German Chancellor Olaf Scholz praised a tentative deal between Serbia and the European Union signed on Friday that paves the way for the disputed excavation of lithium, a mega project that could reduce Europe's dependency on China but one that has been fiercely criticized by environmentalists and opposition groups.

Scholz attended a "critical raw materials summit" in the Serbian capital where a memorandum of understanding between the EU and Serbia's government on a "strategic partnership" on sustainable raw materials, battery supply chains and electric vehicles was signed.

Shares retreated in Europe and Asia on Friday after a broad washout across Wall Street dragged U.S. stocks lower.

Widespread IT outages disrupted travel and communications around the world, causing flight delays and cancellations.

Leaders of 18 Pacific island nations and areas agreed to an enhanced role of Japan in the region's development while opposing any attempted coercive activity, in a joint declaration adopted at their summit Thursday, as Tokyo seeks greater engagement to counter China's influence.

The Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting, or PALM, launched under a Japanese initiative in 1997, has become Japan's key diplomatic tool to deter China's security and economic influence in the region by strengthening its ties with the Pacific Island Forum members, stressing its willingness to stand by them and maintaining unity as an equal partner.

China's ruling Communist Party wrapped up a top-level meeting on Thursday by endorsing policies aimed at advancing the country's technological power and fortifying its national security.

A statement released when the four-day meeting ended provided only a broad-brush summary. More details are likely to emerge in the coming days.

The European Central Bank left its key interest rate benchmark unchanged Thursday as its rate-setting council and President Christine Lagarde take their time to make sure stubborn inflation is firmly under control before lowering rates again.

The decision leaves the deposit rate at 3.75%, where it has stood after a single quarter-point cut rate at the previous meeting on June 6.

HSBC on Wednesday named chief financial officer Georges Elhedery as the bank's next chief executive to drive "the next phase of development and growth."

The new boss will take the helm on September 2, the bank said, as it looks to push on with a transformation undertaken by current CEO Noel Quinn, who announced his shock retirement in April.

An Australian computer scientist found to have falsely claimed to be the mysterious creator of the bitcoin cryptocurrency will be referred to British prosecutors for "wholescale perjury and forgery of documents," a London judge said Tuesday.

Judge James Mellor, who ruled after a civil trial in March that Craig Wright was not the man behind "Satoshi Nakamoto," the pseudonym that has masked the creator of bitcoin's identity, said he will refer evidence from the case to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider whether to bring charges.

Bolivia's embattled president on Monday announced the discovery of vast natural gas reserves, describing it as the biggest find in nearly two decades that could help the cash-strapped country reverse its falling production.

President Luis Arce called the trove just north of the capital a "mega field," saying it has some 1.7 trillion cubic meters of gas at a likely market value of $6.8 billion.

European markets slipped and Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday ahead of the release of U.S. retail sales data that could help sway a decision by the Federal Reserve on interest rates.

Germany's DAX lost 0.6% to 18,475.67 and the CAC 40 in Paris declined 0.8% to 7,571.83. In London, the FTSE 100 was down 0.5% at 8,144.13.

The first night of the Republican National Convention kept its official focus on the economy Monday even after Saturday's shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania in which former President Donald Trump was injured.

Speakers argued that Trump would fix inflation and bring back prosperity simply by returning to the White House as president. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin lamented, "Tonight, America, the land of opportunity, just doesn't feel like that anymore."