Australia's central bank kept interest rates on hold for its 21st-straight meeting Tuesday as consumer spending and inflation remain weak, while it also cited uncertainty about global trade tensions.

The US Commerce Department recommended against approval of China Mobile's seven year old application to enter the domestic market on Monday, citing national security concerns.

All oil exports from Libya's east have been suspended after operations halted at two key ports, the Tripoli-based National Oil Corporation said Monday, in a further blow to the vital sector.

The NOC said a crisis following military strongman Khalifa Haftar's recapture of ports in Libya's oil crescent last month has slashed production, previously estimated at one million barrels a day, by 850,000 bpd.

The European Union warned on Monday that up to $294 billion worth of US exports would face counter-measures if President Donald Trump went through on its threat to slap duties on auto imports.

British petroleum giant BP has started operating a $28-billion pipeline in Azerbaijan to supply gas to Turkey and elsewhere in Europe, the company said in a statement on Monday. 

Chinese stocks closed down sharply on Monday, with investors selling on weaker-than-expected economic data and nervously eyeing the next phase in the US-China trade dispute.

Iran vowed Sunday to defeat U.S. efforts to block its oil exports and warned rival producer Saudi Arabia it would never take Tehran's "place" on the international oil market.

Saudi Arabia's economy pulled out of recession in the first quarter of 2018, thanks to rising oil prices and a surge in the non-crude sector, authorities said Sunday. 

Britain's Environment Secretary Michael Gove ripped up plans for possible future customs arrangements with the EU, according to reports Saturday, as tensions within the cabinet over Brexit continue to surface.

After weeks of uninterrupted sunshine the strawberry season is in full swing in the so-called Garden of England.