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Hard Numbers: UK signs big free trade deal, Russian tankers go down, ABC settles with Trump, Congo peace talks collapse.

December 15, 2024

Matthew Kendrick

FILE PHOTO: Christmas decorations adorn the outside of the Royal Exchange building in London, Britain, November 26, 2024.

REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe/File Photo

12: The UK became the 12th member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on Saturday, signing its biggest free trade agreement since Brexit. The deal will allow the UK lower trade tariffs with Canada, Mexico, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam — but it’s a far cry from the single EU market Britain left behind.

2: A pair of Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea suffered severe damage in a heavy storm near Crimea on Sunday, with at least one ship breaking up and the other reportedly running aground. Each ship had a capacity for around 3,500 tons of oil, and streaks of petroleum floating on water are visible on video from the accident, but the severity of the spill is not clear.

15 million: ABC News agreed on Sunday to pay $15 millionto settle a defamation lawsuit with President-elect Donald Trump, over comments from anchor George Stephanopoulos regarding Trump being found liable for sexual abuse in a New York court. The money will reportedly go toward a future presidential library.

12: M23 rebels in northeastern Congo were accused of slaughtering 12 civilians during an attack on Friday, just ahead of planned peace talks between Congo and Rwanda, which allegedly backs M23. The talks collapsed, with neither side showing up in Angola, which has been attempting to mediate the conflict.

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Jordan arrests 16 accused terrorists

People gather after Friday prayers during a protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, in Amman, Jordan, on April 4, 2025.

REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak

Jordanian authorities announced on Wednesday the arrest of 16 people accused of planning terrorist attacks inside Jordan. The country’s security services say the suspects had been under surveillance since 2021, and half a dozen of them were reportedly members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist organization.

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Hard Numbers: UK signs big free trade deal, Russian tankers go down, ABC settles with Trump, Congo peace talks collapse.

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A federal judge set up a showdown with the Trump administration on Wednesday with a ruling that threatens to find the government in contempt if it fails to comply with a judicial order to provide due process to Venezuelans deported to a prison in El Salvador.

California governor Gavin Newsom kicked off a campaign to promote Canadian tourism in his state, pitching its sunny beaches, lush vineyards, and world-class restaurants.

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Donald Trump’s administration announced that it is opening investigations into pharmaceutical and semiconductor supply chains, which will likely result in tariffs that will hurt suppliers in Europe, India, and Canada.

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2.75: Canada’s central bank held its key interest rate steady at 2.75% this week, ending a streak of seven consecutive cuts.

Hard as it is to imagine amid the harrowing US-China trade war these days, there was a time when the two countries hardly did any business with each other.

As the Democrats start plotting their fight back into power in the 2026 midterms, one issue has come up again and again.

China’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, expanding at an annual rate of 5.4% — 0.3 percentage points above forecasts — driven by strong consumer spending and industrial output.