Self-rule activists in eastern Libya, who have been blockading key oil terminals for months, said Wednesday they would resume exports outside central government control and in defiance of the navy.

The announcement by the head of the self-declared Cyrenaica regional government marked a sharp escalation of its standoff with Tripoli, which on Sunday deployed the navy to prevent two tankers docking in the activist-held eastern port of Al-Sedra to take on crude.

The eurozone unemployment rate continued near record highs at 12.1 percent in November, unchanged from the October level, as a modest recovery produced few new jobs, official data showed on Wednesday.

There were about 19.24 million jobless in the eurozone in November, up 4,000 from October but soaring by 452,000 compared with November 2012 as the debt crisis peaked, the Eurostat statistics agency said.

Facebook has bought an Indian mobile technology start-up called Little Eye Labs, the first business deal in the country by the world's biggest social network, the Indian firm said.

With Facebook users increasingly logging in from mobile phones, Bangalore-based Little Eye will help Facebook develop performance analysis and monitoring tools that provide data such as the memory and power consumption of applications.

Oil prices edged higher in Asia Wednesday as dealers sat on the sidelines ahead of an upcoming U.S. stockpiles report, while a record-breaking North American cold snap provided strong support.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for February delivery, was up 29 cents at $93.96 in mid-morning trade while Brent North Sea crude for February rose eight cents at $107.43.

Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan met his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe for free trade talks Tuesday, as pressure mounted at home over a corruption scandal in which hundreds of police officers were fired.

The two countries also confirmed their cooperation on nuclear technology, as Abe seeks deals to revive the world's third-largest economy.

South Korea's Samsung said Tuesday it expected a steep drop in its operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2013, as slowing sales of high-end smartphones and a strong won hit the world's top technology firm.

The company forecast an operating profit of 8.3 trillion won ($7.8 billion) for October-December, down 18.3 percent from the third quarter and 6.1 percent lower than a year earlier.

Sri Lanka said Tuesday it had raised $1 billion through a sovereign bond issue despite a warning by the International Monetary Fund against increasing its foreign borrowing.

The central bank said the five-year bond, offering an annual six percent yield, was more than three times oversubscribed within hours of opening Monday.

Boeing and flydubai announced Monday a firm order for 75 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and 11 Next-Generation 737-800s, the U.S. company's largest single-aisle airplane order in the Middle East.

The order is valued at $8.8 billion at list prices, the companies said in a statement. Aircraft orders are often negotiated at a discount.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Federal Reserve vice chair Janet Yellen to be the new head of the world's most powerful central bank Monday, the first woman ever to lead the Fed.

President Barack Obama's nominee earned bipartisan support in the bitterly divided chamber, but the vote was still closer than those for her predecessor Ben Bernanke, who steps down on January 31 after eight years in the job.

Switzerland's central bank said on Monday it lost billions in 2013 amid a sharp drop in gold prices and that it therefore would not pay dividends to Bern or the Swiss cantons.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) said it expected to report a loss of 9.0 billion Swiss francs ($9.9 billion, 7.3 billion euros) in 2013, according to provisional figures.