The United Arab Emirates and Israel are gearing up to open their doors for business after the surprise announcement they will normalize relations.

Italy will present its proposals for confronting the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic to the EU in mid-October, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in an interview published on Wednesday.

Dubai again has loosened laws governing alcohol sales and possession of liquor as the sheikhdom tries to claw its way out of an economic depression worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.

The outbreak of the virus exacerbated the already-gathering economic storm engulfing the emirate, which has seen mass layoffs thin the ranks of its foreign workforce and empty homes even amid slight signs of recovery. Even now, experts warn the sheikhdom's crucial real-estate market is on track to hit record lows seen in the 2009 Great Recession.

The European Union urged Turkey on Sunday to "immediately" stop exploring for gas in a disputed area of the eastern Mediterranean, as tensions rise with other countries in the region.

Negotiators from the United States and China will on Saturday discuss the "phase one" trade deal signed earlier this year -- before the coronavirus slammed the world economy and relations between the two economic powers took a turn for the worse.

Britain's economy shrank by a fifth in the second quarter, higher than any European neighbour, as the coronavirus pandemic slammed businesses and plunged the country into a record recession.  

Australia's worst-hit state of Victoria appears to be curbing a virus outbreak after a week of tougher restrictions, authorities said Wednesday, with new cases falling in recent days even as fatalities topped records.

Australia's Commonwealth Bank (CBA) reported an 11.3-percent drop in full-year cash profits Wednesday as it took provisions against loan losses due to the coronavirus crisis.

Stock markets surged Tuesday on optimism that lawmakers in Washington will hammer out a new stimulus package for the crippled American economy, while concerns about the U.S.-China trade pact eased.

Approaching the half-way stage, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 2.5 percent.

Wall Street stocks inched higher early Tuesday after big gains in the prior session as markets eyed stimulus negotiations in Washington and brittle U.S.-China relations.