The deputy governor of Iran's central bank says trading in foreign currency outside of banks or licensed money changing operations is forbidden.

The announcement by Ehrahim Darvish on state radio Monday marks the latest step by the government to curb the steep depreciation pressures on the Iranian rial, which has shed roughly 40 percent of its value against the dollar since December 2010.

France's budget minister is optimistic that a downgrade of her country's credit rating won't lead to a rise in the country's borrowing costs.

Valerie Pecresse spoke before the French Treasury is set to sell off short-term bills in an auction Monday, which is seen as a test of the impact of the downgrade.

Oil prices edged above $99 a barrel in Asia on Monday amid concerns that tensions in the Middle East could hurt crude supply but gains were tempered by jitters over Europe's ratings downgrade.

Benchmark crude for February delivery was up 48 cents to $99.16 a barrel at late afternoon Kuala Lumpur time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 40 cents to settle at $98.70 in New York on Friday.

South Korean customs officials say they have arrested eight men over a scheme to allegedly smuggle gold out of the country by hiding it in their rectums.

The Korea Customs Service said Monday the men allegedly transformed $260,000 in gold bars into small beads and smuggled them in their rectums to Japan two times in 2010 to avoid import taxes.

Officials at Cairo's international airport confiscated 420 pounds (190 kilograms) of frozen cow brains Friday from three Sudanese travelers who planned to sell them to Egyptian restaurants, authorities said.

An airport official said it was the fourth time this week that customs officers there had foiled an attempt to smuggle cow brains into the country, reflecting the growth of a moneymaking scheme made possible by some realities of international supply and demand: Cow brains are cheap in Sudan, and Egyptians like to eat them.

A North Carolina man says 30 pairs of Nike Air Jordan sneakers still in their boxes that he's been collecting since middle school have been stolen.

WCNC-TV reports that 22-year-old Bryant Toala told police that someone broke into a home Monday night and took the shoes that he says could be worth more than $10,000. The burglars came in through a bedroom window and made off with the boxes that Toala says were hidden.

The Associated Press opened its newest bureau in North Korea on Monday, becoming the first international news organization with a full-time presence to cover news in words, pictures and video.

In a ceremony that came less than a month after the death of longtime ruler Kim Jong Il and capped nearly a year of discussions, AP President and CEO Tom Curley and a delegation of top AP editors inaugurated the office, situated inside the headquarters of the state-run Korean Central News Agency in downtown Pyongyang.

Thai authorities charged on Monday a Lebanese Hizbullah suspect with illegally possessing explosive materials. He faces up to five years in prison.

Atris Hussein was detained by police Thursday at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport, trying to leave the country. Police are still looking for another Lebanese suspect.

Rafael Nadal has criticized Roger Federer for letting other players "burn themselves" by complaining about tour conditions while maintaining his good reputation by rarely making negative comments about tennis.

The pair have always been respectful rivals, but the ongoing debate about the overcrowded tennis calendar has exposed a difference of opinion on the eve of the Australian Open.

Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen play writers Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway in a new HBO film, but they'd prefer to keep their own lives off-screen.

At a news conference Friday promoting "Hemingway & Gellhorn," Kidman said she likes her privacy and protects it "quite diligently." She and husband Keith Urban live in Nashville, Tennessee, with their two daughters.