Monaco Journal - News from Monaco, Monte-Carlo and the world

After two weeks of negotiations, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is still far from finalizing rules for extracting coveted metals on the high seas despite heightened pressure triggered by US efforts to fast-track the controversial practice.

Markets headed into the weekend on a broadly positive note Friday, as investors took up New York's latest record highs sparked by healthy US retail data and upbeat earnings from some of Wall Street's big names.

North Korea has barred foreigners from a newly opened beach resort, the country's tourism administration said this week, just days after Russia's top diplomat visited the area.

British and Irish Lions assistant coach Johnny Sexton said on Friday his team was taking no notice of bookmakers who have the visitors overwhelming favourites to win the opening Test against the Wallabies.

Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show", long a staple of late-night television, will come to an end in 2026, the comedian and network CBS said on Thursday.

The British and Irish Lions have blocked Wallabies backrower Pete Samu from appearing for a First Nations and Pasifika XV against them because he did not play Super Rugby this season, the visitors confirmed Friday.

State authorities blamed the management of India's Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricket team for last month's deadly stampede during celebrations for their first IPL title.

US President Donald Trump threatened to sue The Wall Street Journal and owner Rupert Murdoch Thursday over a story about an alleged off-color letter he wrote to Jeffrey Epstein, amid lingering political fallout over his administration's handling of the late financier's sex trafficking case.

Serbia's youthful anti-graft protesters have celebrated what may prove to be the country's last ever EXIT music festival, but hope the energy it generated will still boost their fight for change.

US Republicans early Friday approved President Donald Trump's plan to cancel $9 billion in funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, vowing it was just the start of broader efforts by Congress to slash the federal budget.

Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith.

The All Blacks were hit by an injury blow Friday on the eve of the third Test against France, losing experienced wing Rieko Ioane to a hamstring injury.

China is prepared to take measures and has a "plentiful" toolbox to avoid an economic slump in the second half of the year, its commerce minister said Friday as he admitted it faced a "very severe and complex situation".

Australian captain Harry Wilson conceded Friday that the loss of dynamic flanker Rob Valetini was a huge blow ahead of the opening Test against the British and Irish Lions in Brisbane.

Asian markets headed into the weekend on a broadly positive note Friday, as investors took up New York's latest record highs sparked by healthy US retail data and upbeat earnings from some of Wall Street's big names.

It is one of history's most intriguing "murders" -- the mysterious disappearance over five centuries ago of two young princes from the Tower of London.

In a small, refrigerated room at a Brussels university, parka-wearing scientists chop up Antarctic ice cores tens of thousands of years old in search of clues to our planet's changing climate.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Grant Williams can form a dynamic half-back partnership for South Africa when they complete their Rugby Championship build-up by tackling Georgia in Mbombela on Saturday.

Reigning world champion Jorge Martin of Spain will return to racing at the Czech MotoGP this weekend as the Brno circuit hosts its first grand prix since 2020.

Olympic champion Noah Lyles reignites competition with Letsile Tebogo over 100m at Saturday's Diamond League meet in London, a week after the American marked his return to action with victory in the 200m over the Botswanan in Monaco.

Small and medium-sized firms like Mitsuwa Electric that form the backbone of Japan's economy have weathered many storms over the decades, and company president Yuji Miyazaki is hopeful they will also withstand Donald Trump.

South Korea is set to overhaul its adoption system on Saturday by ending the decades-old practice of outsourcing adoptions to private agencies, which has led to widespread allegations of abuse.

Syrian troops on Thursday pulled out of the Druze heartland of Sweida on the orders of the Islamist-led government, following days of deadly clashes that killed nearly 600 people, according to a war monitor.

California will sue President Donald Trump's administration over its decision to cancel billions of dollars in federal funding for the construction of a long-delayed high-speed rail line, the state's governor said Thursday.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday slammed Donald Trump's threat to impose 50 percent tariffs on Latin America's largest economy as "unacceptable blackmail."

In the Canadian town of Aylmer, where Mennonites in traditional dress walk down the main street alongside secular locals, bitter divisions over vaccine skepticism that arose during Covid have intensified with the reemergence of measles.

US President Donald Trump this week escalated attacks on central bank chair Jerome Powell, suggesting he could be dismissed for "fraud" over his handling of a renovation project at the Federal Reserve's headquarters.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to sue The Wall Street Journal after it published a story about an alleged off-color letter written by him to late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein that featured a drawing of a naked woman.

US aviation giant Boeing on Thursday signed a contract valued at $7 billion to sell 12 787 Dreamliners, with options for six more, to Gulf Air, as the Bahrain-based carrier looks to expand its global network.

Rice prices in Japan soared 99.2 percent in June year-on-year, official data showed Friday, piling further pressure on Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ahead of elections this weekend.

In gloomy corridors outside a Manhattan courtroom, masked agents target and arrest migrants attending mandatory hearings -- part of US President Donald Trump's escalating immigration crackdown.

Sarina Wiegman heaped praise on England icon Lucy Bronze after she stepped up to help drag the Lionesses through to the semi-finals of Women's Euro 2025 on Thursday.

A leading rights group investigating corruption in El Salvador said Thursday it had been forced into exile due to "escalating repression" by President Nayib Bukele's administration.

US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary signaled Thursday that he is open to revising strict warning labels on Hormone Replacement Therapy, following testimony from experts who said the treatment's risks have long been exaggerated.

The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed three landmark cryptocurrency bills, fulfilling the Trump administration's commitment to the once-controversial industry.

US President Donald Trump has been diagnosed with a common, benign vein condition, the White House said Thursday, following speculation about his heavily bruised hand and swollen legs.

England roared into the semi-finals of Women's Euro 2025 on Thursday after coming back from two goals down and then beating Sweden 3-2 on penalties to continue their title defence.

Netflix reported stronger than expected second-quarter results Thursday, with profit jumping 45 percent year-over-year as the streaming giant benefited from subscription price increases and a growing advertising business.

A jump in US retail sales boosted world markets Thursday even as investors mulled the US rates outlook, US President Donald Trump's tariffs and the future of Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell.