25 Mexican National Guard members and 34 suspected gang members – in the nationwide chaos that erupted following a military operation that killed one of Mexico’s most powerful cartel leaders, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, on Sunday. President Claudia Sheinbaum deployed 2,000 troops to Jalisco state, [...]