French flag carrier Air France was forced to scrap around 60 percent of flights Thursday, as unions rejected a fresh offer to end a strike now in its fourth day.

Pilots' union SNPL slapped down as "largely insufficient" an offer from Air France to limit the operations of its low-cost subsidiary Transavia France, whose planned expansion has sparked the strike.

Crude prices fell in Asia Thursday following an unexpected surge in U.S. stockpiles and reports that the OPEC oil cartel is unlikely to slash production when it meets in November.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for October delivery dipped 63 cents to $93.79 while Brent crude for November eased 62 cents to $98.35 in afternoon trade.

Sony shares plunged 12 percent in Tokyo on Thursday after the electronics giant warned of a $2.14 billion annual loss, more than four times its earlier forecast, and dealing a blow to its attempts to turn years of torpor.

The firm tumbled to 1,865.5 yen ($17) in the first few minutes of frenzied trading, erasing most of the gains made since the start of the year, in response to Sony's announcement later Wednesday.

The government in war-torn South Sudan said Wednesday it will not be expelling any foreign workers, reversing a policy announcement made the previous day that caused a storm of protests from aid agencies and neighboring countries.

According to the United Nations, 1.3 million people have been displaced internally, and many of them are dependent on free food, shelter and healthcare delivered by a network of international aid groups.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's lowered Venezuela's credit rating Tuesday one notch to CCC+, saying "continued economic deterioration" put it at risk of a debt default in the next two years.

The downgrade puts the struggling South American oil giant deep into "speculative grade" rating territory, a warning to investors that the country faces "at least a one-in-two likelihood of default over the next two years," S&P said.

Developing countries and advanced economies differ greatly in their level of "skepticism" towards international trade and foreign investment, a study of people across 44 countries revealed Tuesday.

A median of 81 percent of those surveyed believed that international trade and global business ties were good things, according to a study by the U.S.-based Pew Research Center.

The United States is likely to remain the world's largest market for diamonds for the next 15 years despite a growing appetite for the gems from China and India, leading producer De Beers said Wednesday.

China has the fastest growing demand, jumping to a share of about 15 percent of the world's diamond market from less than three percent in 2003.

Bureaucracy, a lack of competition and a banking system in ruins have ossified the Tunisian economic model, the World Bank said Wednesday, calling for sweeping reforms.

Poverty and soaring unemployment were behind the 2011 uprising when Tunisians overthrew longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Britain's 12-month inflation dipped to 1.5 percent in August from 1.6 percent in July, official data showed on Tuesday, easing pressure on the Bank of England to raise rates.

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation measure matched May's level, which had been a near five-year low point.

South Korea's finance minister said Tuesday that "alarm bells" were ringing over Asia's fourth largest economy, and warned of the sort of protracted slowdown that hit Japan in the 1990s.

While stressing that South Korea's fiscal position remained "very strong" and provided a lot of room for manoeuvre, Choi Kyung-Hwan said action was needed to avoid a damaging and extended slump.