LONDON, UK - British museums, like others across Europe, are under pressure to return artworks taken during the colonial era, including Bronzes from Benin, royal treasures from Ghana and friezes from Greece.However, politicians have little appetite to change the legal framework that is currently blocking full restitutions by national museums, campaigners...

London, United Kingdom - Europe's main stock markets steadied Friday as traders reacted to more earnings updates from top companies, while awaiting revisions to US inflation data.Asia saw holiday-thinned trade, with investors there struggling to build on another record-setting day on Wall Street."Today sees things slow down after a week that...

PARIS, FRANCE -  Earth has endured 12 consecutive months of temperatures 1.5C hotter than the pre-industrial era for the first time on record, Europe's climate monitor said Thursday, in what scientists called a "warning to humanity".Storms, drought and fire have lashed the planet as climate change -- supercharged by the naturally-occurring...

Strasbourg, France - The EU on Tuesday urged a 90-percent cut to its greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, even as the bloc's transition to a greener future was clouded by a widespread farmers' revolt."Based on the best available science, and a detailed impact assessment, we are recommending that the 2040 target should...

"The markets continue to forge ahead despite a blowout jobs report from the US last Friday which seems to have finally put the nail in the coffin of the idea rates will be cut next month," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

For EU leaders, it is their way or the highway as the wealthy, powerful bloc seeks to tame opposition and browbeat defiant countries and individuals into submission.

It made record profit on the back of higher interest rates.

Tehran, Iran - Iran and Turkey are set to enhance their electricity exchange capabilities through the implementation of modern technology, according to Mehdi Moghimzadeh, the head of Iran's Iran Grid Management Company. “With the signing of the contract for the operation of 400-kilovolt BtB HVDC line between Khoy (Iran) and...

Ankara, Turkiye – Iran and Turkiye signed contract to connect their power grids during the visit of Iranian president Ibrahim Raisi to Turkiye. The Khoy-Van grid line is set to become operational as part of the agreement between the Iran Grid Management Company and the Turkish Electricity Transmission Company (TEIAS).,...

iPhone users can download alternative app stores.

According to Axios, Israel has offered Hamas a two-month pause in fighting in Gaza in exchange for the release of all hostages. Vowing to crush Hamas, Israel has launched a relentless military campaign that has killed at least 25,900 people in the Palestinian territory, mostly women and children, according to...

The Western military alliance has said some 90,000 troops will take part in the months-long Steadfast Defender 24 exercise designed to test its defenses in the face of Russia's war on Ukraine. "The alliance will demonstrate its ability to reinforce the Euro-Atlantic area via trans-Atlantic movement of forces from North...

Last week, the national guard announced the disappearance at sea of about 40 Tunisians who left from Sfax province, on Tunisia's central coast, who were trying to reach Italy, whose island of Lampedusa lies around 150 kilometers (90 miles) away. In 2023, more than 155,000 irregular migrants arrived in Italy,...

Earnings per share dropped 12 percent to $1.40.

A surge in tech titans including Apple, Amazon, Nvidia and Facebook parent Meta on Friday pushed New York's S&P 500 index to its first new all-time high since early 2022 thanks to bets on lower borrowing costs this year.

Paris, France - The French government has been flooded with applications from low-income households to lease a subsidized electric car from 100 euros ($109) a month, Environment Minister Christophe Bechu said on Friday.President Emmanuel Macron unveiled the plan on social media in December as part of efforts to reduce carbon emissions...

"International tourism is expected to fully recover pre-pandemic levels in 2024, with initial estimates pointing to 2.0 percent growth above 2019 levels," the Madrid-based agency said in a statement. Figures for last year showed that 1.3 billion tourists travelled abroad, 44 percent higher than in 2022 and 88 percent of...

Doha, Qatar - Asian Cup hosts and holders Qatar have been on a mission to banish the painful memory of their 2022 World Cup flop and forward Akram Afif is leading the charge.Qatar lost all three of their World Cup games on home soil on their way to a first-round exit...

Automakers are facing a 2035 deadline set by the European Union to phase out sales of new combustion engine vehicles. Sales of hybrid cars also soared last year, up by nearly 30 percent.

Vlissingen, Netherlands - Cocaine seizures at the Belgian port of Antwerp, the top gateway into Europe for mainly South American drug cartels, hit a fresh record high last year, authorities said on Wednesday.Some 116 tons of cocaine were seized in Antwerp alone, Belgian Finance Minister Vincent van Peteghem told reporters, a...

Paris, France - Counterfeit products -- mainly clothes -- cost the European economy 16 billion euros a year and result in nearly 200,000 lost jobs, the EU's Intellectual Property Office said Tuesday.The findings, based on data from 2018 to 2021, show that fakes take the biggest toll on the clothing sector,...

"Remember Ukraine?" UN aid chief Martin Griffiths asked as he launched the plan in Geneva. "Please do not forget Ukraine while there are many other places in the world which grab our attention." "As we go into 2024, the competition for funding is going to be more," he acknowledged, citing...

In Asia, Tokyo rose for a sixth successive day to build on last week's advances, which saw the Nikkei break above 35,000 points for the first time since 1990 thanks to a revival of Japanese inflation and a weaker yen that helps exporters.

