China’s customs administration approved U.S. rice imports on Thursday, a move that comes during a 90-day tariff truce between the two countries, which are engaged in a bruising trade war.

Trade negotiators from China and the United States are planning to meet in January for talks, Beijing said Thursday, but stopped short of confirming the exact date or location. 

London and Paris stock markets rebounded in opening deals on Thursday, after Wall Street enjoyed its best performance in nine years, but Frankfurt fell as investors played catch-up.

Russia has expanded its economic sanctions on Ukraine, adding more than 250 people and businesses to a blacklist first announced at the start of November.

U.S. President Donald Trump has marked Christmas with a renewed attack on the central bank over plunging stocks, as he aired a catalogue of grievances in a downbeat gathering at the Oval Office.

Stretching as far as the eye can see, groves of gnarled olive trees in northwest Libya have proudly withstood the country's devastating conflicts.

A Tokyo court on Tuesday granted bail for a Nissan executive accused of a key role in the financial misconduct case involving auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn, who remains in detention.

Oil ministers from leading OPEC nations said Sunday they expect prices will arrest their recent slide and rebalance early next year, when a deal on new production cuts takes effect.

Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn will be spending Christmas and the beginning of 2019 behind bars after a Tokyo court on Sunday extended his detention through to January 1.

The court's decision is the latest twist in a rollercoaster saga that has gripped Japan and the business world since the auto sector titan was arrested out of the blue in Tokyo on November 19.

Wall Street ended its worst week in a decade with more bruising losses Friday, and with the tech-rich Nasdaq entering a bear market amid worries about trade wars and a possible US government shutdown.