China's trade surplus surged to a record of almost $1.2 trillion in 2025, the government said Wednesday, as exports to other countries made up for slowing shipments to the U.S. under President Donald Trump's onslaught of higher tariffs.

China's exports rose 5.5% for the whole of last year to $3.77 trillion, customs data showed, as Chinese automakers and other manufacturers expanded into markets across the globe. Imports flatlined at $2.58 trillion. The 2024 trade surplus was over $992 billion.

President Donald Trump touted "low" U.S. inflation numbers Tuesday, taking aim at the central bank chief for being "too late" to slash interest rates and urging further rate cuts to boost the economy.

Reliable electricity is “essential for economic growth and foreign investment,” the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said on Tuesday, following a meeting between U.S. Ambassador Michel Issa and Chair and General Manager of Electricite du Liban Kamal Hayek.

During the meeting, Issa “underscored the United States’ commitment to supporting Lebanon’s efforts to modernize its electricity sector, noting that American companies are well-positioned to provide expertise and technology,” the Embassy said in a post on X.

The corruption case of Lebanon's former central bank governor, who is widely blamed for the country's economic meltdown, has been transferred to the country's highest court, judicial officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Riad Salameh was released on $14 million bail in September after a year in prison while awaiting trial in Lebanon on corruption charges, including embezzlement and illicit enrichment.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25-percent tariff on any country doing business with Iran, ramping up pressure as a rights group estimated a crackdown on protests has killed at least 648 people.

The dollar mostly weakened and gold hit a record high Monday as investors digested news that the U.S. Justice Department is probing the Federal Reserve, raising fears over the central bank's independence against President Donald Trump's push for lower rates.

A consortium comprising TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy and Italy’s Eni on Friday signed with Lebanonj an agreement for gas exploration in Block 8 off the Lebanese coast. The ceremony took place this morning at the Grand Serail.

The agreement was signed on the Lebanese side by Minister of Energy and Water Joe Saddi.

EU countries approved Friday a huge but divisive trade deal with the South American bloc Mercosur, diplomats said, giving Brussels the green light to sign an accord championed by business groups but loathed by many European farmers.

A majority of the European Union's 27 nations voted in favour of the pact at an ambassadors' meeting in Brussels, despite opposition from France, Ireland and others concerned about its impact on the agricultural sector, several European diplomats told AFP.

Lebanon's moves to remove weapons from all non-state groups and assert full state control are as important as financial reforms if the economy is to recover after years of crisis, the economy minister said Thursday.

"You need economic reforms, but you also need security and political reforms," Amer Bisat told The Associated Press after a cabinet session in which the Lebanese military reported progress on a plan to disarm Hezbollah and non-state groups and expand deployment in southern Lebanon.

President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday sought to assert its control over Venezuelan oil, seizing a pair of sanctioned tankers transporting petroleum and announcing plans to relax some sanctions so the U.S. can oversee the sale of Venezuela's petroleum worldwide.

Trump's administration intends to control the distribution of Venezuela's oil products globally following its ouster of President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid. Besides the United States enforcing an existing oil embargo, the Energy Department says the "only oil transported in and out of Venezuela" will be through approved channels consistent with U.S. law and national security interests.