One third of the food produced worldwide is wasted, costing the global economy around $750 billion (570 billion euros) a year, a new report by the UN food agency said Wednesday.

The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said some 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted every year, with the Asia region including China seen as the worst culprit.

Europe must save its gas-fired electricity plants by paying for them to remain available for peak demand or face a threat to its energy security, warned Wednesday the head of GDF Suez, the top non-nuclear power producer in the world.

A rise in wind and solar power combined with a fall in the price of coal and EU pollution permits has dealt a one-two punch to gas-fired electricity plants in recent years.

The price of oil dropped Wednesday after President Barack Obama said he asked U.S. lawmakers to postpone a vote authorizing the use of military force against Syria.

Obama, in a televised speech to the nation late Tuesday, said he wanted to give Syria a chance to turn over its chemical weapons before he asks Congress for consent to intervene in the country's civil war.

The U.S. Treasury said Wednesday the government's massive response to the economic crisis five years ago paid off, avoiding a catastrophic breakdown of the financial system.

In a report marking the anniversary of the bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers -- which snowballed into the worst crisis since the 1930s -- the Treasury defended deploying hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to save other banks, major financial institutions and auto companies.

Syria has signed major contracts with its main regional ally Iran to provide the war-torn country with food and medical supplies, state media reported on Tuesday.

The regime of President Bashar Assad is suffering an unprecedented financial crisis as a result of a 30-month conflict that has killed more than 110,000 people.

Kosovo has banned all imports from Macedonia, an official said Tuesday, in a deeping Balkans trade row after its neighbour limited entry of food products and slapped on border crossing fees.

"We are implementing a government decision which forbids any import of goods from Macedonia," a Kosovo customs spokesman Adriatik Stavileci told Agence France Presse.

French industrial output fell by 0.6 percent in July, following a 1.4 percent drop the previous month, official data said Tuesday, belying other indications that the economy is perking up.

The drop was more pronounced in the manufacturing sector at 0.7 percent in July from the previous month, including a 11.2 percent drop in car output, said the French statistics agency INSEE.

A multi-billionaire who bought U.S. cinema chain AMC Entertainment and has just acquired a luxury British yacht builder has taken top spot as China's richest man, according to Forbes magazine.

Wang Jianlin, head of conglomerate Wanda Group -- a private firm with interests ranging from property to retailing -- had estimated wealth of $14 billion, the magazine said on its website.

Oil prices dipped in Asian trade Tuesday as fears of a possible U.S.-led strike on Syria eased, with the United States appearing open to a Russia plan for Damascus to give up its chemical weapons.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in October, dipped $1.19 to $108.33 in afternoon trade, while Brent North Sea crude for October fell $1.02 to $112.70.

Hong Kong - Red Herring announced its Top 100 award in recognition of the leading private companies from Asia, celebrating these startups’ innovations and technologies across their respective industries. Transterra Media SAL was the only Lebanese company to receive the award this year, a press release said on Monday.

"From Hong Kong to Beirut and everywhere in between, this is for all of our journalists and the Transterra Media team,” said Mr. Jonathan Giesen, Co-Founder and CEO of Transterra Media.