The end of a decades-old female driving ban is expected to bring an economic windfall for millions of Saudi women, making it easier for them to work and do business.

OPEC energy ministers expressed optimism Thursday they were nearing a compromise on oil output policy, with Saudi Arabia acknowledging that a big production hike would be "politically unacceptable" to archfoe Iran.

OPEC and non-OPEC partner countries are due to hold crunch talks in Vienna on Friday and Saturday to decide the fate of an 18-month-old supply-cut pact that has cleared a global oil glut and lifted crude prices to multi-year highs.

Germany has earned some 2.9 billion euros ($3.5 billion) since 2010 on Greek debt bought to help the struggling country, a government report seen by AFP showed Thursday.

The Saudi stock exchange, Tadawul, has been upgraded to the status of an emerging market by global index provider MSCI, a step expected to lure billions of dollars in foreign investments.

Burger King has apologized for an online ad offering burgers to Russian women who get impregnated by football players during the World Cup the country is hosting until July 15.

A raft of retaliatory tariffs from the European Union against stiff metals duties imposed by US President Donald Trump will come into effect on Friday, a top EU official said.

From blue jeans to motorbikes and whiskey, the EU's hit-list of products targeted for tariffs with the US reads like a long list of emblematic American exports.

Clashes between rival groups in Libya's key oil export ports have caused output to drop by nearly half, the head of the National Oil Company said on Wednesday. 

New pipelines could be laid to bring Russian gas through North Korea to the South and even on to Japan following the diplomatic thaw with Pyongyang, Seoul's leader suggested Wednesday.

Iran's oil minister on Tuesday said his country would resist unwinding a landmark OPEC agreement to cap oil production, and blamed U.S. President Donald Trump for pushing up crude prices.

Payment systems giant Visa said Tuesday that a massive technical glitch earlier this month had affected 5.2 million card transactions, almost half of which were in Britain.

Visa, revealing the details in a letter to a British parliamentary committee that is probing the matter, said the "rare" disruption prevented many cardholders form making payments in Europe for 10 hours on Friday June 1.