Wielding piles of cash and cutting-edge technology, many Arab telecom firms are scouting overseas markets to expand business beyond home territory.

The deal could be worth as much as $8.5 billion.

Wielding piles of cash and cutting-edge technology, many Arab telecom firms are scouting overseas markets to expand business beyond home territory.

Doha, Qatar--Qatar National Bank (QNB) expects the global economic growth to be around 2.9 percent in 2024, roughly the same rate as last year.QNB, in its weekly commentary, said, "There is no doubt that expectations for 2024 were influenced by the experience of investor sentiment from 2023, when negative initial...

The data supports comments by European Central Bank (ECB) chief Christine Lagarde, who has warned that Europe should remain on guard despite falling inflation.

Following record highs in 2023 for the likes of Paris, Frankfurt and Tokyo, investors are predicting more gains as central banks prepare a series of interest-rate cuts as inflation cools. Oil prices rallied 2.5 percent on supply concerns after Iran dispatched a warship to the Red Sea in response to...

BYD already has operations in Hungary, including an electric bus factory.

London, United Kingdom - On a busy north London street, plumber Ben Hume-Wright zipped through the heavy rush-hour traffic to his next job by bike.Trades such as his used to rely on vans but many are now choosing to do more business using two or sometimes three wheels.Since switching his Ford...

Two goals in the final 20 minutes in Jeddah by Jhon Arias, from the penalty spot, and then John Kennedy carried the Brazilians into Friday's final against European Champions League winners Manchester City or Japanese side Urawa Reds.

Ouled Omar, Tunisia - Tunisian villager Ounissa Mazhoud ties two empty jerry cans to a donkey and cautiously descends a stony hill towards the last local source of water.The North African country, in its fourth year of drought, is grappling with its worst water scarcity in years.Mazhoud -- like other women...

Doha, Qatar-- Oil and gas producers in the Middle East are assessing "challenges and opportunities" available for their economies to grow while depending on hydrocarbon by working to enhance cooperation in the rapid transitions in the European energy field.The eagerness to make a transition toward clean energy and strike an...

The EU's internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton. called the deal as historic, regulating artificial intelligence models such as ChatGPT. Negotiators in Brussels nailed down curbs on how AI can be used in Europe, which they said would not hurt innovation in the sector nor the prospects for future European AI...

It wants to build a supply chain between UAE and Amsterdam.

Volkswagen has some 675,800 employees worldwide.

Paris, France - Asian countries dominated the top spots in a keenly watched survey of education capabilities published Tuesday, while levels in Europe slipped at a record pace -- and not just because of Covid.However, the report also showed that students in top performing countries were not necessarily happier.The PISA survey...

Moscow's all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022 provided Europe with a wake-up call that it needed to pump more into defense to be able to confront the threat of its bellicose eastern neighbor.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on X, formerly Twitter, that she welcomed the agreement to "protect those who try to reveal inconvenient truths".

Helsinki, Finland - Finland's Olkiluoto 3, the largest nuclear reactor in Europe, stopped production on Wednesday after a test caused the plant unit to unexpectedly go offline, its operator TVO said."During the test, the plant was supposed to produce electricity normally," said Johanna Aho, head of communication at TVO.Before production was interrupted at...

Manchester, United Kingdom - Newcastle must overcome the might of Paris Saint-Germain and a mounting injury list if the Magpies' first foray into the Champions League for 20 years is not to come to a premature end on Tuesday.Damaging back-to-back defeats to Borussia Dortmund have left Eddie Howe's men sitting bottom...

Japanese auto giant Nissan will invest up to £1.12 billion.

Dubai, UAE--Dubai International Chamber has attracted a total of 92 businesses, including 15 multinational companies and 77 SMEs, to the emirate between January and September 2023.The chamber has also supported the successful expansion of 33 Dubai-based companies into global markets, either by increasing their exports or helping them to establish...

The current output strategy by OPEC+ that saw nine members led by Riyadh to cut production in recent months to boost prices has failed to bring about lasting recovery. Some analysts have pointed to possible discord between top crude oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Cairo, Egypt - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday said she was opposed to the "forced displacement of Palestinians" during a meeting in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.Von der Leyen "thanked Egypt for its key role in providing and facilitating humanitarian aid to vulnerable Palestinians", during...

According to a report "Fragile Equilibrium: LNG Trade Dynamics and Market Risks" China has surged ahead of Japan to become the world's largest LNG importer. The US became the top LNG exporter in 2023. The IEF's secretary general said that demand for LNG has grown and continues to "enhance energy...

Dubai, UAE--ENOC Group will reach more than one billion gallons of jet fuel sales at the end of this year by supplying more than 153,000 commercial, military, and general aviation flights around the world.The company made the announcement on the sidelines of the 18th edition of Dubai Airshow, which is...

London, United Kingdom – NEOM, the sustainable regional development taking shape in northwest Saudi Arabia, has opened its first international office in London which will serve as a base for NEOM’s business across Europe.The official opening was led by Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Ambassador to the United...

Founded in 1957, the European Economic Community (later renamed the EU) started out with six members Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg,  the Netherlands and West Germany.