Our daily morning stroll around the world

🇺🇸🇻🇪 The US freed an ally of Venezuela’s president in exchange for 10 Americans and a fugitive defense contractor. The deal, which represents the largest release of American prisoners in Venezuela’s history, comes weeks after the US suspended some Venezuelan sanctions in exchange for President Nicolás Maduro agreeing to work toward a free and fair presidential election in 2024. The prisoner swap includes the transfer of a defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard” to American custody, where he’ll stand trial for allegations of bribing dozens of US officers with millions of dollars.

🇨🇦 Canada will require all new automobiles to be zero-emission by 2035. The new plan, announced Tuesday, stipulates that 20% of new vehicles must be fully electric or plug-in hybrids by 2026, a figure that rises to 60% by 2030 and 100% by 2035. Automakers unable to sell enough vehicles can buy credits from other manufacturers who exceed their targets. Proponents say the deal will help Canada reach the goals outlined in the COP28 climate conference, while critics argue it’s unrealistic due to the high cost of EVs and patchwork nature of charging networks.

🇪🇺 EU countries reached a deal to limit migration. Under the new system, EU nations located near high-immigration areas like northern Africa can accelerate screening, asylum assessments, and deportation of migrants. Inland countries will choose between accepting a certain number of refugees based on their GDP, population, and number of irregular border crossings, or paying money into a joint EU fund. The deal follows years of disagreements between member nations after the bloc's old rules collapsed in 2015, when 1+ million people, mainly fleeing war in Syria or Iraq, arrived in the EU without authorization.