The German economy, Europe's biggest, gathered momentum in the first three months of 2014, expanding by 0.8 percent, official data showed on Thursday.

That represented an acceleration from the preceding quarter, when gross domestic product (GDP) had grown by 0.4 percent, the federal statistics office said in a statement. 

China and Russia still disagree over pricing a multi-billion-dollar gas deal despite years of negotiations, a senior Beijing official said Thursday, ahead of a visit by Vladimir Putin when a contract signature had been expected.

The Russian president will visit the commercial hub of Shanghai on Tuesday and Wednesday for a conference focused on Asian security hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

France's economy failed to grow in the first quarter of 2014, according to data released on Thursday by the Insee national statistics institute.

The figure was below the meagre 0.1 percent growth that Insee had forecast for eurozone's second-largest economy between January and March.

Qatar, which will host the 2022 football World Cup, said Wednesday it will abolish its controversial sponsorship system for foreign workers as international criticism mounts over their treatment.

It "will be replaced with a system based on employment contracts," as part of a package of labor reforms, said a statement released at a press conference in Doha.

Switzerland's stock exchange regulator said on Wednesday that it had opened a probe into possible rule breaches by banking giant Credit Suisse.

"SIX Exchange Regulation is opening an investigation against Credit Suisse Funds AG on the grounds of possible breaches of regular reporting obligations," it said in a statement.

Spanish police said Wednesday they had arrested 752 people in a massive probe into fake businesses created to obtain social security benefits as well as residence or work permits for foreigners.

It was "without a doubt" the biggest police operation yet against such scams, said Spanish police chief Ignacio Cosido, estimating the overall cost to the state of the frauds under investigation at 20.5 million euros ($28 million).

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott Wednesday defended his tough first budget which saw swingeing cuts to health and education spending in an attempt  to slash the country's massive deficit.

The moves triggered anger and claims of broken election promises, but conservative Abbott said his administration was being upfront with the public about the state of the nation's finances.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde withdrew from a graduation speech at prestigious Smith College in the United States after students and faculty protested IMF policies.

Lagarde pulled out on Monday after a petition signed by students, faculty and alumni of the progressive all-women's college said that the IMF promotes economic policies that exacerbate the oppression of women.

Treasurer Joe Hockey called on all Australians to help mend the country's finances Tuesday, declaring the "age of entitlement" over as he announced a temporary tax on high income earners and plans to lift the pension age to 70.

The first budget from the conservative government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott since its September election aims to bring the deficit down from its current Aus$49.9 billion (U.S.$46.6 billion) to Aus$29.8 billion next year. 

China's vast "shadow banking" sector is now valued at $4.4 trillion, according to the government's premier research group the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) as it warned of potential risks to the financial system.

Shadow banking in China encompasses a huge network of lending outside formal channels and beyond the reach of regulators, including activities by online finance platforms, credit guarantee companies and microcredit firms.