Latest news for 11 March 2026

CHINA

Claw it back.

Authorities have banned state-run companies and government agencies from downloading OpenClaw AI agents, citing security reasons. OpenClaw generally requires broad access to private data and can communicate externally to carry out tasks independently. (Bloomberg $)

CANADA

Shots fired.

Authorities are investigating after someone fired shots at the US consulate in Toronto, days after an IED exploded outside the US embassy in Oslo. (Guardian)

Comment: Any investigation’s working assumption will be that this violence against US diplomatic missions is, one way or another, linked to the Iran war.

MONGOLIA

Unfair terms.

Mongolia is reportedly pressuring British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto to renegotiate the 17-year-old terms of its vast Oyu Tolgoi copper mine amid a price surge for the metal. (FT $)

Comment: Regular readers will recall it was Ghana and gold last week, as budget-stretched capitals everywhere reconsider the rules amid record commodity prices.

KOSOVO

Not yet.

Kosovo’s top court has barred the president from announcing elections, pending a lawsuit alleging her snap election decree was unlawful. (Reuters)

Comment: Amid an intractable political deadlock, it’d be Kosovo’s third parliamentary vote in just over a year.

SRI LANKA

Now what?

India and Sri Lanka are now hosting over 400 Iranian sailors from two more warships after the US sank that Iranian frigate off Sri Lanka last week. (France24)

Comment: It’s a diplomatic headache for these two countries (Sri Lanka and India) seeking to balance ties between Iran and the US (their top export market). But there’s also Iran’s odd balance between (say) talking tough to the US, while publicly thanking these capitals for helping spare Iran’s warships from war.

Mali

Back in the fold?

The US is close to a deal with junta-run Mali to resume anti-jihadist drone surveillance after DC lifted sanctions on junta officials. (Reuters)

Comment: This whole relationship is complicated by the continued presence of an American pilot captured while working with Christian missionaries in-country.