Showing 1 - 10 of 3,909
Delicate extraction: Malaysia offers rare earths alternative to China
AFP, Published on 22/04/2026
» GEBENG (MALAYSIA) - Workers load tonnes of rare earth minerals into bags ready for shipping at a refinery in eastern Malaysia, fuelling the global pushback against China's grip on the critical sector.
Oil and stocks steady amid hope for peace talks
AFP, Published on 21/04/2026
» LONDON - Oil prices dipped and stocks mostly edged higher Tuesday as investors held out hope that despite conflicting rhetoric there was scope for a deal to end the Middle East war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil and gas shipments.
Inside the world of ultra-luxury wedding cakes
AFP, Published on 21/04/2026
» PARIS — Competing for attention with Jennifer Lopez is no easy task. But at a recent wedding in India where the American star performed in a barely-there sparkly leotard, it was arguably the cake that stole the show.
Trade ships hit in Hormuz as Iran reopening falters
AFP, Published on 18/04/2026
» LONDON - A handful of oil and gas tankers crossed the Hormuz Strait Saturday during a brief reopening, tracking data showed, but others retreated and two were reportedly attacked as Iran closed the route again.
War in the Middle East: latest developments
AFP, Published on 18/04/2026
» The latest developments in the Middle East war:
Iran closes Hormuz Strait again over US blockade
AFP, Published on 18/04/2026
» TEHRAN - Iran’s military declared the Strait of Hormuz closed again on Saturday, its military command said, hours after reopening it and with more than a dozen commercial ships passing through the vital waterway.
Threat of grounded planes nears as jet fuel supplies dwindle
AFP, Published on 16/04/2026
» PARIS - Could planes soon be stuck on the ground due to a lack of fuel? The risk of jet fuel shortages is growing each day the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, although it isn’t certain when exactly supplies will run out.
Chinese slimmers trade lost fat for beef
AFP, Published on 15/04/2026
» WUXI (CHINA) - In a community centre in eastern China, Shu Fangqiang shrugged off his jacket and stepped onto a scale, one of hundreds of locals signing up for an unusual weight loss programme -- "Trade Fat for Beef".
French court jails Lafarge ex-CEO for funding IS in Syria
AFP, Published on 13/04/2026
» PARIS (FRANCE) - A French court on Monday fined the cement group Lafarge over $1.3 million and sentenced its former boss to six years in prison for paying protection money to the Islamic State group and other jihadists to maintain its business in war-torn Syria.
US announces beginning of blockade of Iranian ports
AFP, Published on 13/04/2026
» TEHRAN - The US military said it would begin a blockade of all Iranian ports on Monday, after talks between the warring sides in Pakistan collapsed, and despite the Iranian military warning that it would treat any such action as an act of piracy.