TRADE DEAL: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said today that she will start to “provisionally implement” a massive trade deal with the Mercosur bloc of nations in South America despite not having approval from the European Parliament.

“When they are ready, we are ready,” Ms von der Leyen said. With backing from European leaders, she said the Commission will “provisionally apply the agreement” after Uruguay and Argentina ratified the EU-Mercosur trade deal on Thursday.

CHINA: China’s legislature has dismissed 19 members, including nine who are military officers, one week ahead of the start of its annual meeting.

The late Thursday announcement did not say why the deputies had been removed, but such removals are generally tied to corruption investigations.

An anti-corruption campaign launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping shows no sign of letting up after more than a decade.

SWEDEN: The Swedish military has intercepted a suspected Russian drone off the south of the country as French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was docked in Malmo, officials say.

The armed forces said on Thursday that a Swedish naval ship observed the suspected drone during a patrol in the Oresund, the strait that divides Sweden from Denmark. Russia denies it was one of their drones.

They said that unspecified countermeasures were taken to disrupt the drone.

UKRAINE: The number of Ukrainians who left the country and have not returned has reached 5.6 million since 2022, according to a study by the Ukrainian Economic Strategy Centre.

Some 23 per cent of Ukrainian refugees live in Germany, with 19.5 per cent in Poland.