Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday acknowledged growing doubts over the relevance of the five-nation BRICS bloc of large emerging economies but called for the group to stick together even after China's tense border row with fellow member India.

Hafsa had hoped to land a much-needed job distributing meals for the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday. One question stood in her way: "Are you, your husband, or any of your relatives Saudi?"

Markos Markakis is 28 and works up to 13 hours a day. It took him seven attempts to find his current job, and in Greece's precarious job environment, he counts himself lucky.

Israeli police said they detained six people Sunday for questioning over suspected corruption around a deal to buy submarines for Israel's navy from Germany's ThyssenKrupp.

A Brazilian court Wednesday ordered two former Petrobras officials to pay fines totaling more than $80 million for grossly mishandling the purchase of a Texas refinery.

Brazil's Court of Accounts (TCU) found the semi-public oil giant's former president Sergio Gabrielli and an ex-official of the state company, Nestor Cervero guilty of hurting the country's accounts in the deal.

China Construction Bank, one of the country's "big four" financial institutions, reported a moderate first-half profit rise and improving asset quality as a government crackdown on bad debt kicked in.

Crude prices fell further in Asian trade Thursday as refineries shut down by deadly storm Harvey in the key oil-producing U.S. Gulf Coast struggled to get back online, further piling up supplies.

Economic losses in Texas from Hurricane Harvey, which is still pounding the water-logged U.S. state with rain, will be some $58 billion (49 billion euros), disaster analysts in Germany said Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron's government unveiled a major overhaul of the labor code on Thursday, a signature reform that will test his ability to force through business-friendly changes and face down protests.

Asia’s biggest carrier China Southern Airlines said higher jet fuel costs clipped its profit in the first half, while China Eastern earnings rose but only with the help of a one-off asset sale.