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Xi Jinping has declined an invitation to visit Brussels for an summit to mark the 50th anniversary of EU-China diplomatic ties, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Beijing told EU officials that Premier Li Qiang would meet the presidents of the European Council and Commission instead of Xi, the FT said, citing two people familiar with the matter whom it did not identify. The Chinese premier usually attends the summit when it is held in Brussels, while the president hosts it in Beijing, but the EU wants Xi to attend to commemorate half a century of relations between Beijing and the bloc, the newspaper said. Tensions between Brussels and Beijing have grown since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with the EU accusing China of backing the Kremlin, the FT said. Last year, the European Union also imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports. «Informal discussions are ongoing, both about setting the date for the EU-China summit this year and the level of representation,» an EU official told the newspaper, while the Chinese ministry was quoted as saying it did not have any information to provide on the matter.

US government agency that runs the Voice of America has moved to terminate contracts with The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse, and told its journalists Friday to stop using material from the wire services, as per a report. Kari Lake, the former broadcaster turned Republican politician who was selected by President Donald Trump to run VOA, estimated the move would save $53 million, AP reported. The new administration has quickly asserted its authority at VOA, which has delivered news from an American perspective to countries across the world. While awaiting official approval to take over, Lake was brought on as special adviser at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA and sister organizations like Radio Free Europe. She announced via social media on Thursday that she was ending the «expensive and unnecessary contracts» with the wire services. «We should not be paying outside news organizations to tell us what the news is,» said Lake, who ran unsuccessfully for Arizona governor. «With a nearly billion-dollar budget, we should be producing news ourselves. And if that's not possible, the American taxpayer should demand to know why.»

Donald Trump's wide-ranging trade war rouses fears of recession, global investors have found an unlikely new sanctuary: Chinese equities. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index — where many major Chinese companies are listed — is up 17 since Trump entered the White House in January. That compares to an about 9 per cent drop in the S&P 500, which has also shed $4 trillion in market value from record highs last month, Reuters reported. Trump's erratic pronouncement on tariffs and moves to slash federal government spending have challenged assumptions about the appeal of U.S.

Gig workers, or those outside traditional employer-employee relationships, are set to play a key role in the world's fifth-biggest economy, spurred partly by high unemployment after COVID-19 pandemic curbs fuelled growth in the sector. Tamil Nadu is also introducing an insurance scheme for nearly 150,000 gig workers to compensate for accidental deaths and disability, its finance minister, Thangam Thenarasu, said while unveiling the budget.

G7 nations were set to negotiate late into the night over a joint statement to show a united front in Canada on Thursday after weeks of tension between U.S. allies and President Donald Trump over his upending of Western trade and security policy. The Group of Seven ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, along with the European Union, convened in the remote tourist town of La Malbaie, nestled in the Quebec hills, for meetings on Thursday and Friday that in the past have been broadly consensual. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed his colleagues on talks on Tuesday with Ukraine in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where Kyiv said it was ready to support a 30-day ceasefire deal. But officials said ambiguous comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin left delegates unclear where things stood. In the run-up to the first G7 meeting of Canada's presidency, the crafting of an agreed all-encompassing final statement had been tough, but diplomats said the atmosphere since had been positive and candid.

Haldiram Snacks Food, India's biggest maker of bhujia and other ethnic snacks, Singaporean private equity firm Temasek signed a definitive agreement to buy 10% in the company at a valuation of $10 billion on Tuesday night, ET has reported based on information from executives directly aware of the developments. To command such a high valuation, Haldiram promoters, the Agarwal family, had been sprucing up its operations. The two business branches of the Haldiram group, Delhi and Nagpur, are being merged through a plan approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The promoter family also roped in a professional CEO in May 2023, a first for the company. Yet, the $10 billion ask by the promoters was not found convincing by several interested parties even though the iconic brand that started in 1937 with a tiny shop in the city of Bikaner in Rajasthan has grown into a mega business sprawling across products as well as territories, commanding leadership in a highly fragmented sector of ethnic savouries and snacks.

