As Europe scrambles to secure non-Russian sources of liquefied natural gas, the United States committed (Bloomberg) to helping guarantee at least fifteen billion cubic meters of additional supplies for Europe by the end of the year. Additionally, European Union (EU) countries will work to ensure demand for fifty billion cubic meters of U.S. fuel until at least 2030.
 
After U.S. President Joe Biden announced the deal in Brussels, he traveled to Poland, where he is meeting (NBC) with U.S. soldiers and Ukrainian refugees near the Ukrainian border. More than two million Ukrainian refugees have crossed into Poland since the start of the war. A senior U.S. official said yesterday that the United States will accept up to one hundred thousand Ukrainian refugees (NPR). Tomorrow, Biden will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda.

The Solomon Islands confirmed it is in talks with China (Reuters) about a new security agreement. Australia and New Zealand voiced concern over the pact, which an Australian diplomat said would lead to “significant pushback in the region.”
 
China/South Korea: South Korean President-Elect Yoon Suk-yeol asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to work together (Kyodo) to achieve denuclearization of North Korea. Yoon called Xi shortly after North Korea tested a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile.  
 
On The President’s Inbox podcast, CFR’s Scott A. Snyder lays out the global implications of North Korea’s recent missile tests.

During a meeting lasting more than three hours, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar reportedly told his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that the countries could not normalize relations (Times of India) until tensions on their shared border were resolved.
 
For Foreign Affairs, Shivshankar Menon looks at how India and China can keep the peace.
 
Myanmar: Japan’s top oil refiner, ENEOS Holdings, will pull out of Myanmar, Nikkei reported. Major oil and gas firms have been slow to leave the country (Nikkei) following its 2021 coup.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken departs tomorrow for Israel, the West Bank, Morocco, and Algeria. He is due to discuss the war in Ukraine (The Hill), Iran’s activities in the region, and Israeli-Palestinian relations.
 
France/UAE: French prosecutors opened an inquiry (AFP) into allegations that the current president of Interpol, Emirati Major-General Ahmed Naser al-Raisi, was responsible for the torture of an opposition figure when he served in the interior ministry of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The government yesterday declared a unilateral cease-fire (Bloomberg) to allow humanitarian aid to flow into the northern Tigray region. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front said it will “cease hostilities immediately” once it sees evidence of aid arriving.
 
Mali: The court of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) ordered the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to lift sanctions on Mali (Reuters) that were imposed after the country’s coups in 2020 and 2021. Mali had repeatedly asked for the sanctions to be lifted due to their humanitarian consequences.

The Digital Markets Act will impose restrictions (Politico) on tech companies’ use of personal data, mandates to allow users to install apps from third-party platforms, and a prohibition on self-preferencing practices.

The country’s resources minister said Canada plans to increase exports (Bloomberg) of crude oil by two hundred thousand barrels per day and natural gas by an equivalent of one hundred thousand barrels per day by the end of the year.
 
Uruguay: The country holds a referendum on Sunday (AS/COA) to consider repealing more than one hundred provisions of a wide-ranging law that President Luis Lacalle Pou introduced at the start of his term. Analysts see the referendum as a proxy midterm vote on his presidency.

The new rule issued by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security aims to process asylum cases and deportations (Reuters) within ninety days. An unnamed U.S. official told reporters that the rule will be phased in gradually.
 
This Backgrounder unpacks the U.S. immigration debate.