- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
Oil prices jump, stocks mixed with spotlight on surging inflation
Oil prices rallied Wednesday, adding to soaring inflation concerns, while stock markets diverged.
Crude futures jumped 2.5 percent with Brent North Sea headed towards $120 per barrel.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on Wednesday warned that a ban on Russian oil and gas imports over the Ukraine war would drive the world's energy markets to a "collapse".
"It is absolutely obvious that without Russian hydrocarbons, if sanctions are introduced, there will be a collapse of the oil and gas markets," Novak told Russia's lower house State Duma as reported by Russian news agencies.
"The rise in energy prices may be unpredictable," Novak added.
On stock markets, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was up after official data showed UK annual inflation had surged to 6.2 percent last month, the highest level in 30 years.
While inflation increases company costs it can boost their revenues by sizeable amounts.
The British data were published ahead of a UK budget update Wednesday that could ease a cost-of-living crisis for millions of Britons as inflation rockets worldwide largely owing to soaring energy prices.
"Today's data confirm a worsening squeeze on consumer incomes," said Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK.
"These price rises were dominated by increases in energy, and we expect further rises this year as global energy, food, and other commodities markets are impacted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine."
Elsewhere, eurozone stock markets fell Wednesday after Asia's top indices closed higher.
Wall Street had rallied Tuesday on optimism that the Federal Reserve's plan to hike interest rates would help to bring inflation under control.
While there remains plenty of concern about the war in Ukraine, analysts said some confidence had seeped back into trading floors as investors bet on consumer resilience and economies continue to reopen.
Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell this week said that the US central bank was prepared to act more aggressively on lifting borrowing costs should American inflation -- already at a 40-year high -- not fall quickly enough.
Officials lifted US rates last week by a quarter of a point but some have advocated bigger increases, a view Powell suggested he was open to believing that the world's biggest economy was strong enough to withstand such a move.
- Key figures around 1130 GMT -
Brent North Sea crude: UP 2.5 percent at $118.38 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.5 at $111.95 per barrel
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 7,493.72 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 14,379.44
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 6,620.93
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,892.71
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 3.0 percent at 28,040.16 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.2 percent at 22,154.08 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,271.03 (close)
New York - DOW: UP 0.7 percent at 34,807.46 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0992 from $1.1033 late Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3208 from $1.3260
Euro/pound: UP at 83.22 pence from 83.16 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 120.96 yen from 120.82 yen
P.Petrenko--CPN