World
China to investigate EU brandy imports in new anti-dumping probe
China is launching an anti-dumping probe into imports of brandy from the European Union, a move which follows the bloc’s trade inquiry into Chinese electric vehicles.
The Chinese ministry of commerce said Friday that the investigation comes after complaints were made by the country’s alcoholic beverages association on behalf of a domestic brand.
An anti-dumping probes involves investigating whether a country is importing products at a price below fair market value.
A spokesperson on behalf of the European Commission confirmed that the investigation concerned “spirits (commonly known as brandy) products derived from distilled wines originating in the European Union.”
“We are now assessing the documentation we have received, and will intervene in the framework of the investigation, as appropriate, in close cooperation with the EU industry concerned,” the EU executive’s spokesperson for trade, Olof Gill, said.
French cognac is expected to be the main target of the investigation. The announcement saw the shares of French spirits companies such as Pernod Ricard SA and Remy Cointreau SA plummet. Both are parent companies of popular cognac brands including Hennessy, Remy Martin and Martell.
The move is seen as a response to the EU’s anti-subsidy inquiry into Chinese-made electric vehicles, announced during European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s annual State of the Union speech in October.
The EU is concerned that Beijing’s import restrictions and generous subsidies for China-based firms are putting European companies at an unfair disadvantage, inflating the bloc’s massive trade deficit with Beijing.
Cheap Chinese electric vehicles have recently flooded the EU market, undercutting domestic producers and presenting an existential threat to Europe’s car industry.
“Global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars. And their price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies. This is distorting our market,” von der Leyen said in October. “And as we do not accept this distortion from the inside in our market, we do not accept this from the outside.”
France had been the leading voice amongst the EU’s 27 member state in advocating for the inquiry, as its leading domestic carmaker Renault called on Europe to act in response to China’s aggressive competition.
The Chinese response is seen as modest, given that liquor imports from the EU to China represents only a small fraction of the value of Beijing’s electric vehicle exports to the EU.
But it does mark a symbolic development in the ongoing EU-China trade spat.
European Union leaders reiterated their warning to China that it should play according to trade tules during a December EU-China summit in Beijing.
President von der Leyen said during the trip that the EU would “not tolerate that our (the EU’s) industrial base is undermined by unfair competition,” but also said both sides had agreed that trade between them should be balanced.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also expressed during the summit that he wanted Beijing and Brussels to cooperate as mutually beneficial partners.
The Asian giant is the EU’s biggest trading partner, with trade in goods amounting to a staggering €2.3 billion every day.
But EU imports from China now exceed its exports by almost €400 billion. This deficit has grown tenfold in the past 20 years and doubled over the past two years. According to von der Leyen, “such imbalances are just unsustainable.”
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President Donald Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has yet to read the updated peace plan to end the war with Russia amid several rounds of talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Miami.
“I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago,” Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center on Sunday. “His people love it, but he hasn’t.”
“Russia, I guess, would rather have the whole country when you think of it, but Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy is fine with it,” Trump added.
Zelenskyy said Saturday that he held a “long and substantive phone call” with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and the trio covered many points, including how to end Russia’s war and how to ensure Moscow will not invade again.
PUTIN CALLS TRUMP’S PEACE PLAN A ‘STARTING POINT’ AS HE WARNS UKRAINE TO PULL BACK OR FACE ‘FORCE’
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner attend talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow on Dec. 2, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The Ukrainian leader said he was waiting for members of his negotiating team to brief him in person on the latest round of talks.
Rustem Umerov, the head of the Ukrainian delegation and secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said Monday that he and Ukraine’s military chief of general staff, General Andriy Hnatov, would brief Zelenskyy on the latest developments, including the takeaways from Witkoff and Kushner’s five-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin arrived in New Delhi last week for a state visit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and gave an interview to the India Today news channel, where he said the negotiations with the Americans were long but productive.
Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi pose for a photo during their talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Dec. 5, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
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“Sometimes we said, yes, we can discuss this, but with that one we cannot agree,” said Putin, according to a transcript of the conversation released by the Kremlin.
The Russian leader stuck to his maximalist demands in the interview, arguing his war will only end when his country takes Ukraine’s eastern Donbas or Ukrainian troops withdraw.
Servicemen carry the coffin of 22-year-old volunteer soldier Yukhym Agafontsev during a farewell ceremony in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 2, 2025. (Dan Bashakov/AP)
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Zelenskyy is set to meet with European leaders in London Monday to discuss the U.S.-led peace plan. His arrival comes amid a new wave of Russian drone and missile barrages that have targeted Ukraine’s civilian and energy infrastructure.
Zelenskyy said in the last week alone, Russia launched more than 1,600 drones, roughly 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and nearly 70 missiles of various types against Ukraine.
World
European Commission to unveil €1.2 trillion plan to upgrade the EU's electric grids, leak shows
The European Commission has identified eight key energy projects under the “Grids Package” to be announced this week, Euronews has learned. The plan aims to increase electricity transmission across the EU27. The EU executive will also endorse storage and hydrogen projects.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The injury-riddled Kansas City Chiefs lost left tackle Wanya Morris to a left knee injury on the first play against the Houston Texans on Sunday night, leaving their makeshift offensive line with rookie Esa Pole protecting Patrick Mahomes’ blind side.
Not exactly an ideal situation against Danielle Hunter, Will Anderson Jr. and one of the best pass rushes in the NFL.
Then things got worse for Kansas City: Trent McDuffie hurt his knee later in the first quarter, when the former All-Pro cornerback jumped high in the air while trying in vain to defend a 46-yard pass from C.J. Stroud to Nico Collins.
Meanwhile, the Texans lost running back Nick Chubb to a rib injury. That left Dare Ogunbowale to back up Woody Marks.
The Chiefs already were forced into a patchwork offensive line after rookie left tackle Josh Simmons went on injured reserve this week following surgery to repair a fractured and dislocated wrist, and right tackle Jawaan Taylor was inactive due to a triceps injury.
That meant that primary backup Jaylon Moore was the starter at right tackle and Morris was in the lineup at left tackle.
The Chiefs also were missing standout right guard Trey Smith because of an ankle injury. Mike Caliendo started in his place.
Pole played two seasons at a California junior college and two at Washington State. He went undrafted in April and signed with the Chiefs the following month. He also had a stint with the Jets before returning to Kansas City in late October.
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