Oil prices have surged after several of the world’s largest exporters announced a cut in production. Saudi Arabia, Iraq and several Gulf states announced they were cutting output by more than a million barrels of oil a day. Also, Russia said it will extend its cut of half a million barrels per day until the end of the year. The price of Brent has risen by almost 6% as a result to around $85 a barrel. The cutback in production caught the rest of the world by surprise – not least in the US, which had been calling for an increase. Today oil producers in the US have been giving their reaction.

The French President, Emmanuel Macron is on his way to Beijing, aiming to build bridges between his country and China, just as the world's second-largest economy gets closer to Russia. Also heading there is the European Commission President, Ursula Von Der Leyen. Both she and President Macron will be meeting with President Xi on Wednesday. But while Macron seemingly wants to improve diplomatic relations, Von Der Leyen has been taking a spikier approach of late.

The cost of living crisis may be blighting livelihoods, indeed national economies all round the world, but there's at least one business that does seem to be booming at the moment. Weddings. Post pandemic the number of weddings is surging, a 60% increase compared to 2020 in the US, it's thought and by some estimates the global industry could quadruple over the next decade.