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VIENNA, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- No oil output cut decision was announced on Thursday after hours of a meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The oil cartel is to negotiate with its allies including Russia on Friday.

"We still want Russia to cut as much as possible," Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told reporters as no decision was announced after the meeting.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell this week amid a steep decline in stock prices.

Continued slides in the stock market and tumbling oil prices have been pushing mortgage rates lower, although home borrowing rates remain much higher than a year ago. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dipped to 4.75% from 4.81% last week. The key rate stood at 3.94% a year ago.

The rate on 15-year fixed-rate loans declined to 4.21% from 4.25% the previous week.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan is set to approve legislation that would officially open the door to foreign workers to do unskilled jobs and possibly eventually become citizens.

Lawmakers were due to vote late Friday on a government proposal to allow hundreds of thousands of foreign laborers to live and work in a country that has long resisted accepting outsiders.

It’s seen as an unavoidable step as the country’s population rapidly ages and shrinks.

PARIS (AP) — Drastic security measures will put a lockdown on downtown Paris on Saturday as French authorities try to prevent another outbreak of violence during anti-government protests.

In addition to the 8,000 police forces that will be deployed in the French capital city, the Paris police prefect has identified 14 high-risk sectors that will be cleared out.

BEIJING, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Cai Mingzhao, president of China's Xinhua News Agency, met with Acting Director General of Al-Jazeera Media Network Mostefa Souag on Thursday, to discuss cooperation.

Xinhua highly values its cooperation with Al-Jazeera, and the two media outlets have much to learn from each other, Cai said.

The agreement of strategic cooperation signed between the two sides in 2016 put in place the basic principles on personnel exchanges and news cooperation in text, video, photo and other areas, Cai added.

6 Dec 2018; DW: President Donald Trump's call for OPEC to keep oil flows unrestricted drew criticism from Saudi Arabia. The oil cartel convened in Vienna to discuss cutting output, in a bid to bring prices back from a two month slump.

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih said ahead of a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Thursday that the cartel did not "need permission from anyone to cut" production.

PARIS (AP) — France will deploy more than 65,000 security forces amid fears of new rioting at protests Saturday in Paris and around the nation, despite President Emmanuel Macron’s surrender over a fuel tax hike that unleashed weeks of unrest.

Police unions and local authorities held emergency meetings Thursday to strategize on how to handle the weekend protests, while disparate groups of protesters did the same thing, sharing their plans on social networks and chat groups.

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal jury convicted a Hong Kong businessman Wednesday of bribing the presidents of two African nations to secure oil rights for a Chinese energy conglomerate, a case that stretched from the halls of the United Nations and highlighted the often blurry line between nongovernmental organizations and private enterprise.

Dr. Chi Ping Patrick Ho was found guilty of seven of eight counts, including conspiracy, money laundering and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in a case that involved several former presidents of the United Nations General Assembly.

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian authorities said Wednesday that they have arrested the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies for possible extradition to the United States.

China demanded her immediate release, and a former Canadian envoy to China warned the case might lead to retaliation by the Chinese against American and Canadian executives.

Justice Department spokesman Ian McLeod said Meng Wanzhou was detained in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Saturday.

Mumbai, Dec 5 (PTI) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Wednesday expectedly kept interest rates unchanged but held out a promise to cut them if the upside risks to the inflation do not materialise.

It also coaxed banks to lend more in order to support the slowing economy.

With all the six member of the monetary policy committee (MPC) voting for a hold on rates, the RBI kept benchmark repurchase (repo) rate at 6.5 per cent.

Having raised rates twice this year, the central bank retained its 'calibrated tightening' policy stance.