Asian markets saw further losses on Thursday, with Tokyo hit by a weaker dollar and Hong Kong coming off a 12-day surge, as the rally that greeted 2018 gives way to profit-taking.

Forty-three gold diggers died in abandoned mines in Cameroon in the first 10 months of last year, a watchdog group said Wednesday.

Senegal has said it will step up efforts to stop the trafficking of prized timber in its southern Casamance region, following the massacre of 13 men in an incident believed linked to the trade.

German airline giant Lufthansa said Wednesday it had carried 130 million passengers in 2017, nosing ahead of budget Irish carrier Ryanair to become Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers.

The rally across Asia that welcomed in 2018 looked to have run out of steam on Wednesday with most markets slipping into the red on profit-taking but energy shares climbed with another surge in oil prices.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron oversaw the signing Tuesday of business deals worth billions of dollars, seeking better trade ties even as France's finance minister boasted of rejecting those investments he likened to "pillaging."

Britain's Brexit Minister David Davis has criticized the EU for preparing for a no-deal scenario once the UK leaves the bloc, according to a letter published on Tuesday by the Financial Times.

British retailers faced a slowdown in sales over the crucial Christmas trading period, survey data showed Tuesday, as shoppers were squeezed by higher prices and stagnating wages.

The Swiss central bank said Tuesday it expected to post a record profit of 54 billion Swiss francs ($55 billion, 46 billion euros) for 2017, amid gains on its foreign currency and gold holdings.

Asian markets mostly rose Tuesday, with Hong Kong marking 11 straight wins and Tokyo at a 26-year high, as investors press on with a global rally that has the region enjoying its best start since 2006.