President Donald Trump rewarded top investors in one of his cryptocurrency projects with a swanky dinner on Thursday night, an event that showed the ascendance of an emerging financial industry — and also the president's willingness to mix public office with personal profit.

Some 220 of the biggest investors in the $TRUMP meme coin were invited to Trump's luxury golf club in Northern Virginia, where they dined on filet mignon and halibut. According to participants' posts on social media, Trump spoke for about half an hour before dancing to the song "YMCA."

Rice is essential to Japanese culture, tradition and politics. People take pride in the oval-shaped sticky Japonica grain, which is still a staple even though total consumption has fallen over the decades.

But since last summer, prices have soared as supplies have fallen short of demand. The government has long paid farmers to cut back on rice acreage, and change to other crops to keep rice prices relatively high.

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that he held telephone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and agreed to hold "productive" discussions at an upcoming tariff talks between the two sides.

"Investment, not tariffs," Ishiba told reporters after the talks. He said Japan's position to keep pushing Washington to drop all recent tariff measures is unchanged and that he stands by plans to push for Japanese investment to create more jobs in the U.S. in exchange.

Since President Donald Trump announced his intent to end a half-century of U.S. sanctions on Syria, a debate has developed in his administration over how quickly and thoroughly that should happen.

At risk could be the future of a transitional government run by those who drove Syrian leader Bashar Assad from power late last year and hopes that it can stabilize the country after a devastating 13-year civil war that has left millions dead or displaced, the economy in ruins and thousands of foreign fighters still on Syrian soil.

Markets on Wall Street and in Europe declined rapidly early Friday morning after President Donald Trump posted a pair of tariff threats on social media, one aimed at Apple and the other at the European Union.

Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.5% and Nasdaq futures tumbled 1.7% before the bell. Oil prices fell and Treasury yields sank as well.

President Xi Jinping urged China and France to "strengthen solidarity and cooperation" and told counterpart Emmanuel Macron he was ready to work "hand in hand with Europe", Chinese state media reported Thursday.

China and France should "strengthen solidarity and cooperation", Xi told Macron in a call, adding that China was "willing to work hand in hand with Europe to address global challenges", state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Global shares fell Thursday as investors reacted to growing worries over surging U.S. debt.

France's CAC 40 slipped 0.8% to 7,849.87, while Germany's DAX declined 0.7% to 23,962.00. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.7% to 8,728.84.

EU lawmakers greenlighted tariffs on fertilizer imports from Russia on Thursday, despite European farmers' fears the move could send prices soaring.

The European Parliament voted 411-100 for a bill that will enact duties in July and gradually increase them to a point where they would make imports unviable.

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday after a marathon overnight debate to approve President Donald Trump's sprawling domestic policy mega-bill, led by an extension of his first term tax cuts.

The "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act" -- which would slash spending on the Medicaid health insurance program and food aid -- now advances to the Senate, where it is expected to undergo significant changes.

Germany's economy will stagnate this year as the country faces headwinds from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and trade threats, the government's panel of independent economic advisers said Wednesday.

Germany has Europe's biggest economy, but hasn't seen significant economic growth in five years and the gross domestic product shrank in each of the last two years.