Ukraine’s drone expertise. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with U.S. and Gulf officials about Ukraine’s drone experience in Russia’s war and using that knowledge to counter Iranian drones, he wrote on social media. In addition, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said the bloc would discuss utilizing Ukraine’s expertise during a meeting today with Gulf officials.
European approaches to military basing. France will allow U.S. aircraft to temporarily use some of its domestic bases to bolster the defense of regional allies, a French army general staff official said today. France demanded that the resources part of this arrangement “do not participate in any way” in U.S. operations in Iran. Spain continues to deny U.S. military aircraft access to its bases, its foreign minister said yesterday, contradicting the White House’s claim that Spain was cooperating.
China cuts growth target. The country is targeting economic growth of 4.5 to 5 percent of GDP in 2026, Premier Li Qiang announced in a speech today—the lowest such target since 1991. Li cited the “sluggish” global economy in his speech. China’s defense spending will rise 7 percent this year, he said, slightly down from a 7.2 percent increase in 2025.
Draft EU industrial policy. The EU proposed a plan yesterday to grow the country’s manufacturing sector to 20 percent of GDP by 2035, up from 14.3 percent in 2024. It includes requirements that a certain amount of products countries buy with EU money be made in Europe or partner countries such as the UK and Japan. It still requires approval by the European Parliament and EU leaders.
Bessent previews tariff hike. The United States will likely raise its 10 percent global tariffs—imposed with a different authority than the levies struck down by the Supreme Court last month—to 15 percent this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC yesterday. He said it was his “strong belief” that a variety of legal authorities would enable Trump to return tariffs to levels imposed before the ruling within five months.
Blackout in Cuba. Millions of Cubans in the country’s west lost power yesterday. The United States began restricting fuel imports to the island in recent weeks, and the country’s degraded electrical grid had already suffered from frequent power outages before. An official told government radio it could take seventy-two hours to restore power at the plant that sparked the outage.
UK’s China espionage probe. UK authorities detained three people yesterday on suspicions of spying for China, including a former Labour party advisor whose wife is a current Labour party lawmaker. They were then released on bail, police said today. The suspect did not immediately comment, though his wife said she was not being investigated and not part of his business activities. China’s embassy in London condemned what it called an effort to “fabricate facts.”
Pitch to onshore call centers. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is calling for public comment on proposals to onshore call centers, require their operators to be proficient in American Standard English, and crack down on illegal robocalls, chairman Brendan Carr announced yesterday. A merger between two broadband operators greenlit by the FCC last week included a pledge by the purchasing company to onshore jobs.
