Hard Numbers: India halves US tariffs, Columbia student sues Trump administration, FIFA president acquitted again, World’s longest-serving death row inmate acquitted

March 25, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 13, 2025.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

23 billion: India said on Tuesday that it’s open to cutting more than half of its tariffs against US imports – equivalent to $23 billion – in the first phase of a trade deal the two nations are negotiating. This is meant to head off the Trump administration’s April 2 deadline for reciprocal tariffs – which would hit 87% of India’s total exports to the US.

4: A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the deportation of Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old Columbia student who took part in pro-Palestine protests earlier this month. Chung, a legal permanent resident who has lived in the US since she was seven years old, is suing the Trump administration over its attempts to deport her for allegedly obstructing the US government’s foreign policy against antisemitism. Her lawsuit also seeks to stop the “pattern and practice of targeting individuals associated with protests for Palestinian rights for immigration enforcement,” arguing it violates the First Amendment. So far, three other Columbia students have been targeted by ICE officials since Mahmoud Khalil was taken into custody in early March.

2 million: A Swiss court on Tuesday cleared Sepp Blatter, former FIFA president, and Michel Platini, ex-UEFA chief, of fraud and mismanagement charges related to $2 million in FIFA funds. This marks the second time the two have been acquitted of offenses that prosecutors allege took place in 2011.

$1.45 million: Iwao Hakamata, 89, spent almost five decades on death row – a world record – before being acquitted of murder during a retrial last year. Now, thanks to a court decision on Tuesday, he is set to receive $1.45 million in compensation, which his lawyers say is the largest payout ever awarded in a criminal case in Japan.

Europe divided over Macron’s “reassurance force” for Ukraine

France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference following a summit for the "coalition of the willing" at the Elysee Palace in Paris on March 27, 2025.

LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS

At the third summit of the so-called “coalition of the willing” for Ukraine on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a multinational “reassurance force” to deter Russian aggression once a ceasefire is in place – and to engage if attacked.

How Imamoglu’s arrest is deepening Turkey’s economic woes

A group demonstrators chant slogans together as they hold posters during the protest. The ongoing protests were sparked by the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Sopa Images via Reuters

Last week’s arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu sparked the largest anti-government rallies in a decade and resulted in widespread arrests throughout Turkey. Nearly 1,900 people have been detained since the protests erupted eight days ago.

Chain reaction: Why Trump pulled Stefanik’s UN nomination

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the then-nominee for US ambassador to the UN, during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.

Al Drago/Pool/Sipa USA

An internal GOP poll found a Republican candidate trailing in a special election for a conservative-leaning district in Florida, forcing US President Donald Trump to make a decision aimed at maintaining the Republican Party’s majority in the House.

South Sudan’s vice president arrested, country on brink of civil war

South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar, pictured here addressing the press in 2020.

REUTERS/Samir Bol

Alarm bells are ringing ever more loudly in South Sudan, as Vice President Riek Machar — chief rival to Prime Minister Salva Kiir — was arrested late Wednesday in an operation involving 20 armored vehicles at his compound in Juba. He was placed under house arrest, a move that is fueling fears that the country will soon descend into civil war.

US-Taliban relations thaw amid race for Afghanistan’s mineral riches

Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, pictured here at the anniversary event of the departure of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 28, 2022.

REUTERS/Ali Khara

The Trump administration has dropped multimillion-dollar bounties on senior Afghan officials from the Haqqani network, a militant faction that carried out some of the deadliest attacks on American troops but has now positioned itself as a moderate wing within the Taliban government. But why?

Accelerating the net-zero transition through new collaboration models

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Hard Numbers: India halves US tariffs, Columbia student sues Trump administration, FIFA president acquitted again, World’s longest-serving death row inmate acquitted

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Hard Numbers: India halves US tariffs, Columbia student sues Trump administration, FIFA president acquitted again, World’s longest-serving death row inmate acquitted

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How long will President Donald Trump’s relationship with Elon Musk last? Ian Bremmer takes a look.

At the third summit of the so-called “coalition of the willing” for Ukraine on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a multinational “reassurance force” to deter Russian aggression once a ceasefire is in place – and to engage if attacked.

Last week’s arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu sparked the largest anti-government rallies in a decade and resulted in widespread arrests throughout Turkey. Nearly 1,900 people have been detained since the protests erupted eight days ago.

An internal GOP poll found a Republican candidate trailing in a special election for a conservative-leaning district in Florida, forcing US President Donald Trump to make a decision aimed at maintaining the Republican Party’s majority in the House.

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

The Trump administration has dropped multimillion-dollar bounties on senior Afghan officials from the Haqqani network, a militant faction that carried out some of the deadliest attacks on American troops but has now positioned itself as a moderate wing within the Taliban government. But why?

Have you stayed atop GZERO’s news coverage this week? Here’s your chance to prove it.

Canada’s foreign interference watchdog is warning that China, India, and Russia plan on meddling in the country’s federal election. The contest, which launched last weekend, has already been marked by a handful of stories about past covert foreign interventions and threats of new ones.