U.S. tariff stepdown. The United States will remove and reduce tariffs on some products from Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Guatemala in exchange for their agreement to reduce a range of tariff and non-tariff barriers on U.S. products, the White House said yesterday. The Trump administration called the countries some of the United States’ “most critical strategic partners” in the hemisphere.
Suspected hack with Claude. Artificial intelligence (AI) firm Anthropic said it assesses with “high confidence” that Chinese state hackers used its technology to target around thirty global targets, including government agencies. Though the company said the hackers were unsuccessful at penetrating most of them, it is sharing information with government authorities about the incidents. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington said Beijing “firmly opposes and cracks down” on cyberattacks.
Russian attack on Kyiv. Russia carried out drone strikes on many areas of Kyiv overnight, killing at least six people there, officials said. Two others were killed in attacks in the country’s south. The offensive came during a turbulent political week for Ukraine. Following an announcement of a probe into the state power company, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the government would audit multiple state companies.
Europe’s green rule rollback. The European Parliament moved yesterday to remove sustainability reporting requirements from the vast majority of companies subject to them. The change is part of Brussels’ regulatory streamlining agenda, and Bloomberg reported Washington also supports the measure. It is now subject to approval by EU member states.
Xi to skip G20. Chinese President Xi Jinping will skip the upcoming Group of Twenty (G20) summit in South Africa and send the premier in his place, the country’s foreign ministry announced. The no-show list already included the presidents of Argentina, Mexico, and the United States. Trump said last week that no U.S. officials were planning to attend. Xi attended last year’s summit, and Beijing did not provide an explanation for this year’s absence.
Syria reopens London embassy. Syria reopened its embassy in the United Kingdom (UK) yesterday for the first time in more than a decade. Foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani said he had a successful meeting in London with his UK counterpart and the countries were discussing “deepening” their relations.
Canada-India mineral partnership. The countries announced plans yesterday to promote long-term partnerships in critical minerals and clean energy as Canada’s trade minister concluded a three-day visit to India. They will also explore cooperation in aerospace. The visit came as both countries seek to diversify trade partnerships against the backdrop of U.S. tariffs and as they reset their bilateral relationship.
The climate-health nexus. A coalition of philanthropies announced at the COP30 summit yesterday that they will spend $300 million on research and solutions related to the health impacts of extreme heat and air pollution, including climate-sensitive infectious diseases. COP30 organizers also launched a “health action plan” that encourages governments to track and coordinate climate-related health policies.