Donald Trump has warned his Russian counterpart of «doing things» if the nation refuses for a ceasefire deal with Ukraine. He suggested that financial measures could be used to pressure Moscow but emphasised his priority was achieving peace. While responding to the question about pressuring Russia, Trump said, «I can do things financially, that would be very bad for Russia. I don't want to do that because I want to get peace.» He has said that a ceasefire in Ukraine would benefit Russia but warned of potential downsides, without providing further details. According to Reuters, Trump confirmed that US officials were set to visit Russia to discuss a proposed 30-day halt in hostilities and the possibility of peace talks. After extensive discussions in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire, leaving the next move to Russia. «Hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia,» Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that he had received positive signals but remained cautious about the situation. The Kremlin, meanwhile, stated that it was awaiting details from Washington before responding to the proposal.

Global trade is forecast to grow, albeit less robustly, as the world reacts to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies, Germany's DHL Group CEO Tobias Meyer told Reuters on Wednesday. «That outlook is mainly based on the 75% of global trade that does not touch the U.S.,» said Meyer, who noted that segment is seeing positive momentum. The global goods trade is expected to expand at a compound annual rate of 3.1% from 2024 to 2029, a modestly faster pace than during the preceding decade, according to the DHL Trade Atlas 2025 prepared by delivery firm and New York University's Stern School of Business.

Lip-Bu Tan may be one of the most powerful technology executives you've never heard of. As he steps into one of the highest-profile jobs on the planet, CEO of troubled, storied chipmaker Intel, his performance will be on full display. Tan, named Intel CEO on Wednesday, faces an enormous challenge in turning around the operations of a company that put the «silicon» in Silicon Valley. While little known to the public, his advantage is that virtually every one of Intel's former and potential customers knows him and has done business with him, either buying one of the many startups he backed or using software from a company he ran.

It is not clear what exactly Moscow included on its list or whether it is willing to engage in peace talks with Kyiv prior to their acceptance. Russian and American officials discussed the terms during in-person and virtual conversations over the last three weeks, the people said. They described the Kremlin's terms as broad and similar to demands it previously has presented to Ukraine, the U.S. and NATO. Those earlier terms included no NATO membership for Kyiv, an agreement not to deploy foreign troops in Ukraine and international recognition of President Vladimir Putin's claim that Crimea and four provinces belong to Russia. Russia, in recent years, also has demanded the U.S. and NATO address what it has called the «root causes» of the war, including NATO's eastward expansion.

tariffs on imports like cocoa and fruit, according to a letter seen by Reuters. PepsiCo, Conagra and J M Smucker, are requesting that Trump exempt ingredients not available from U.S. sources to protect manufacturers who otherwise buy from domestic farmers and suppliers, according to the letter, sent on Monday by a consumer products trade group representing the companies, the Consumer Brands Association. Coffee, oats, cocoa, spices, tropical fruit and tin mill steel, used for specialty food and household goods, are among the imports listed as unavailable domestically in the letter. «We believe targeted and carefully calibrated removal of these ingredients and inputs from tariffs is appropriate to best protect U.S. manufacturers and support (Trump's) efforts to lower consumer inflation,» the letter said. PepsiCo and Smucker, which have executives sitting on the executive committee of the Consumer Brands Association, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Southwest Airlines recently announced that it will start charging customers a fee for checked bags and has ended its decades-old free policy, which its executive earlier described as a major differentiator from the budget carrier's rivals. According to Reuters, Tuesday's decision by the airline comes as its lackluster earnings fueled pressure to revamp the business model. Marking a departure from his passenger-friendly policies, this comes after it announced plans to end open seating last year.

SYDNEY: When Australian Dick Friend bought a Tesla in 2015, he was so impressed with its environmental credentials and performance that he and his wife bought two more of the electric vehicles, plus shares in the Elon Musk-led company. Now, however, he is selling his Tesla stock and will not replace one of his cars, wrecked in an accident last year, citing his objections to Musk's right-wing tilt and his growing role in the administration of Donald Trump. «The cars are brilliant, but we don't like the direction of the owner and we're voting with our feet,» said Friend, who splits time between homes in Hobart and Melbourne. Tesla sales in the four months since Trump's election were down 35% compared with the same time last year, according to data from Australia's Electric Vehicle Council, with a spate of vandalism in Australia and New Zealand over the last week also adding to evidence of contagion from Musk's role in the Trump administration.

