Britain's transport secretary on Sunday accused lorry industry representatives of helping to spark petrol panic-buying, as he defended a U-turn on post-Brexit immigration policy to ease an escalating supply crisis.

Trying to dispel investor fears, some Chinese banks are disclosing what they are owed by a real estate developer that is struggling under $310 billion in debt and say they can cope with a potential default.

The announcements came as Evergrande Group promised to talk with some individual investors in its debt. Other creditors waited to see whether Beijing will step in to oversee a restructuring to prevent financial disruption.

China's central bank on Friday declared all transactions involving Bitcoin and other virtual currencies illegal, stepping up a campaign to block use of unofficial digital money.

Chinese banks were banned from handling cryptocurrencies in 2013, but the government issued a reminder this year. That reflected official concern cryptocurrency mining and trading might still be going on or the state-run financial system might be indirectly exposed to risks.

The UK government on Friday urged the public against panic-buying as some petrol stations closed pumps due to a lack of lorry drivers to deliver fuel.

The European Union on Thursday said it will impose a universal charger for smartphones, setting up a clash with Apple and its widely used iPhone connector cable.

Fears that a Chinese real estate developer's possible default on multibillion-dollar debts might send shockwaves through global financial markets appeared to ease Thursday as creditors waited to see how much they might recover.

Shares of Evergrande Group, one of China's biggest private sector conglomerates, rose 18% in Hong Kong after the company said it would pay interest to bondholders in China.

Taiwan has applied to join an 11-nation Pacific trade group, Cabinet officials said Thursday, setting up a potential clash with rival Beijing over the status of the island democracy.

Taiwan's application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership might be disrupted if China, which applied last week, is admitted first, said John Deng, a minister without portfolio.

China's central bank will soon have access to private credit information of hundreds of millions of users of Ant Group's online credit service, in a move signaling more regulatory oversight of the financial technology sector.

Huabei, Ant Group's credit service, said in a statement that consumer credit data it has collected will be included in the People's Bank of China's financial credit information database.

The fully redesigned 2022 Honda Civic, which is now at dealerships, will certainly be of interest for many small-sedan shoppers. After all, the Civic has been one of the most popular cars sold in America for decades. The most noteworthy change is the Civic's more conventional styling. You might find it boring, or maybe it'll be a relief from the previous generation's generous use of angular creases. Underneath the smoother sheet metal is a similar lineup of engines and a smattering of new features.

A popular cross-shopped rival is the Toyota Corolla. The latest generation, which debuted for the 2020 model year, is one of the best Corollas to come out in a while, boasting sporty styling and an improved interior with nicer-feeling materials. Which small sedan is the better buy? Edmunds' experts compare the 2022 Civic and 2022 Corolla to find out.

Almost 3 million European Union workers can't afford to heat their homes amid a rise in energy prices, according to a labor organization's study released Wednesday.

The European Trade Union Confederation, which represents 45 million members, said that 15% of the EU's working poor - the equivalent of 2,713,578 people - lacks enough money to turn on the heating.