Fourteen countries, including France, Britain, and Germany, condemned on Wednesday Israel's recent approval of new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

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.

NATO flexed its muscles in the North Sea this week in a display of military might, as Russia allegedly tested the alliance's defences on its eastern flank.

Netanyahu, who said his speech was being partially broadcast on Israeli military loudspeakers in Gaza, vowed to "finish the job" against Hamas even as President Donald Trump said he thought he had sealed a deal on a ceasefire.

Steve Witkoff, Trump's golfing friend turned roving global negotiator, said that Trump in a separate meeting with a group of leaders of Arab and Islamic nations presented a 21-point plan for ending the war.

Crowds of people rallied in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, waving flags and holding posters of president Mahmud Abbas to celebrate the wave of recognition by Western powers of a Palestinian state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to allow a Palestinian state and far-right members of his cabinet have threatened to annex the West Bank to make statehood impossible.

Here is an overview of diplomatic recognition of the state, which was unilaterally proclaimed by the Palestinian leadership in exile in 1988.

France and the UK will be the first permanent UN Security Council members to recognise a Palestinian state and, along with Canada, the first G7 members to do so.

On Monday, Bayrou suffered a crushing loss in a confidence vote he had himself called, plunging France into fresh uncertainty and leaving Macron with the task of finding the seventh premier of his mandate.

Iran will accept limits on its nuclear programme and restrictions to uranium enrichment if international sanctions are lifted, its foreign minister said in a piece in The Guardian on Sunday.

Several countries, including France and Britain, have pledged to recognize a Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly later this month.

Paris, France -- French judicial authorities have issued arrest warrants for ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and six other top former officials over the bombardment of a rebel-held city in 2012 that killed two journalists, lawyers said Tuesday. Marie Colvin, 56, an American working for The Sunday Times of Britain,...

Dubai, UAE – Creators HQ, the first headquarters for content creators in the UAE and the Middle East, has seen a strong response from top content creators. In six months, it attracted 2,415 active members from 147 countries as part of its strategy to position the UAE as the global...

The move would reimpose sweeping UN sanctions lifted under the 2015 agreement unless Iran agrees to curb its uranium enrichment and restore cooperation with IAEA inspectors.

Israel has approved the plans for the roughly 12-square-kilometre parcel of land known as E1 just east of Jerusalem, which will make the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state impossible.

Iran said Monday it would hold the United States accountable for attacks on its nuclear sites in any future negotiations, while ruling out direct talks with Washington.

In a statement, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei described the claims as "baseless", calling them "an attempt to divert public attention from the most pressing issue of the day, the genocide in occupied Palestine".

The foreign ministers of 15 countries issued a joint statement following a conference in New York, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, aimed at reviving a two-state solution between Israelis and the Palestinians.

At least 142 countries now recognise or plan to recognise Palestinian statehood, according to an AFP tally -- though Israel and the United States strongly oppose the move.

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.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 21 people were killed and around 150 wounded by Israeli fire near an aid point in central Gaza early Tuesday, and that another 25 were killed in a separate incident in south Gaza.

From meeting his spending demand to limiting the participation of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, everything is being done to try to avoid the chances of a damaging confrontation with the volatile leader.

UN Ocean Conference wrapped up Friday with world leaders taking major steps toward marine protection and vowing a showdown when nations meet to negotiate rules for deep-sea mining next month.

ICAN said Britain, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United States together spent nearly $10 billion more than in 2023.

Brussels, Belgium - Ukraine's "creativity", including its massive "Spider's web" drone attack deep inside Russia, holds profound lessons for Western militaries, the top NATO commander overseeing battlefield innovation told AFP. "What the Ukrainians did in Russia was a Trojan horse -- and the trojan horse was thousands of years ago,"...

Nice, France -- France is hosting world leaders this week to confront what the United Nations calls a global "emergency" in the oceans -- but what is expected, and can the summit make a difference? There is pressure on the UN Ocean Conference starting Monday in Nice to show that...

