U.S. President Joe Biden will sign an executive order Monday giving American companies and products priority in contracting with the federal government, as the new administration attempts to spur domestic manufacturing.

The order is aimed at boosting national production and saving industrial jobs by increasing investments in factories and workers, senior White House officials said, and comes after Biden promised on the campaign trail to "build back better" as the U.S. economy struggles through the Covid-19 pandemic.

UK department store chain Debenhams is to shut all its outlets, administrators for the collapsed group said Monday, with the loss of around 12,000 jobs.

Asian markets mostly rose Monday, rebounding from a sell-off at the end of last week as investors keep tabs on the progress of Joe Biden's new US economic rescue package.

Oil cartel OPEC saw production rise in December, as Libya's energy sector sprang back to life following a ceasefire deal in the war-torn country.

Tesla has sued a former employee for allegedly stealing about 26,000 confidential files in his first week of working at the company, according to a court filing seen by AFP. 

Oman announced Sunday it will bar expatriates from certain jobs in an effort to create more employment opportunities for its citizens amid an economic downturn. 

Asian markets fell Friday as investors took a breather following a strong week for global equities as Joe Biden took up residence in the White House, though there are concerns about the outlook for his new stimulus proposal.

Iran's capital and major cities plunged into darkness in recent weeks as rolling outages left millions without electricity for hours. Traffic lights died. Offices went dark. Online classes stopped.

With toxic smog blanketing Tehran skies and the country buckling under the pandemic and other mounting crises, social media has been rife with speculation. Soon, fingers pointed at an unlikely culprit: Bitcoin.

A former head of the Vatican bank, Angelo Caloia, was on Thursday found guilty of embezzlement and money laundering and sentenced to eight years, 11 months in prison.

It was the first ever jail sentence issued by a Vatican state court in relation to financial crimes -- a milestone in Pope Francis' ongoing efforts to clean up Vatican governance.  

While Google has reached a deal with French dailies on compensating them for "neighboring rights", the internet giant has piqued the anger of the Australian government while signing up publishers in several countries to its new news scheme.

Here is a look at the situation.