1. Several European auto supplier plants and production lines have been shut down due to a shortage of rare earths caused by China imposing restrictions on exports.

2. Taiwan continues to "communicate closely" with the United States on tariff talks.

3. A top Philippine senator has drafted a resolution seeking to dismiss an impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, which could boost her chances of political survival.

4. Donald Trump signed a proclamation to restrict foreign student visas at Harvard University.

5. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that abandoning uranium enrichment was "100%" against the country's interests, rejecting a central US demand in talks to resolve a decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

6. Microsoft is offering free of charge to European governments a cybersecurity programme, launched on Wednesday.