Slowdown in EV adoption. In a major shift from one of the EU’s landmark green policies, the bloc’s leaders announced yesterday provisional plans to delay a 2035 deadline to end sales of new combustion engine cars. Its auto sector is struggling to respond to Chinese competition. Last month saw the slowest growth globally for electric vehicle (EV) sales in almost two years, a trend that analysts attributed to the retreat from green policies in the United States and weakening demand in China.
Rebel withdrawal in DRC. Rwanda-backed M23 rebels will withdraw from the DRC city of Uvira—which the group recently invaded—after a request from Washington, a rebel leader wrote on social media. M23 aims to give a Qatar-mediated peace process with the DRC “the maximum chance to succeed,” the statement said. But it added that the rebel withdrawal was contingent on factors like the deployment of a force to monitor a ceasefire.
Expanded U.S. travel ban. Trump added citizens of twenty additional countries, plus individuals with passports issued by the Palestinian Authority, to a list of people fully or partially banned from entering the United States. His proclamation claimed the countries failed to properly vet travelers. It also removed exceptions in a previous travel ban in June that had applied to immediate family members of U.S. citizens and Afghans who cooperated with the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan.
Ukraine war damages commission. The Netherlands will host an international commission that aims to force Russia to compensate Ukraine for damages from its war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European officials attended a launch event for the commission yesterday in the Hague. It is unclear how the group hopes to compel Russia to pay, though early discussions focus on using Russia’s frozen assets in Europe.
China’s reduced pork tariffs on Europe. China will impose tariffs of 4.9–19.8 percent on EU pork products rather than the up to 62.4 percent it previously planned, Beijing announced yesterday. The stepdown comes as both sides also conduct talks regarding the price of Chinese cars sold in the EU. The European Commission maintained yesterday that China’s anti-dumping probe regarding European pork was based on “questionable allegations and insufficient evidence.”
Hunger in Afghanistan. More than seventeen million people in Afghanistan are facing acute food insecurity as winter approaches, a senior official at the UN World Food Program said yesterday. After cuts in U.S. foreign assistance and an influx of returned migrants who had been in Iran and Pakistan, food aid is only reaching 2.7 percent of the country’s population, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a hunger watchdog initiative.
China-Mideast ties. China’s top diplomat Wang Yi conducted talks on economic relations and Middle East security on a visit to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates that concluded yesterday. He discussed work toward lasting peace in Gaza and urged Gulf Cooperation Council countries to finalize a trade deal with China after more than twenty years of talks. China and Saudi Arabia also signed a deal to waive visas for diplomatic and special passport holders.
U.S. threats on tech regulation. Washington will use “every tool at its disposal,” including fees and bans on foreign services, to counter EU penalties against U.S. technology companies that the U.S. trade office considers “discriminatory,” the office said on social media yesterday. The post listed European firms such as Accenture, Mistral, Siemens, and Spotify as potential targets. Earlier this month, Brussels hit X with a $140 million fine for breaking its rules. A European Commission spokesperson said Brussels “will continue to enforce our rules fairly, and without discrimination.”
