Germany's troubled economy returned to modest growth last year after two years of falling output, official figures showed, as hopes rise that government spending on bridges, rail lines and defense may help end years of stagnation.

The expansion in gross domestic product of 0.2% for 2025 was fueled by stronger consumer and government spending while exports sagged under the weight of more restrictive U.S. trade policy under President Donald Trump, the German Federal Statistical Office said on Thursday.

The nationwide protests challenging Iran's theocracy appeared to be being smothered Thursday, a week on from authorities shutting the country off from the world and escalating a bloody crackdown that activists say killed at least 2,615 people.

In Iran's capital, Tehran, witnesses say recent mornings saw no new signs of bonfires lit the night before or debris in the streets. The sound of gunfire, which had been intense for several nights, has faded. Meanwhile, Iranian state media announces wave after wave of arrests by authorities, targeting those it calls "terrorists" and also apparently looking for Starlink satellite internet dishes, the only way to get videos and images out to the internet.

President Donald Trump is set to meet Thursday at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by then-President Nicolás Maduro before the United States captured him in an audacious military raid this month.

Less than two weeks after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges, Trump will host the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Machado, having already dismissed her credibility to run Venezuela and raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in the country.

Talks on a landmark free trade deal between the European Union and four South American countries started so long ago that the euro wasn't even in circulation, China hadn't yet joined the World Trade Organization and Venezuela was still America's top oil provider.

But against a starkly different geopolitical background and tough odds — including backlash from powerful protectionist lobbies — the EU and the South American alliance known as Mercosur are expected to formally sign their quarter-century-in-the-making trade pact this Saturday at a ceremony in Paraguay.

Demonstrations broke out in Iran on Dec. 28 and have spread nationwide as protesters vent their increasing discontent over the Islamic Republic's faltering economy and the collapse of its currency. Dozens of people have been killed and thousands arrested as the daily protests have grown and the government seeks to contain them. While the initial focus had been on issues like spikes in the prices of food staples and the country's staggering annual inflation rate, protesters have now begun chanting anti-government statements as well.

Here is how the protests developed:

Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday as tensions remained high with the United States over Tehran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.

The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key East-West flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired and several domestic flights were in the air just after 7 a.m.

Lebanese authorities have arrested a Syrian citizen who is suspected of sending money to fighters loyal to former Syrian President Bashar Assad in Syria, judicial officials said Wednesday.

Ahmad Dunia was detained in recent days in Lebanon's region of Byblos north of Beirut and is being questioned over alleged links to Assad's maternal cousin Rami Makhlouf as well as a former Syrian army general who left the country after Assad's fall in December 2024, the officials said.

Long lines beneath I.M. Pei's glass pyramid have become as much a part of the experience as the " Mona Lisa " itself.

Now the Louvre is putting a higher price on that pilgrimage, raising admission prices on Wednesday for most non-European visitors by 45% as it tries to shore up finances after repeated strikes, chronic overcrowding — and a brazen French Crown Jewels heist that shook the institution.

The Japanese and South Korean leaders agreed to deepen cooperation between their countries before they let loose with their own surprise cultural exchange in a surprise jam session drumming to K-pop hits.

The musical performance between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung followed Tuesday's summit in Japan's ancient capital of Nara, also Takaichi's hometown.

The European Union will dedicate most of a massive new loan program to Ukraine's military needs over the next two years while also injecting billions into its war-ravaged economy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday.

EU leaders agreed last month to loan Ukraine 90 billion euros ($105 billion) to help cover its needs in 2026 and 2027. Kyiv would only have to pay the money back once Russia ends its war and pays reparations for the damage it has inflicted over almost four years.