Peter Graff

Bank lending to euro zone firms edged down last month but remained near two-year highs, while credit to households expanded at its best pace since early 2023, the European Central Bank said on Monday.

Iran will not return to negotiations with the United States as long as Washington makes "unreasonable demands," the Iranian foreign minister said on Wednesday according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Former French movie star Brigitte Bardot, 91, is recovering at home in Saint-Tropez, southern France, following minor surgery that went well, Bardot's office said in a statement to French news agency AFP on Friday.

The chances of further interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank are declining given the economy's resilience and inflation holding around the 2% target, Belgian central bank Governor Pierre Wunsch said on Friday.

AI systems acting without human control could one day pose a security threat, the head of Britain's MI5 spy agency said on Thursday, although he said he was not predicting doom scenarios as depicted in sci-fi movies.

The Abraham Accords, which normalised diplomatic relations between Israel and some Arab states, are under the spotlight after Israel attacked Hamas on September 9 with airstrikes on Qatar, outraging the U.S. ally that has hosted ceasefire talks.

The EU's top sanctions official was in Washington with a team of experts on Monday to discuss what would be the first coordinated transatlantic measures against Russia since President Donald Trump returned to office.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin walked shoulder to shoulder with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, a hot mic caught them discussing organ transplants and the possibility that humans could live to 150 years old.

Jordan and the United Arab Emirates parachuted 25 tons of aid into the Gaza Strip on Sunday in their first airdrop in months, a Jordanian official source said.

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday its forces had captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine, including one in Dnipropetrovsk region where Moscow says its troops have begun to make advances.