Journal De Bruxelles - News from Brussels, Belgium, Europe and the world

Oil prices rallied and stock markets fell Tuesday as investors braced for further volatility after talks appeared to stall on ending the war in the Middle East and re-opening the Strait of Hormuz to tanker and cargo ship traffic.

A top South Korean official has proposed a tax on AI profits to be redistributed among society as a semiconductor boom drives massive earnings for tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

The Kremlin said Tuesday there was no concrete plan to end the Ukraine war, days after Russian leader Vladimir Putin had suggested Europe's worst conflict since WWII could be winding down.

British mobile phone giant Vodafone said Tuesday that it sharply reduced its annual losses as it undergoes major restructuring to refocus on its core markets after years of weak performance.

Casper Ruud strolled into the Italian Open quarter-finals on Tuesday after easily beating home hope Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-1, as Jannik Sinner gets set for a derby with qualifier Andrea Pellegrino.

The Japanese Olympic Committee's vice president has resigned, the organisation said Tuesday, after he apologised for making "utterly unacceptable" remarks that reportedly included an anti-Korean slur.

Australia will avoid recession even if a prolonged Middle East war pushes the oil price to $200 a barrel, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Tuesday, outlining a national budget "heavily hostage to events overseas".

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday "our work is not over" to contain hantavirus after evacuations from a cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak of the illness.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his top team Tuesday that he was getting on with governing, defying mounting calls from ministers and MPs to step down.

An Australian court ordered iron ore giant Fortescue on Tuesday to pay Indigenous people more than Aus$150 million ($108 million) in compensation for mining on their traditional lands.

German agrichemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer reported Tuesday a bump in first-quarter profit, driven by its agricultural business even as high-stakes lawsuits over its glyphosate weedkillers drag on in the United States.

A new London museum conceived with and for under-30s is seeking to draw younger generations by tackling themes such as climate and gender.

Japan's leading potato chip maker is feeling the crunch from shortages linked to the Iran war, swapping its signature orange-and-yellow packets for black and white.

Oil prices climbed on Tuesday as US-Iran talks stalled, while South Korean calls for a social tax on AI profits dragged down the tech-rich Kospi index.

When a mosquito tries to bite biology professor David Inouye during fieldwork among orchids in Colorado, he pauses before swatting the bug. If it's dusted with pollen, he lets it live.

Russia ended a three-day ceasefire with Ukraine on Tuesday by launching a wave of more than 200 attack drones that damaged energy facilities and apartment buildings, killing one person, Ukrainian officials said.

At least 372 Afghan civilians were killed in conflict between government forces and Pakistan in the first three months of the year, the United Nations reported on Tuesday, with more than half the deaths attributed to airstrikes on a drug rehab facility in Kabul.

The head of Japanese bobsleigh apologised on Tuesday and admitted making "utterly unacceptable" remarks that reportedly included an anti-Korean slur.

When US President Donald Trump meets Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing this week, the shadow the Iran conflict casts over the summit might appear to give China's leader a clear advantage.

Oil prices climbed on Tuesday as US-Iran talks stalled, while South Korean calls for a social tax on AI profits dragged down the tech-rich Kospi index.

German agrichemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer reported a bump in first-quarter profit on Tuesday, driven by its agricultural business, even as sales of controversial glyphosate-based weedkillers struggled.

LeBron James said he will take time to consider his future after the Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the NBA playoffs by Oklahoma City on Monday in what could turn out to be the final game of his career.

Japanese baseball has adopted a rule to punish players for dangerous swings, as an umpire remains unconscious almost a month after being accidentally hit on the head by a bat.

Israel will take to the stage as the Eurovision semi-finals kick off in Vienna on Tuesday, with its very participation triggering the song contest's biggest-ever political boycott.

A DJ mixing tracks at a lively bar in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso's economic capital, found himself suddenly confronted by the military-led country's culture minister.

Talks between Antarctic Treaty members began Tuesday in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, with a focus on the growing threats posed to the fragile region by climate change and tourism.

German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp cut it sales forecast Tuesday, warning that the war in the Middle East would have an impact on customer demand.

The Oklahoma City Thunder swept the Los Angeles Lakers out of the NBA playoffs on Monday, winning 115-110 to wrap up a 4-0 series victory in what could turn out to be the final game of LeBron James' career.

A top South Korean official has proposed a tax on AI profits to be redistributed among society as a semiconductor boom drives massive earnings for tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

Donald Trump has said he expects a "big, fat hug" from China's Xi Jinping when they meet in Beijing this week, though multiple thorny issues between the two sides could see the US president kept at arm's length.

New Zealand will change the law to prevent courts from holding companies liable for "climate change damage" linked to greenhouse gas emissions, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said on Tuesday.

Greater protections for endangered emperor penguins and how to manage growing tourism will top the agenda at talks on Antarctica opening in Japan on Tuesday.