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Eight Opec+ countries to meet on SundayOpec+ could also pause hikes for October, source saysNo immediate comment received from Opec or Saudi authoritiesEight Opec+ members will consider further raising oil production at a meeting on Sunday, two sources familiar with the discussions said, as the group seeks to regain market share.Opec+ has reversed its strategy of output cuts from April and has already raised quotas by about 2.5mn barrels per day, about 2.4% of world demand, to boost market share and under pressure from US President Donald Trump to lower oil prices.But those increases have failed to bring down oil prices, which traded near $68 a barrel supported by Western sanctions on Russia and Iran, encouraging further production gains in rivals such as the US.Another output boost would mean Opec+, which pumps about half of the world's oil, would be starting to unwind a second layer of cuts of about 1.65mn barrels per day, or 1.6% of world demand, more than a year ahead of schedule.Eight Opec+ countries are due to hold an online meeting on Sunday expected to decide on October output.Opec+ includes the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and other allies.There is also a chance, some analysts and an Opec+ source said, that Opec+ could pause the increases for October. A final decision has not been made, the Opec+ source said.Opec headquarters and authorities in Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Brent crude was trading near $68 on Wednesday, down over 1% on the day but up from a 2025 low of near $58 in April.As well as sanctions, the Opec+ hikes falling short of the pledged amounts have also supported prices, analysts have said.Until April, Opec+ had been curtailing production for several years to support oil prices.At their last meeting in August, the eight members raised production by 547,000 bpd for September, completing a total increase in output for the year of 2.5mn bpd. That included a 300,000 bpd additional production allocation for the UAE.The next output cut layer of 1.65mn bpd is in place until the end of 2026, as is another 2mn bpd of cuts by the whole group.

President Donald Trump hosted new Polish President Karol Nawrocki Wednesday at the White House with a military flyover and an offer to send more US troops to the eastern European ally.Talks were expected to focus on efforts to end the war in Ukraine, where Trump's peacemaking efforts have been struggling to get traction.Trump called it a "stupid war" and said he thought ending it would have been "much easier" for him."It's going to get done," he vowed to reporters in the Oval Office, with Nawrocki at his side.Nawrocki, a nationalist historian and fervent Trump supporter, was in Washington for his first foreign visit as president after having visited the US leader to seek his backing during the Polish election campaign.Trump gave him a warm welcome, including an offer to boost the US military footprint in Poland."We'll put more there if they want," he said in the Oval Office. "We're with Poland all the way and we'll help Poland protect itself."Nawrocki praised the US troop presence and said it was "the first time in history" that Poland had been happy to host foreign troops, while stressing that Warsaw aims to keep increasing its own military spending within the NATO alliance.The White House said a flyover by F-16 and F-35 jets during Nawrocki's arrival commemorated the death of a Polish F-16 jet pilot killed last week while preparing for an air show.Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to AFP that the flyover, which featured a so-called "missing-man formation," was staged to "honour the memory of a brave Polish fighter pilot, whose life was tragically taken too soon, and capture the special relationship between our two countries."While Trump and Nawrocki see eye-to-eye politically, Poland is closely watching the US leader's peace efforts in neighbouring Ukraine, which Warsaw has largely been frozen out of.Key Nato and EU member Poland has been a strong supporter of Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion and is a vital transit country for military and humanitarian supplies, as well as host to thousands of US troops.Trump's efforts to get Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the negotiating table have so far stalled.Putin vowed during a visit to Beijing Wednesday to keep fighting in Ukraine if a peace deal cannot be reached, while Zelensky said he hoped to talk to Trump today about possible additional sanctions against Russia.Nawrocki will also be seeking fresh support from Trump amid deep political polarization in Poland between himself and his country's pro-EU government, led by former European Council chief Donald Tusk.The novice Polish president recently blocked a law extending Ukrainian refugees' rights proposed by Tusk's government. Nawrocki has also, like Trump, opposed Ukraine's desire for Nato membership.The visit is nevertheless a chance for Trump to celebrate the election of yet another right-wing ally in Europe.Trump welcomed Nawrocki to the Oval Office in June before the Polish election, with the White House posting a picture of the pair grinning and giving the thumbs-up sign.During the election campaign, Nawrocki highlighted the importance of ties with the United States and his close ties with Trump. His "Poland First, Poles First" echoed Trump's "America First" slogan.

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to end collective bargaining with federal unions in some agencies that have "national security missions", the White House said.The order would apply to unions in agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), the Patent and Trademark Office, the National Weather Service and others, the White House said in a statement.Trump also signed a presidential memorandum aimed at preventing federal grant money from going toward political lobbying, the White House said.The memo directs Attorney-General Pam Bondi to investigate whether funds from federal grants "are being illegally used to support lobbying activities and to take appropriate enforcement action", according to a White House fact sheet.