Major oil producers meet this weekend to try to negotiate an output freeze to drain crude oversupply and boost prices, but doubts remain over whether Iran will join any accord.

Qatar said Thursday there was an "atmosphere of optimism" that an agreement would be reached at this weekend's crunch meeting of the world's major oil producers in Doha.

In a statement released through the official Qatar News Agency, the Qatari energy ministry said it was increasingly hopeful of a deal.

President Vladimir Putin says Russian and Egyptian officials have so far failed to agree on security procedures needed to restore direct flights between the two countries.

Moscow halted the flights after the downing last October of a Russian passenger jet over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula that killed all 224 people on board. Russia says the plane was brought down by an explosive device, and a local branch of the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for planting it.

Protesters calling for pay of $15 an hour and a union will be at McDonald's stores around the U.S. Thursday as part of an ongoing push targeting the world's biggest hamburger chain.

The "Fight for $15" campaign says low-wage workers plan to turn out to show their solidarity with fast-food workers.

The Bank of England warned again Thursday over the impact of Britain's possible exit from the European Union, as it voted once more to freeze interest rates.

The British central bank's nine-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided unanimously to keep borrowing costs at a record-low 0.50 percent, it said in a statement following its April gathering.

Tax authorities from the world's richest nations on Wednesday probed a mass of murky offshore dealings revealed in the huge Panama Papers data leak, just hours after police raided the law firm at the center of the scandal.

Dubai's Emirates airline said Wednesday it had ordered two more Airbus A380 planes, raising the carrier's total orders for the superjumbo aircraft to 142.

The two new planes will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2017, said a statement by Emirates, which already has 75 A380s in service.

OPEC warned Wednesday that the world remains awash with crude ahead of a crunch meeting in Doha between cartel members and other major producers to discuss a production freeze to boost the oil price.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its April monthly report that oil prices rose more than 20 percent in March, continuing a slow recovery from the huge drop of 2014-15.

France said Wednesday it was on track for modest growth this year at the same rate as earlier projections and also left its public deficit forecast untouched.

Kuwait is deploying national guard units to run and protect some oil facilities after workers announced a major strike for this weekend, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.