The Karin, a 400-foot-long (120-meter-long) cargo ship, sat moored this week on Ireland's boggy River Shannon estuary. Soon it set sail for Russia laden with a white powder that can be forged into weapons vital to Moscow's war on Ukraine.

Alumina, the key ingredient in aluminum, goes into everything from toothpaste and lipstick to missiles and drones. A Russian-owned plant in southern Ireland is Europe's biggest alumina refinery and regularly sends shiploads of the substance directly to St. Petersburg and other Russian ports.

For more than a century, the Tabbara family has been serving up falafel to Beirut's residents.

Their business, which predates Lebanon's founding, has survived two world wars and a series of local conflicts in the small Mediterranean nation.

Early signs suggest China 's biggest online shopping event is struggling to persuade anxious consumers to spend more, despite discounts.

The Singles' Day festival, a major discount campaign comparable to Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the U.S., centers on Nov. 11. But it begins weeks earlier and is seen as a barometer of the broader economy.

China's car exports remained strong in October as growing overseas shipments helped offset persistently sluggish domestic demand in the world's largest auto market.

China exported about 927,000 passenger vehicles last month, up 62.3% from a year earlier, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Wednesday. Demand for electric vehicles and hybrids drove the growth.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking ahead of U.S.-China talks, called Tuesday for a "more balanced relationship" between the two countries, saying Americans have grown too dependent on imports.

Addressing a gala hosted by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations at a New York ballroom, Bessent extolled the countries' bond as "one of this century's most consequential relationships" and portrayed ties between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a genuine friendship. But Bessent said reducing U.S. reliance on China was necessary for both countries.

Lebanon on Tuesday began new talks with the International Monetary Fund on a bailout to help the country emerge from the worst economic crisis in its history, with progress stalled by its inability to pass banking reforms.

China's trade surplus exceeded $1 trillion for a second straight year, according to official data released Tuesday, as pressure mounts for greater balance in trade with Beijing.

Exports in October surged 35.2% from a year earlier, the customs agency said. Exports have grown rapidly this year, supported by high-tech goods like semiconductors and autos.

Voters have sent a strong election-year message to the new Democratic congressional majority and President Donald Trump: Repair the damage inflation has done to the economy.

Trump, who campaigned on the idea that a Democratic victory in the midterms would trigger a 1929-style economic depression, has maintained that the economy is booming. Since his party lost in Tuesday's voting, he has claimed he is willing to work with Democrats in the House and Senate, though that's not something he has done much of in the past.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's government has unveiled a budget aimed at making Canada less dependent on the United States as President Donald Trump's trade war reshapes the allies' economic relationship.

The budget, titled "Masters of Our Destiny," proposes $142.1 billion Canadian (US$101.6 billion) multiyear spending and tax breaks, including incentives to attract investment and billions for energy, infrastructure and culture.

The U.S. job market likely bounced back last month from a disappointing September. Layoffs are low, and most Americans enjoy unusual job security.

But hiring has probably remained too modest to deliver much relief to those looking for work. And wage gains haven't been keeping up with persistently high inflation.