U.S. Department of Education said on Tuesday it would lay off nearly half its staff, a possible precursor to closing altogether, as government agencies scrambled to meet President Donald Trump's deadline to submit plans for a second round of mass layoffs. The terminations are part of the department's «final mission,» it said in a press release, alluding to Trump's vow to eliminate the department, which oversees $1.6 trillion in college loans, enforces civil rights laws in schools and provides federal funding for needy districts. Asked on Fox News whether the firings would lead to the department's dismantling, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said yes, adding that doing so «was the president's mandate.» The layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 workers, down from 4,133 when Trump took office in January. Before announcing the layoffs, the agency ordered offices in the Washington area closed to staff from Tuesday evening through Wednesday, according to an internal notice seen by Reuters. Similar closures served as a precursor to shuttering the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the humanitarian aid agency, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which protects Americans against unscrupulous lenders.

Here are some facts about the drug war during Duterte's presidency from 2016 to 2022: CAMPAIGN VOWS TO 'KILL' As longtime mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao, Rodrigo Duterte was known as «the punisher» for his harsh policies. His profanity-packed speeches and death threats to drug gangs were a feature of his successful campaign for the presidency in 2016. Among his statements during the campaign were: «Forget the laws on human rights. If I make it to the presidential palace, I will do just what I did as mayor. You drug pushers, hold-up men and do-nothings, you better go out. Because I'd kill you.» He said his campaign in Davao kept citizens safe from crime. He also reiterated his intentions for a violent crackdown to Reuters reporters during the campaign.

Sensex and Nifty, traded lower on Tuesday, following a widespread sell-off in Asian markets after Wall Street dropped overnight due to recession concerns in the US. The rupee is likely to stay under pressure on Tuesday, as concerns over a potential recession sapped risk appetite across financial markets, driving most Asian currencies lower.

inflation likely eased below the Reserve Bank of India's medium-term target of 4.0% for the first time in six months on moderating food price rises, a Reuters poll showed, bolstering expectations of interest rate cuts. As fresh winter produce hit markets over the past few months, food items — which make up nearly half of the inflation basket — saw a sustained slowdown in price increases. That marked a welcome reprieve from supply disruptions last year when unpredictable monsoons and intense heat waves sent food prices soaring, often by double digits.

Elon Musk and make handsome profits without irking Donald Trump, reports say. Wealthy investors from China are channeling tens of millions of dollars into private enterprises under billionaire Elon Musk's control, through a strategy that keeps their identities concealed, Reuters reported on March 9 citing the Financial Times. This influx of capital is being funneled through special-purpose vehicles to circumvent the scrutiny of U.S. authorities and companies that are cautious about Chinese investment amid strained relations between the two nations, according to asset managers and investors involved in these deals.

Mantle Ridge has built a stake worth more than $1 billion in consultancy firm Cognizant Technology, saying its shares are undervalued, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Shares of the company, whose market capitalization stands at more than $41 billion, rose over 5% in extended trading. Mantle Ridge started buying up shares of the company in the second half of 2022, when the stock was trading in the high $50 to low $60 per-share range, the report added.

The latest figures published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics today (7 March) came in below market expectations, with economists polled by Reuters predicting the monthly rise in payrolls to hit 160,000 jobs. Nevertheless, the figures for February marked a significant increase from the downwardly-revised figure of 125,000 jobs for January this year. The largest rise was recorded in the healthcare sector, which added 52,000 jobs last month, in line with the average monthly gain of 54,000 over the last year. US adds 256,000 jobs in December as unemployment rate softens Non-farm...

economic data to gauge the Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory, which could also have a bearing on the domestic rate cycle. While yields on most bonds were flat, that on the 10-year benchmark bond rose slightly after the Reserve Bank of India did not include the note in next week's bond purchase.