European car sales rose to a nine-year high in 2016, with French manufacturer Renault SA taking advantage of recovering demand and Volkswagen AG’s tarnished reputation to leap to second place from third in the region. Industrywide registrations increased 6.5 percent to 15.1 million vehicles. Source: Bloomberg
Russia’s Rosneft earlier this week announced that it had started drilling a production well off the coast of Vietnam in the South China Sea. Today, two sources close to the Vietnamese unit of the Russian company told Reuters there were concerns there about China’s possible reaction to the drilling. Source: Reuters
The UK government announced on Thursday plans to facilitate timely decisions on shale gas exploration planning applications in England as part of a plan to reduce dependence on gas imports amid an ongoing decline in the UK North Sea’s conventional gas production. Source: Oil Price
Hundreds of truck drivers blocked roads across Bulgaria on Thursday (17 May) as European Union leaders met in Sofia, protesting against proposed EU rules they say would cost them their jobs and put their firms out of business. Source: Euractiv
