The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved a fresh stimulus package worth $29 billion Saturday in a bid to boost the economy, hit hard by a tax hike.

The 3.5-trillion-yen package is designed to help the provincial economy, small businesses and the household sector, as well as to increase public spending to rebuild areas hit by natural disasters.

A towering dam in central China holds back a vast expanse of water destined to travel over 1,000 kilometers north to Beijing, but critics say it will only temporarily quench the city's thirst.

China's capital on Saturday received its first flows from the South-North Water Diversion Project, one of the most ambitious engineering projects in Chinese history.

Germany's finance minister warned Greece that any new government must respect commitments made by its predecessor, as the country moved closer to early elections that EU officials fear would be won by a radical leftist party.

Wolfgang Schaeuble spoke after German lawmakers last week backed plans to give troubled Greece a two-month loan extension while international creditors finish an audit to determine the release of its next 7.0 billion euros ($8.7 billion).

The consortium expanding the Panama Canal is making fresh claims for cost overruns totaling $737 million, officials said Friday.

Canal administrator Jorge Quijano told reporters that the Panama Canal Authority had received two claims on Tuesday that "will be evaluated" to determine if there is probable cause.

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy promised Friday the country's economy would "take off" again in 2015 but opponents branded his optimism "indecent" with many Spaniards still suffering from cutbacks.

After a gradual return to growth, "2014 has been the year of recovery and 2015 will be the year when our economy really takes off," Rajoy told a news conference.

Construction on a massive new international passenger airport in Beijing began Friday, state media reported, as booming demand for travel to and from China stretches the capacity of existing facilities.

Beijing's current international airport is the world's second busiest, but also one of the most delayed, with fewer than 20 percent of commercial passenger flights leaving on schedule according to a 2013 report.

Japan Post on Friday confirmed a long-awaited plan to list its shares in Tokyo with the government-owned firm set for what could be one of the world's biggest share sales.

The parent company, along with its insurance and banking units, would launch an initial public offering in the middle of the 2015 fiscal year, which begins in April, but executives declined to comment on the size of the initial sale.

Oil prices rose in Asia Friday as dealers reacted to a surprise Islamist attack on Libya's main oil terminals that left 22 soldiers dead. 

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for February delivery rose 28 cents to $56.12 in mid-morning trade, while Brent for February gained 13 cents to $60.37.

China tied the restive far-western region of Xinjiang closer to the rest of the country Friday, opening a high-speed rail line between its capital Urumqi and Lanzhou, in neighboring Gansu, nearly 1,800 kilometers away. 

A slick bullet train took off from Lanzhou West Railway Station at 10:49 am (0249 GMT), with female attendants in Uighur and other ethnic costumes serving 622 passengers, live footage on state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) showed. 

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude exporter, on Thursday announced a 2015 budget with a huge $38.6 billion deficit due to the sharp decline in oil prices but still raised spending.

A statement read on state-run television after a cabinet session said spending for 2015 is projected at 860 billion riyals ($229.3 billion) and revenues at 715 billion riyals ($190.7 billion).