Britain's whisky trade is worth over £5 billion ($7.6 billion, 6.7 billion euros) to the economy each year and provides over 40,000 jobs, according to a study released on Wednesday.

The report by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) found that despite a slowdown in exports, billions of bottles of whisky were sold globally each year.

Greece's new radical left-led government prepared to meet Wednesday for the first time to hammer out a strategy for renegotiating the country's giant bailout, after storming to power on a promise to reject years of harsh austerity policies.

The coalition cabinet, made up of poll winners Syriza and the nationalist Independent Greeks (ANEL), was set to convene at 10:30 am (0830 GMT), three days after Sunday's electoral upset that saw the architects of Greece's sweeping budget cutbacks thrown out of office.

Oil prices fell in Asia Wednesday as dealers await the outcome of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting and the release of a U.S. supply report expected to show a surge in crude stockpiles, analysts said.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for March delivery fell 70 cents to $45.53 while Brent for March eased 60 cents to $49.00 in afternoon trade.

Dubai International has overtaken London's Heathrow Airport to become the world's top hub in international travel after handling 70.47 million passengers in 2014, its authority said on Tuesday.

Traffic at the airport increased 6.1 percent last year, Dubai Airports said, and it expects the number of travelers passing through the hub to surge in 2015 to 79 million.

Greece's new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is set to unveil his anti-austerity coalition government Tuesday, bringing together his radical left-wing party with the nationalist right, after a stunning election win that sent shockwaves through Europe.

With the new cabinet expected to be announced and sworn in on Tuesday, the world will get a closer glimpse at Greece's Syriza-led administration, now on a collision course with international creditors over plans to renegotiate its massive bailout deal.

Russia's RTS index fell three percent at opening on Tuesday, a day after the Standard and Poor's ratings agency stripped the country of its investment-grade rating, cutting it to "junk" status.

The plunge in oil prices and Western sanctions over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis have pummelled the Russian economy in recent months, with the ruble collapsing in value.

Irish carrier Aer Lingus on Tuesday backed a 1.35-billion-euro ($1.51-billion) takeover offer from International Airlines Group, parent of British Airways and Iberia.

Aer Lingus announced in a statement that its board was "willing to recommend" IAG's improved proposal -- its third since December -- subject to certain conditions.

World oil prices have fallen too far, the president of state-owned energy giant Saudi Aramco said Tuesday, stressing it was for the market not OPEC producers to shore them up.

"It's too low for everybody," Khalid al-Falih told a conference.

The EU issued Monday a stern warning to Greece that its place in the eurozone was at risk if new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras failed to meet the country's austerity and debt commitments.

From Brussels to Berlin officials said they were ready to talk to the new government led by Tsipras' radical left party Syriza, but insisted that Athens must stick to existing agreements with its international creditors.

Saudi Arabia's new leadership will push forward efforts to diversify the growing but oil-dependent economy, while easing procedures for investors, senior officials said on Monday.

"The smooth transition of power to King Salman is a testament of the stability and the commitment that our leadership has," Abdullatif al-Othman, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), told a conference.