Greece's parliament early Saturday approved a new tax bill, part of the latest batch of fiscal reforms tied to the country's next slice of EU loans.

The legislation, criticized by the opposition as another serious blow to middle-class incomes in the midst of a recession, was supported by 162 deputies from the governing three-party coalition in a vote held after midnight in the 300-strong parliament.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Cyprus on Friday to follow economic reforms, two days after saying the eurozone bailout candidate will not see any special terms as it seeks an aid package.

Merkel, who attended an extraordinary summit of the center-right European People's Party in the port city of Limassol, also said the reportedly 17 billion euro ($22 billion) bailout package will not be decided "now."

Iran has denied U.S. media reports it carried out cyber attacks on U.S. banks, the official IRNA news agency said Friday, quoting a statement from Tehran's U.N. mission.

"The Islamic republic of Iran categorically denies any involvement in cyber attacks on American banks and denounces such methods which are a violation of the sovereignty of nations," the statement said.

China's inflation rate slowed sharply in 2012, official data showed Friday, but analysts warned of increasing price risks this year that may limit scope for measures to boost economic growth.

The country's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.6 percent in 2012, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, down from 5.4 percent the year before.

Japan's new government unveiled a massive $226.5 billion stimulus plan Friday in the latest bid to boost the world's number three economy, with plans to rebuild disaster-hit areas and beef up the military.

Japanese investors welcomed the news, with the Nikkei index surging to a 22-month high and the yen tumbling, but analysts questioned its long-term effect and warned it could lead to more misery further down the line.

Algerian GuideME has been selected as one of the semi-finalists teams for this year’s MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition for the Ideas Track.

While participating in a local competition in Algeria, two electrical engineers Badreddine Zebbiche and Sidali Rezetane had less than 24 hours to design a solution for the visually impaired, their enthusiasm lead them to creating“ Guide ME”, a new idea with huge potential .

The head of Egypt's central bank, Faruq el-Okda, has resigned and will be replaced by his ex-deputy Hisham Ramez, the president's spokesman Yassir Ali said on Thursday at a news conference attended by both men.

Ali said Ramez will replace Okda in February. "I am very happy with this civilized transfer," Okda told reporters.

The United States has publicly expressed concerns about Britain's plans to renegotiate its relationship with the EU, with a senior official saying Washington favors a "strong British voice" in Europe.

The comments by Philip Gordon, the U.S. assistant secretary for European affairs, come ahead of a major speech by Prime Minister David Cameron this month in which he is expected to promise a referendum on Britain's membership.

The eurozone could emerge from its debt crisis this year, Standard & Poor's said in a report Wednesday.

"This could be a decisive year in determining whether the eurozone... can emerge from its sovereign debt troubles," the rating firm said in a statement on the report, titled "The Eurozone Debt Crisis: 2013 Could Be A Watershed Year".

U.S. financial institutions are being pounded with high-powered cyber attacks that some suspect are being orchestrated by Iran as payback for political sanctions.

"There is no doubt within the U.S. government that Iran is behind these attacks," James Lewis, a former official in the state and commerce departments and now a computer security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the New York Times.