Thursday's attacks on what the Israeli military said were underground Hezbollah drone factories came after an Israeli evacuation call on the eve of Eid al-Adha, a key Muslim religious festival, and sent huge numbers of residents of Beirut's southern suburbs fleeing.

Paris, France -- French anti-terror prosecutors have opened probes into "complicity in genocide" and "incitement to genocide" after French-Israelis allegedly blocked aid intended for war-torn Gaza last year, they said on Friday. The two investigations, opened after legal complaints, were also to look into possible "complicity in crimes against humanity"...

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that abandoning war-torn Gaza to its fate and giving Israel a "free pass" would kill the West's credibility with the world.

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...

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday met French leader Emmanuel Macron on his first visit to Europe since overthrowing longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, despite alarm over deadly clashes that have overshadowed the new authorities' first months in power.

He renewed calls for an immediate and lasting ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages, and full humanitarian access. He also underscored the need to uphold international law, protect UN personnel and facilities, and ensure accountability for attacks on aid workers.

Muscat, Oman - The United States and Iran went into detail about a potential nuclear deal Saturday at their third consecutive round of talks, hoping to strike an accord that would ease regional tensions. US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi again led the talks, which...

Witkoff, a businessman friend of Trump who has become his globe-trotting negotiator, last met Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday in Rome, where they reported progress and called for talks among technical teams.

Germany, France and Britain on Wednesday called on Israel to stop blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza, warning of "an acute risk of starvation, epidemic disease and death".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday lashed out at French President Emmanuel Macron over his plans to recognise a Palestinian state.

French President Emmanuel Macron meanwhile said that France plans to recognise a Palestinian state in the "coming months", a move that risks antagonising Israel which insists such moves by foreign states are premature.

Cairo, Egypt -- The leaders of France, Egypt and Jordan on Monday said the Palestinian Authority alone must be in charge of the post-war governance of the Gaza Strip. "Governance, law and order, and security in Gaza, as well as in all Palestinian territories, must be the sole responsibility of...

Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapon, which Tehran has denied, insisting that its enrichment activities are solely for peaceful purposes.

The company suffered from boycotts against the policies of Elon Musk.

A French court on Monday threw into severe doubt far-right leader Marine Le Pen's 2027 bid for president, handing her a five-year ban on running for office after convicting her over a fake jobs scheme.

Paris, France -- A French court on Monday threw into severe doubt far-right leader Marine Le Pen's 2027 bid for president, handing her a five-year ban on running for office after convicting her over a fake jobs scheme. She was also given a four-year prison term by the Paris court...

Tens of thousands of people in Paris and other French cities on Saturday rallied against racism and the rise of the far right, with some taking aim at the administration of Donald Trump in the United States and others carrying Palestinian flags.

Paris, France - Saudi Arabian sports investment fund SURJ, linked to the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, has acquired a minority stake in sports streaming platform DAZN, the two parties announced on Monday. The statement said the deal would focus on the Middle East and North Africa. "As part of this agreement,...

Paris, UAE - UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and French President Emmanuel Macron of France explored various aspects of the longstanding and strategic partnership between the two countries and discussed opportunities to expand bilateral cooperation, particularly in the economic, investment, and cultural fields. The two sides also...

As the world grapples with uncertainty, the summit offers a much-needed space for cooperation and innovation, led by the Franco-Arab Chamber of Commerce (CCFA).

The French president said they want to involve both European and non-European allies who are ready to move in this direction but who are waiting for France.

Macron is beginning the first state visit by a French president to Saudi Arabia since Jacques Chirac in 2006, cementing what the presidency calls a "very close relationship". He arrives as France's less than three-month-old minority government faces the prospect of being forced out by a no-confidence vote in the...

Iran is set to meet with Britain, France and Germany for talks on its nuclear program on Friday after the three governments joined with the United States to have Tehran censured by the UN atomic watchdog.