Renault stressed on Thursday that the opening of a giant factory in Morocco to build low-cost cars is not a sign that it is abandoning production at home in France.

"It isn't something that is being done to the detriment of France," chief executive Carlos Ghosn said on French RTL radio ahead of an official opening ceremony later on Thursday for the plant outside Tangiers.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways on Thursday posted a net profit of $14 million for 2011, exceeding its goal of breaking even for the first time ever, a statement said.

The national carrier of the United Arab Emirates said its revenues were up 36 percent in 2011 to $4.1 billion, with net profit touching $14 million.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's party is at its most popular since her government was elected in 2009 despite the crisis, which a majority of Germans believe can be overcome, polls showed Wednesday.

Merkel's center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) are polling at 38 percent, a Forsa survey for Stern magazine showed, the highest level since August 2009, a month before the election which swept her to a second term in power.

Greece reached the hour of decision on Wednesday over more budget cuts demanded by the EU and IMF and a debt deal to obtain a second rescue and close a key chapter in the Eurozone crisis.

Saudi Arabia has pledged to ensure a stable supply of oil to South Korea, which is under pressure from the United States to reduce purchases from Iran, a report said on Wednesday.

The assurances came as South Korea's President Lee Myung-Bak held talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday with Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi and the head of Saudi state oil giant Aramco, Khalid al-Faleh.

Half a million Israeli public and private sector workers began a general strike on Wednesday, shutting down government offices, banks and airport traffic over the rights of contract workers.

Trade union umbrella group Histadrut announced the general strike would go into effect early on Wednesday morning, after late-night talks between the powerful association and the finance ministry broke down.

Commercial traffic has resumed on the strategic Shatt al-Arab waterway after 31 years, with the official opening of a port for oil giant Shell, an Iraqi official said on Tuesday.

Part of the 200 kilometer (120 mile) long waterway forms a section of the border with Iran. An unresolved boundary dispute was a major reason cited by now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein for the 1980-88 war with Iran, which resulted in the waterway's closing.

Oil prices slipped below $97 a barrel on Tuesday as traders worried that U.S. crude supplies will continue to rise because of weak demand.

Benchmark crude for March delivery fell 61 cents at $96.30 a barrel by late morning European time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 93 cents to settle at $96.91 on Monday.

French flag-carrier Air France warned it would cancel up to half of its long-haul flights Tuesday as employees pursued a strike against plans to require them to give 48 hours’ notice of a walk-out.

After causing limited disruption on Monday, the four-day strike by pilots, flight attendants and airport staff picked up steam.

BP said that net profits hit $23.9 billion in 2011 after a loss the previous year when the British energy giant was ravaged by U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.

BP bounced back with adjusted profit after tax equivalent to 18.2 billion euros last year, helped by higher oil prices and divestments.