Eurozone ministers reached Wednesday a vital deal to unlock urgent cash for Greece but analysts warned promises to tackle the country's debt mountain are sketchy, spelling trouble further down the road.

Brazil's Congress authorized a major increase in the budget deficit Wednesday, handing interim president Michel Temer a first victory in his bid to tackle the Latin American giant's sickly economy.

However, the leaking of a secret recording in which a powerful ally of Temer, Senate President Renan Calheiros, is said to discuss a plan to weaken a huge anti-corruption probe posed fresh embarrassment for the new administration.

Apple faces a roadblock in its quest to open stores in India after the finance minister decided it must comply with tough local sourcing rules, a report said Wednesday, days after a visit by chief executive Tim Cook.

France said Wednesday it has dipped into its strategic oil reserves due to blockades at refineries as power workers threatened to join gathering protests against a labor law reform.

The dollar held gains against the yen Wednesday after risk appetite among Asian investors jumped on the back of rising expectations of a rise in U.S. borrowing costs.

Sentiment in regional markets turned sharply positive after stocks in Europe and on Wall Street rallied on Tuesday on much better-than-expected data for U.S. new-home sales, boosting the case for another U.S. interest rate hike.

Hong Kong stocks jumped by the break Wednesday on the back of a global rally and as energy firms were lifted by a rise in oil prices.

The Hang Seng Index surged 2.47 percent or 490.57 points, to 20,321.

Anyebe Peter has only recently returned to his farm in central Nigeria, nearly three months after attacks by Fulani herdsmen killed seven villagers, destroyed 250 homes and forced survivors to flee.

"Nothing is left for us either on our farm or in our village after the attack," he told AFP in Adagbo, a stone's throw from the Benue river that forms the border between Benue and Nasarawa states.

Money is at the heart of many a battle and the referendum on whether Britain should stay in the European Union or quit is no exception.

Voters are being hit with a blizzard of statistics from the "Remain" and "Leave" camps, often produced selectively to boost their side of the argument.

With one month to go before Britain's vital in-out EU referendum, London's City finance district is busily planning ahead for a potential "Brexit".

Big City firms, many of which are housed in skyscrapers that dominate the London skyline, are seeking to protect themselves from market volatility should Britons vote "Leave", experts say.

Russia's ubiquitous sheet metal sheds -- where tires are changed, furniture repaired and fish smoked -- have become bustling hubs of a shadow economy essential to the livelihoods of the country's crisis-stricken population.

Built in the 1960s and 1970s close to Soviet-era apartment blocks, the clusters of boxy garages today house much more than cars -- everything from stables and saunas to pharmacies and the odd crayfish farm.