Japan and China signed $2.6 billion in business deals and touted their warmer ties on Friday during a rare visit to Beijing by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as both face trade challenges from U.S. President Donald Trump.

China produced around two new billionaires a week last year as the fortunes of the world's ultra-rich soared by a record amount, a report said Friday.

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday lifted a 17-month long ban on agricultural imports from Egypt, during an official visit by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to Khartoum.

The Saudi stock market surged Thursday a day after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made his first public comments on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and vowed to press on with reforms.

The Saudi energy minister said Thursday that foreign companies which boycotted a key investment forum over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi have "apologized" and vowed a return to normal ties.

British department store chain Debenhams on Thursday said it planned to shut about one third of its shops, many more than previously announced, signaling another blow to a retail sector faced with fierce online competition.

Saudi oil giant Aramco is "absolutely ready" for its long-awaited IPO but several regulatory procedures remain, the kingdom's economy minister told the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh on Thursday.

The lower house of Argentina's Congress approved Thursday an unpopular austerity budget designed to meet the requirements of a $57 billion IMF bailout.

Pakistani stocks climbed by nearly four percent Wednesday, hours after Saudi Arabia pledged to provide Islamabad with $6 billion in financial assistance to shore up a widening balance of payments crisis.

The benchmark KSE index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange gained 1,462 points or 3.85 percent in intra-day trading to push the index to 39,176 points.

Israel on Wednesday allowed a resumption of Qatari-financed fuel deliveries to Gaza after a 12-day halt it imposed over heavy border clashes, the Palestinian territory's sole power plant said.