Czech farmers blocked traffic in Prague on Thursday, cramming the streets with hundreds of tractors and other vehicles as they rallied against the government and agriculture policies set by the European Union.

Public transport came to a standstill during the morning rush hour in several parts of the Czech capital. The street leading to the government office where the protesters planned to present their demands was completely blocked.

China's foreign minister accused the U.S. on Thursday of devising tactics to suppress China's rise and criticized the Biden administration for adding more Chinese companies to its sanctions lists.

Wang Yi, speaking to media during the annual meeting of China's legislature, said China's relations with the U.S. have improved since Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden met in November, but America has not fulfilled its promises.

Europe's energy crisis sparked by Russia's war in Ukraine has eased. Inflation is way down from its painful double-digit peak. But there likely won't be an interest rate cut at the European Central Bank's meeting Thursday, even as higher borrowing costs weigh on the stalled economy.

And the wait could be longer than many originally expected.

British Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt sought Wednesday to bolster spirits within his Conservative Party with another tax cut for 27 million working people, hoping it can turn the political dial ahead of a general election this year.

Even though the British economy has hit one definition of recession and public finances will remain stretched over coming years, Hunt used his annual budget statement to announce a further reduction in national insurance by a further 2 percentage points, to 8%. He also promised to cut national insurance rates further "so we truly make work pay."

Protesting Polish farmers on tractors blocked highways leading into Warsaw on Wednesday while thousands of their supporters gathered in front of the prime minister's office. Some trampled a European Union flag and burned a mock coffin bearing the word "farmer."

The protesters are demanding a withdrawal from the EU's Green Deal, a plan meant to fight climate change with measures that farmers denounce as excessively costly. They also want the Polish-Ukrainian border closed to stop the imports of Ukrainian food products.

The Egyptian pound slipped sharply against the dollar on Wednesday after the Central Bank of Egypt raised its main interest rate and said it would allow the currency's exchange rate to be set by market forces.

The measures were meant to combat inflationary waves and attract foreign investment as the country experiences a staggering shortage of foreign currency.

The second edition of SchoolTec, Lebanon’s First Trade Fair & Conference for Educational Supplies and Solutions, will be held this week on Thursday, March 7 and Friday, March 8 at the Mövenpick Hotel, Beirut.

Educators, principals, coordinators, teachers, counselors, academic supervisors, non-academic staff members, investors willing to start a new educational initiative, parents, or anyone interested, all have the opportunity to learn more about the education technologies, and to get an idea about all educational solutions, supplies and services at SchoolTec.

The Middle East franchisee of Starbucks said Tuesday it has begun firing around 2,000 workers at its coffee shops across the region after the brand found itself targeted by activists during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The Kuwait-based Alshaya Group, a private family firm holding franchise rights for a variety of Western companies including The Cheesecake Factory, H&M and Shake Shack, issued a statement acknowledging the firings at its Middle Eastern and North African locations.

China aims to achieve 5% economic growth this year, Premier Li Qiang said Tuesday, acknowledging that it will be a challenging goal in difficult times.

In his address to the annual session of the National People's Congress, Li outlined plans to boost spending on developing advanced technology, fortifying China's military and supporting the economy, among many other longstanding goals. But there was no big package of stimulus to help boost markets and reassure worried investors.

South Korea's government began steps Monday to suspend the medical licenses of thousands of striking junior doctors, days after they missed a government-set deadline to end their joint walkouts, which have severely impacted hospital operations.

Nearly 9,000 medical interns and residents have been on strike for two weeks to protest a government push to sharply increase the number of medical school admissions. Their action has led to hundreds of canceled surgeries and other treatments and threatened to burden the country's medical service.