Iran on Thursday reaffirmed its right to enrich uranium, saying it was "unshakable", on the eve of key talks with European powers threatening to reimpose nuclear sanctions.

Iran is scheduled to meet Britain, France and Germany in Istanbul on Friday, to discuss its nuclear programme, with Tehran accusing European powers of scuppering a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

Top European diplomats told their Iranian counterpart on Thursday they were determined to reactivate UN sanctions if Tehran does not make progress on a nuclear deal, France's foreign ministry said.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday condemned US President Donald Trump's threat to impose 30-percent tariffs on the European Union, calling on the bloc to "resolutely defend European interests."

Paris, France - Europe and the Mediterranean basin has been hit by a long-lasting drought covering over 45 percent of the region since mid-March, according to AFP analysis of European Drought Observatory (EDO) data made available on Tuesday. It is the first time since data collection began in 2012 that...

Protesters in the British capital waved Palestinian flags, donned keffiyeh scarves and carried signs including "Stop arming Israel" and "No war on Iran" as they marched in the sweltering heat.

Israel's military said a strike in Qom south of Tehran successfully targeted top Iranian official Saeed Izadi, in charge of coordination with Hamas, adding two other commanders from Iran's Revolutionary Guards were also killed overnight.

Western powers have repeatedly expressed concerns about the rapid expansion of Iran's nuclear programme, questioning in particular the country's accelerated uranium enrichment.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet with his French, German, British and EU counterparts in Geneva on Friday to discuss Iran's nuclear programme.

Their solidarity came to the fore on Wednesday, when Austria and Germany broke ranks with European Union peers to argue against a review ordered by Brussels of an EU-Israel cooperation deal.

Iran and the United States will hold the next round of talks on the Islamic republic's nuclear programme in Rome later this week, Tehran and mediator Oman said Wednesday.

Cannes, France - More than 350 figures from the cinema world including Hollywood stars Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon condemned "genocide" in Gaza in an open letter published Monday on the eve of the Cannes Festival. "We cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza," read the letter...

Jitters about US tariffs hammered Asian stocks again early Friday as President Donald Trump acknowledged a "cost" to his surging trade offensive against superpower rival China..

Leeuwarden, Netherlands - Fighter jets from the United States, France, Finland and Germany roar into the skies from a Dutch base as part of NATO's biggest air exercise this year. The aim: to practice stopping -- and then defeating -- an enemy attack against the alliance as Russia's war in Ukraine...

US President Donald Trump's widest-ranging tariffs to date took effect Saturday, in a move which could trigger retaliation and escalating trade tensions that could upset the global economy.

Oslo, Norway -- The first orbital rocket launched from continental Europe crashed seconds after blast-off Sunday, in a closely watched test for the continent's bid to build a new space economy. The Spectrum rocket, developed by German start-up Isar Aerospace, started smoking from its sides, then crashed back to Earth...

Chinese carmaker BYD on Thursday vowed to conquer Europe with a new compact electric model and super-fast charging capability to rival continental brands.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the "unspeakable" row "underlined that a new age of infamy has begun". Friedrich Merz, likely to become the country's next chancellor, said: "We must never confuse the aggressor and the victim in this terrible war", while outgoing head of state Olaf Scholz also backed...

Washington noted European nations would have to have a seat at the negotiating table "at some point", following the first high-level official Washington-Moscow talks since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

By comparison, the share of electric cars in Europe was just 13.6 percent in the full-year 2024, a decline for the first time since 2020.

The stakes were laid bare in a warning from Britain's foreign intelligence chief that Iran's nuclear ambitions posed a major global security threat, despite its weakened position after setbacks dealt to its Islamist allies Hamas and Hezbollah in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell voiced regret Friday that no power, including the United States, can "stop" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he appears determined to crush militants in Gaza and Lebanon.

Escalating clashes between Israel and Hezbollah threatened to overshadow US President Joe Biden's final appearance at the UN's signature annual event on Tuesday as diplomats scrambled to avert an all-out regional war.

Veendam, Netherlands -- The dream of hurtling between European cities at speeds of more than 700 kilometers per hour moved a step closer Monday with the first successful vehicle tests at the European Hyperloop Centre.Hovering inside a sleek 420-meter (1,377-foot) white tunnel, a dark and light grey striped pod levitates at...

With tensions soaring in the Middle East, the United States says that Iran along with its proxies might attack Israel as early as this week. The world leaders are trying to persuade Iran and Israel to avoid war, but Iran says it has a right to defend itself just like...

Rotterdam, Netherlands -- The first methanol-powered ship to ply routes between Europe's busy ports was unveiled Tuesday in Rotterdam, with shipping owners hoping to spur efforts to bring down the industry's huge carbon footprint.The Eco-Maestro, a 13,675-tonne container carrier will head off to Antwerp in the next few days, before plotting...

A punishing heat dome continues to intensify over the northeastern United States, scores of record-high temperatures were matched or broken Wednesday, including in Boston, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Caribou, near Maine’s northern tip. This long-lasting heat wave will continue to scorch the Midwest, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic into the weekend, reported the...

