UK retail sales volumes dropped for a fifth month in a row during September, official data showed Friday, as the country suffers supply constraints and high prices.

New Zealand passed a law Thursday forcing banks to reveal the impact of their investments on climate change, describing it as a world-first move to make the financial sector’s environmental record more transparent.

UK government borrowing fell by more than expected in September but remains elevated on Covid, official data showed Thursday ahead of next week’s budget announcement.

The United Nations on Wednesday launched a funding programme aimed at preventing the Afghan economy from collapsing during the winter by getting cash flowing through the local economy again.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, recouping earlier losses, as falling temperatures in China revived concerns about its ability to meet heating demand needs amid power and coal shortages.

Moscow on Friday rolled out a facial recognition payment system in the city’s metro system, part of a rapid expansion of the controversial technology in Russia.

Russian gas consumption is running at a record high but Moscow is still ready to increase supplies to Europe should it receive such requests, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Saturday.

At a warehouse northwest of London, dozens of workers sort boxes of Christmas toys, scanning barcodes and moving them on forklift trucks.

The European Union will seek a ban on tapping new oil, coal and gas deposits in the Arctic to protect a region severely affected by climate change, according to a proposal for the bloc’s new Arctic strategy published on Wednesday.

Global shortages in industrial components and raw materials have cramped Germany’s export driven economy, prompting the country’s leading economic institutes to slash their forecast for growth this year on Thursday.

British American Tobacco will cease all operations in military-ruled Myanmar and withdraw by the end of this year, the company said on Tuesday, the latest Western firm to pull out of the country in turmoil since a February coup.

Britain’s economy rebounded in August despite ongoing supply chain woes, as people socialised more due to the lifting of coronavirus curbs, data showed Wednesday.

British grocery prices increased 1.7 per cent in the four weeks to Oct. 3 year-on-year, market researcher Kantar said on Tuesday, adding to pressure on households already facing soaring energy bills.

France wants to be a leader in green hydrogen by 2030 and build new, smaller nuclear reactors as part of a 30 billion euro ($35 billion) investment plan aimed at fostering industrial champions and innovation, President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday.

British employers increased their payrolls to a record high in September, shortly before the end of the government’s wage subsidies scheme, potentially encouraging the Bank of England’s progress towards a first post-pandemic interest rate hike.

The IMF Executive Board reaffirmed on Monday its  “full confidence” in the Washington-based crisis lender’s chief, Kristalina Georgieva, keeping her on as managing director after she was hit with allegations of data tampering.

France wants to be a leader in green hydrogen by 2030 and build low-carbon planes and small nuclear reactors as part of a 30 billion euro ($35 billion) investment plan, President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday.

Oil prices rose by about 2 per cent on Monday, extending gains as an energy crisis grips major economies amid a pick-up in economic activity and restrained supplies from major producers.

China has won the artificial intelligence battle with the United States and is heading towards global dominance because of its technological advances, the Pentagon’s former software chief told the Financial Times.

The International Monetary Fund said Sunday it still had not decided whether its embattled chief would keep her job, with the lack of clarity over Kristalina Georgieva’s future threatening to overshadow the body’s fall meetings this week.