Ukraine agreed in principle to an American proposal for an “immediate” 30-day ceasefire with Russia following talks in Saudi Arabia. In return, America said it would “immediately” unblock the flow of American weapons and intelligence to the country. Russia has yet to agree to the interim pause in the fighting. “The ball is now in their court,” said Marco Rubio, America’s secretary of state.
America’s global tariffs of 25% on steel and aluminium took effect. The EU immediately said it would place tariffs on €26bn-worth ($28bn) of American imports, to come into force next month. Earlier Donald Trump reversed his plan to double levies on Canada to 50% hours after he announced it. Canada’s Ontario province shelved its proposed 25% surcharge on American-bound electricity.
America’s House of Representatives narrowly passed a six-month funding bill to avoid a partial government shutdown from Friday. That is a victory for Mr Trump, who needed overwhelming party support for it to proceed. Only one Republican voted against the measure—and one Democrat for it. It now heads to the Senate, where it will require at least eight Democrats’ support to avoid a filibuster.
Portugal’s centre-right government collapsed after Luís Montenegro, the prime minister, lost a confidence vote. Mr Montenegro has faced a conflict-of-interest scandal over his alleged failure to divest shares in his family business. A snap election in mid-May is likely. It would be the country’s third election in less than four years.
Greenland’s pro-business opposition won 29.9% of the vote in a closely watched parliamentary election, beating the incumbent left-wing coalition. The victorious Demokraatit Party promised a gradual route to independence from Denmark and “more business to finance our welfare”. Mr Trump has vowed to make Greenland—a semi-autonomous region—part of America in order to boost his country’s security.
Reliance Jio signed an agreement to use Starlink satellite internet in India, the second tie-up between an Indian telecoms giant and Elon Musk’s SpaceX in two days. On Monday Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio’s rival, inked a similar deal. India is yet to permit Starlink to operate, but in October the government said it would allocate satellite-internet spectrum rather than auction it, with SpaceX presumed to be in prime position.
Around 100 hostages were rescued from militants during an ongoing mission in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, according to local media. The Baloch Liberation Army, a separatist militant group, had reportedly taken more than 450 train passengers hostage and threatened to begin executing them if the government did not begin releasing BLA prisoners.
Figure of the day: 1trn yuan ($140bn), the size of the venture-capital fund that China’s government wants to set up for tech-focused investment. Read the full story.
Donald Trump’s return to the presidency has brought exceptional changes to American politics—with consequences for the rest of the world, too. Read The US in brief, a daily update of the domestic political stories that matter. Sign up here to receive it as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.