The announcement is the second diplomatic blow this week after the International Criminal Court prosecutor said he would seek arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister and Hamas leaders.

Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi, who is also chief executive of QatarEnergy, said the state-owned giant had secured sales of 25 million tons of liquified natural gas (LNG) in the past year and expected to be "signing more this year."

For much of the past two years, policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic raised interest rates aggressively to fight a surge in prices, and, since last summer, they have left rates high as they assess whether inflation is under control, according to the New York Times.European Central Bank policymakers...

Agile work models and diverse skill demands propel MENA's freelance economy, empowering businesses to thrive amid modernization and digital transformation.

STRASBOURG, FRANCE – Europe's top rights court will on Tuesday issue unprecedented verdicts in three separate cases on the responsibility of states in the face of global warming, rulings that could force governments to adopt more ambitious climate policies.The European Court of Human Rights, part of the 46-member Council of Europe,...

Dubai, UAE--Dubai received 3.67 million overnight visitors in January-February 2024, with an increase of over 18 percent year-on-year (YoY), figures released by Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) showed.According to the DET's Tourism Performance Report for January-February 2024, Dubai recorded 1.77 million international visitors in January, and 1.9 million...

Brussels, Belgium - NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg urged the United States to stick together with Europe as the Western military alliance turned 75 on Thursday menaced by an aggressive Russia and the specter of Donald Trump's return to power.The Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 re-invigorated NATO as it was...

In December, the airline ordered 230 Airbus planes.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago upended European leaders' sense of unshakeable post-war peace, prompting many countries to gear up weapons production to supply both Kiev and their own militaries. Former European Council president Tusk, whose country has been one of the staunchest supporters of neighbouring Ukraine,...

The Shenzhen-based firm is now moving quickly overseas.

Beirut, Lebanon - A UN official on Friday appealed for about $4 billion in humanitarian assistance for Syria, warning funding was almost non-existent and that lack of support would push more Syrians to emigrate.Syria's war, which began 13 years ago with the repression of anti-government protests, has killed more than 507,000...

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS – Europe's largest art fair closed its doors on Friday with organizers saying that sales, including a rare Van Gogh and works by Picasso and Kees van Dongen, fetched "record prices".Although a total figure of sale for some of the world's most sought-after artworks could not be given,...

Senior European Union officials say the rules, first proposed in 2021, will protect citizens from the risks of a technology developing at breakneck speed, while also fostering innovation on the continent.

Doha, Qatar - Doha Bank has successfully issued $500 million in international bonds, garnering a total order book of $2 billion, marking an oversubscription of 4 times. The investor base includes prominent asset managers, banks, private banks, and insurance companies from the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.The...

Sharjah, UAE-- Nearly 400,000 visitors from Europe have traveled to Sharjah during last year, marking a notable 28 percent increase compared to the previous year, with Europeans constituting 27 percent of the total visitor count.Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) made the announcement during its press conference on Wednesday...

Michael Stuebgen, interior minister for Brandenburg state, said that "if initial findings are confirmed, this is a perfidious attack on our electricity infrastructure".

Brussels, Belgium - The EU on Monday hit Apple with a more than 1.8-billion-euro fine ($1.9 billion) for violating the bloc's laws by preventing European users from accessing information about alternative, cheaper music streaming services.The iPhone maker immediately vowed to appeal the first ever antitrust fine slapped on Apple by Brussels,...

Geneva, Switzerland - The pernicious "'great replacement' conspiracy theories" spreading in many countries are "delusional" and racist and are directly spurring violence, the United Nations rights chief warned on Monday.United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk also took aim at the "war on woke", which he stressed was "really...

An increase in sales in North America and Europe lifted the profits.

LONDON, UK – Europe's aviation industry is extending its bounceback from the Covid pandemic, as British Airways owner IAG and Franco-Dutch rival Air France-KLM posted bumper 2023 profits on Thursday.The sector is flying at cruising altitude on pent-up demand after emerging from the dark days of Covid, which grounded planes and...

Algiers, Algeria -- Sonatrach, the state-owned energy company of Algeria, will allocate $8.8 billion investment in 2024, which represents 17.6 percent of the total Algerian investment portfolio of $50 billion for the next four years (2024-28).The company's CEO, Rachid Hachichi, told QNA that majority of the allocated funds (71 percent)...

LONDON, UK – The price of natural gas in Europe fell again on Friday, taking it to its lowest in almost three years as mild winter weather continues and European stockpiles hold up.Mid-morning on Friday, the benchmark Dutch TTF futures contract was down 3.2 percent at US$24.3 (22.45 euros) a megawatt-hour...

Singapore, Singapore - Boeing said Wednesday it was preparing to compete with China's first domestically produced passenger plane, which was showcased for the first time to international buyers at Asia's biggest airshow.The single-aisle C919 aircraft made its international debut this week at the Singapore Airshow, featuring in both flying and on-the-ground...