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.

Spain's foreign minister claimed Monday that the Catalan independence crisis had cost the country "a billion" euros as fallout from the turmoil continued to hamper growth in the wealthy region. 

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates introduced value-added tax from Monday, a first for the Gulf which has long prided itself on its tax-free, cradle-to-grave welfare system.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has urged France and other countries to push through reforms "while the sun is shining" on the global economy.