Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq's transport ministry said Tuesday that a flight operated by Greece's Aegean Airlines had been the first European aircraft in 35 years to land at Baghdad's international airport. In a statement, the ministry said the arrival signalled "Iraq's return to the European aviation map" and ushered in...

US President Donald Trump's special envoy will meet with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders in Berlin this weekend, the White House said, as Washington presses for a plan to end Russia's bitter war with Kyiv.

Washington has presented a 28-point draft to end the conflict, later amended after criticism from Kyiv and Europe, which viewed it as heeding to many of Russia's maximalist demands.

Qatar's energy minister on Monday warned the Gulf state would halt its supply of liquefied natural gas to Europe over Brussels's planned environmental and human rights rules.

Huge numbers turned out at pro-Palestinian rallies in Europe on Saturday, calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and the release of activists on board a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the territory.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday promised a "significant" response to "Europe's militarisation", as he addressed a foreign policy forum in southern Russia.

Sweeping UN sanctions loomed for Iran late Saturday for the first time in a decade, after last ditch nuclear talks with Western powers failed to produce a breakthrough.

China and Russia at a Security Council session on Friday put forward a draft resolution, seen by AFP, that would give another half year for talks, or until April 18, 2026.

European leaders will join Zelensky in Washington on Monday, seeking above all else to prevent another Oval Office meltdown -- but also to coordinate on the path toward peace negotiations.

Prior to the high-stakes meeting in Alaska, securing an immediate cessation of hostilities had been a core demand of Trump and European leaders including Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky,

"There's no deal until there's a deal," Trump said after emerging from a meeting with Putin. offering warm words but taking no questions from reporters - a highly unusual approach for the media-savvy US president.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang dismissed EU fears over Beijing's allegedly excessive subsidies to its industry, telling the bloc's leaders "we can't afford it" in markedly candid remarks during a tense summit.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...