Climate change is stressing rainforests where the highly sensitive cocoa bean grows, but chocolate lovers need not despair, say companies that are researching other ways to grow cocoa or develop cocoa substitutes.

Scientists and entrepreneurs are working on ways to make more cocoa that stretch well beyond the tropics, from Northern California to Israel.

British energy giant Shell plans to cut hundreds of jobs from its oil and gas exploration division as part of a cost-cutting program announced last year, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.

Global shares mostly rose Friday as markets continued to be moderately optimistic about the prospects of technology companies and the relative health of global economies.

France's CAC 40 advanced 0.5% to 7,678.10 in early trading. Germany's DAX edged up nearly 0.1% to 18,927.74, while Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.3% to 8,404.82. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up nearly 0.2% at 41,510.00. S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% to 5,632.50.

It's a showdown between the world's richest man and a Brazilian Supreme Court justice.

The justice, Alexandre de Moraes, has threatened to suspend social media giant X nationwide if its billionaire owner Elon Musk doesn't swiftly comply with one of his orders. Musk has responded with insults, including calling de Moraes a "tyrant" and "a dictator."

The eurozone's annual rate of inflation fell to its lowest level in more than three years this month thanks to falling energy costs, official data showed on Friday.

Consumer prices slowed to 2.2 percent in August from 2.6 percent in July this year. The rate was the lowest since July 2021 and in line with expectations by analysts surveyed by FactSet and Bloomberg.

German inflation slowed to its lowest level in more than three years in August, official data showed Thursday, strengthening the case for another interest rate cut by the European Central Bank next month.

The annual inflation rate in Europe's biggest economy eased more than expected to 1.9 percent, preliminary data from federal statistics agency Destatis showed, down from 2.3 percent in July.

French President Emmanuel Macron starts a two-day state visit to Serbia on Thursday with the focus on the possible sale of 12 Rafale multi-purpose fighter jets to the country, which has maintained close ties to Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine.

Macron is to meet populist President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade on Thursday evening, when the deal reportedly worth 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) is expected to be announced.

Global shares traded mixed Thursday as market attention turned to upcoming data on the U.S. economy after Nvidia reported its financial results.

France's CAC 40 edged up 0.4% in early trading to 7,607.05. Germany's DAX was little changed, inching up less than 0.1% to 18,798.50. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 8,361.47. U.S. shares were set to drift mostly higher with Dow futures up 0.4% at 41,345.00. S&P 500 futures stood virtually unchanged at 5,608.50.

Transport ministers from Turkey, Iraq, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are meeting in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss a multibillion-dollar regional transportation project designed to ease the movement of goods from Asia to Europe through Iraq.

The proposed $20 billion Development Road Project is designed to facilitate the transport of goods from the Gulf to Europe via the Grand Faw Port in Basra in southern Iraq. The port would be linked to Turkey and subsequently to Europe through an extensive network of railways and highways.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday in Beijing, on a visit with the stated aim of keeping communications open between the two powers, as the relationship between China and the United States has become increasingly tense in recent years.

Sullivan, on his first trip to China in his capacity as the main adviser to President Joe Biden on U.S. national security issues, has met with senior Chinese officials including Foreign Minister Wang Yi and a senior general of the Central Military Commission.