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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.
£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.
67: At least 67 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire while waiting for UN aid in northern Gaza, according to local medics — one of the deadliest in a string of similar incidents at aid distribution sites. Israel says its troops fired warning shots at a perceived threat, not at aid-seekers.
$10 billion: US President Donald Trump is suing the Wall Street Journal, its owner Rupert Murdoch, and others for $10 billion over a report linking him to a birthday note sent to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump calls the story defamatory and fake, while the Journal says it stands by its reporting and will fight the lawsuit.
3: China says it wants more foreign investment, but its recent actions against three foreigners are stoking broader concerns about the business climate. A Wells Fargo banker and a US official have been barred from leaving the country on legal grounds, while a Japanese executive was jailed for espionage.
140: An attack by hundreds of Ukrainian drones forced temporary closures at Moscow’s major airports on Sunday, leading to the cancellation of more than 140 flights. Meanwhile, a massive wave of Russian drone and missile strikes on various parts of Ukraine killed at least two people. Both sides have been steadily increasing their aerial attacks recently.
Trump, under GOP pressure, orders release of Epstein materials
“Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” US President Donald Trump reportedly wrote in a 2003 note to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to the Wall Street Journal. Trump says the letter is “fake” and has threatened to sue media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who owns the Journal. But after days of claiming that the Epstein case was a “hoax” – despite promising to publicize the files during his 2024 campaign – Trump instructed the Justice Department to release grand jury testimony from the Epstein prosecution. This falls short of some MAGA demands for the release of all investigative materials, but Trump is under pressure: 62% of Republicans now believe he is hiding Epstein’s “client list.” Could the scandal undermine Trump’s vice-like hold on his own party?
Brazil’s government doubles down against Bolsonaro
Brazilian police on Friday raided the home of former President Jair Bolsonaro and ordered him to wear an ankle bracelet to prevent him from fleeing the country. The rightwing populist is currently on trial for plotting a coup after losing his 2022 re-election bid. The move comes just days after Trump threatened crippling tariffs on Brazil over the “witch hunt” of his pal Bolsonaro. But current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has found that bucking Trump is popular – the leftwing leader’s dismal ratings have leapt as much as 5 points since he shot back at the “gringo” president. Still, Lula must tread carefully: Brazil is deeply polarized and Bolsonaro is popular with as much as 40% of the population.
North Korea closes beaches to foreigners (shucks!)
Just weeks after North Korea unveiled the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone — the summer’s hottest new vacation spot — the government has abruptly closed it to foreigners. No explanation was given. So far, the only tourists allowed in have been Russian. If you were planning to spend your August beachside in North Korea, we hope you booked refundable tickets — and we can at least offer you this banger from Puppet Regime as a consolation prize.