Egypt's grand mufti has said that bitcoin is forbidden in Islam, warning the digital currency could be used for criminal purposes.

Swedish carmaker Volvo, owned by the Chinese Geely, said Thursday that booming demand in China helped it notch up record sales for the fourth consecutive year in 2017. 

The British government said Thursday it will match European Union subsidies for farmers for around five years after Brexit until it puts in place a new system focusing more on environmental protection.

Spain's jobless queue shrank by 7.8 percent last year, the labour ministry said Wednesday, as unemployment continues to recede from the record highs seen in 2013 during the economic crisis.

Qatar said Wednesday that the two state-owned firms running the country's natural gas business had merged in a move aimed at cutting costs and creating a global energy giant.

The legal cannabis sector is expected to generate $40 billion and more than 400,000 jobs by 2021 in the United States, according to a study released Tuesday.

Asian equities continued their positive start to the year on Wednesday following more record closes on Wall Street, but the dollar faced further selling pressure.

Asian stocks mostly opened the year with gains on Tuesday as traders drift back to work after the festive break, with Hong Kong the standout performer, though the dollar faced fresh pressure from most other currencies.

A pregnant 18-year-old Venezuelan woman was fatally shot in the head early Sunday in Caracas as she waited in line at a National Guard outpost to buy ham for her New Year's meal, relatives said.

Despite demonstrators chanting provocative slogans against Iran's Islamic rulers, analysts say the roots of the current protests lie in the same anger at economic austerity that has roiled many countries.