The U.K. on Sept. 18 amended the entry for China-based Autel Robotics under its Russia sanctions regime. The listing was revised to remove Autel Intelligent Technology as Autel Robotics' parent company.

Australia this week announced new sanctions against Russia and also said it's lowering its price cap on Russian oil from $60 per barrel to $47.60 per barrel, following a similar move by other nations imposing the cap (see 2507180017 and 2509120045). The new designations target 95 Russian "shadow fleet" vessels that are helping Moscow evade international sanctions, Australia said. "We will continue to take coordinated and decisive action to disrupt Russia's ability to fund its invasion, including through constraining its oil revenues."

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Los Mayos, an affiliate of the designated Sinaloa Cartel, for producing and trafficking fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine from northwest Mexico into the U.S. OFAC also sanctioned five people and 15 companies aiding Los Mayos just south of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The State Department this week announced the designations of four Iran-aligned militant groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The groups -- Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya and Kata’ib al-Imam Ali -- have aided Iran's military, including by planning attacks on U.S. facilities, the State Department said. "Engaging in certain transactions with them entails risk of secondary sanctions pursuant to counterterrorism authorities," it added.

The European Commission on Sept. 16 proposed suspending certain trade concessions made between the EU and Israel and sanctioning members of Hamas, extremist Israeli ministers and violent settlers. The commission also said it's "putting on hold its bilateral support to Israel," except for certain support to civil society and the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned a network of people and companies that it said are helping Iran move money, sell oil and evade international sanctions. The designations target financial facilitators in Iran, as well as more than a dozen people and companies based in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.

Canada this month renewed an exemption that allows Canadian organizations and people to continue to carry out humanitarian-related transactions with Syrian institutions that would otherwise be blocked under Canada's sanctions laws. The country renewed the measure for six months, saying it "will support the delivery of assistance in Syria during this important period of political transition." The extension allows Canadians, including the Syrian diaspora, civil society, nonprofit and charitable organizations, to carry out "humanitarian and stabilization activities and make transactions with sanctioned banks, including the Central Bank of Syria."

The Council of the European Union on Sept. 12 extended its individual sanctions, imposed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, for another six months, pushing them to March 15. The restrictions cover over 2,500 individuals and entities that were targeted "in response to Russia’s ongoing unjustified and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine." The council also decided not to renew the listings for one individual and to remove one "deceased person" from the restrictions.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued a reminder to industry to file annual reports on blocked property by Sept. 30. Holders of blocked property must provide the agency "with a comprehensive list of all blocked property held as of June 30 of the current year," it said.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control's new general license for Belavia Belarusian Airlines (see 2509110029), the state-owned flagship carrier of Belarus, was issued last week because Belarusian authorities recently released dozens of political prisoners, "demonstrating their desire to re-engage with the West," a State Department spokesperson said in an email Sept. 12.