Author: staff
By Quirino Mealha with AP Published on 09/03/2026 – 17:06 GMT+1•Updated 17:14 G7 finance ministers discussed a coordinated release of emergency oil reserves on Monday but failed to reach agreement, with France’s Roland Lescure saying the group was “not there yet” on a deal. The G7 was exploring a coordinated release of emergency oil reserves to tamp down fears of an impending shortage but stopped short of a deal. Japan’s finance minister, Satsuki Katayama, said the International Energy Agency (IEA) explicitly requested the coordinated release during the G7 meeting, according to Bloomberg. Brent crude briefly hit $119.50 a barrel on Monday morning, its…
By Angela Symons with AP Published on 09/03/2026 – 16:47 GMT+1•Updated 16:48 Tourists and staff were airlifted from a national reserve in Kenya following severe flooding in the east African country. “A few days ago we had the Mara River and the Talek River also burst their banks… So a lot of the tourists and camp staff had already evacuated the camps,” Marc Goss explained, the CEO of Mara Elephant Project Trust. Most tourists in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in southwestern Kenya were evacuated before the downpour, authorities said. In the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, at least 25 people have died after…
The military action by the US and Israel against Iran is leading to price increases in the energy sector. The Hormuz trade route in the Persian Gulf is still blocked by the Iranian regime. Attacks on tankers, refineries and oil infrastructure are continuing. The price of Brent oil has risen dramatically, exceeding the $100 per barrel mark for the first time since 2022. Kerosene prices are also rising and aircraft fuel accounts for 20% to 30% of operating costs for most airlines. This means that flying is becoming more expensive for holidaymakers and could become even more expensive in the…
“The question is how long the Hormuz situation is going to last,” he added. “If this is over in a week, the effects are probably negligible. If this continues for a few weeks … especially as we’re getting into the summer months, that’s when exports really pick up again from the Russian side.” Humpert argued that supply disruptions “always favor the seller who can deliver on time, reliably and discounted.” India has been a key buyer of Russian crude since the start of the war in Ukraine, though purchases had recently declined under pressure from Washington. Last month, President Donald…
Published on 09/03/2026 – 14:20 GMT+1 The European Union shouldn’t shy away from a trade war with China if it wants to avoid deindustrialisation, according to a report published Monday by the bloc’s foreign-policy think tank, the European Union Institute for Security Studies. The report argues that confrontation with Beijing is likely unavoidable and urges Brussels to make it easier to deploy its most powerful trade-defence weapon, the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI). The analysis lands after year in which China continued to weaponise Europe’s dependence on rare earths and chips through export controls, while its trade surplus with the bloc ballooned…
A Finnish pair won the annual UK Wife Carrying Race held in Dorking, Surrey, where competitors race while carrying their partners on their shoulders. Firefighter Teemu Tuovinen and laboratory scientist Jatta Leinonen, both 28, took first place after travelling from Finland to compete. The race, now in its 18th year, features teams running up and down a hill, jumping over hay bales and passing through water obstacles while the carried partner wears a crash helmet. Participants said the experience was physically demanding but entertaining. Race director Ian Giles said the quirky event, inspired by a Finnish tradition, attracts competitors looking…
By Cristina Giner Published on 09/03/2026 – 15:19 GMT+1 Thanks to generative processes and virtual companions, the French multinational company Dassault Systèmes is pushing the boundaries of industrial innovation with the launch of AI-driven virtual companions designed to revolutionise the way industry customers approach design and manufacturing engineering. Dominic, Leo, and Marie are some of the names of the virtual companions that the Paris-based software giant has developed. Marie can answer scientific questions. Leo is built to reply to any engineering questions, and Dominic, displayed at the screens of the Dassault Systèmes booth at the Mobile World Congress, can answer any…
The 98th Academy Awards are this weekend, and whether we like it or not, that eight-and-a-half-pound gold-plated trophy for Best Picture remains the grandest prize of every year’s awards season. The Oscar for Best Picture is a distinction that cements a film’s place in history, and while it’s easy to second-guess the Academy on its laureates, putting these prize winners into context remains an interesting exercise – specifically to ascertain which ones have stood the test of time. And how only a handful truly deserved the award. Not long to find out who will be joining the winners list… Will…
Macron told reporters at a military base in Cyprus that he discussed the potential mission with his Greek and Cypriot counterparts, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Nikos Christodoulides. Macron’s visit to Cyprus Monday comes after the island suffered drone attacks last week following the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that plunged the region into conflict. “When Cyprus is attacked, it is Europe that is attacked,” Macron said as he pledged to uphold Franco-Cypriot defense agreements. France has already sent air defenses to Cyprus and deployed its only aircraft carrier to the region. Macron said France was looking to “take a strictly defensive stance…
Published on 09/03/2026 – 14:59 GMT+1 Washington and Beijing are both trying to weaken Europe because it constitutes an “unknown variable” in their power struggle, France’s foreign minister said on Monday, urging the European Union to stop doubting itself and assert itself on the global stage. “The main geopolitical challenge is the growing rivalry between two powers, two superpowers,” Jean‑Noël Barrot told the annual European Union Ambassadors Conference on Monday, citing the US and China. The two countries’ increasingly confrontational stances, coupled with their common desire to reshape the international order to their advantage, Barrot said, could see the world…