Greek police fired tear gas Thursday as a thousands-strong demonstration in Athens against new austerity cuts turned violent with some hooded youths throwing Molotov cocktails.

Lebanese businessmen were invited Thursday to take part in the reconstruction of neighboring Syria where six years of war have caused tens of billions of dollars worth of destruction.

Greece's parliament on Thursday was to approve a new round of austerity cuts, hoping to secure a pledge of debt relief and loan payment approval by the country's EU-IMF creditors this month.

Leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has a slim majority in parliament sufficient to pass the bill this evening.

A looming trade conflict with the United States over sugar is threatening to disrupt the livelihood of residents in sugar cane growing regions like the central Mexican town of Atencingo.

Wall Street stocks fell early Wednesday on worries about President Donald Trump's agenda following  reports that he tried to quash an FBI investigation.

The euro shot higher to strike a six-month dollar high on Tuesday as the single European currency benefited from rising concerns across the Atlantic.

British bank Lloyds, bailed-out by the UK government at the height of the financial crisis, said Wednesday that it had returned to full private ownership.

"Lloyds Banking Group has... notified the market that the government's stake in the group has been reduced to zero; as such, the group has returned to full private ownership," it said in a statement. 

U.S. auto giant Ford is poised to cut thousands of jobs worldwide, with reductions expected to total about 10 percent of its global workforce, the Wall Street Journal reported late Monday.

Greek unions on Tuesday kicked off two days of labor action, shutting down ferries and news services ahead of a Wednesday general strike aimed at a new round of austerity cuts.

Kuwait on Tuesday backed a call by top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia to extend a deal on crude production cuts for nine more months.

"Kuwait gives its full backing and support to the joint position of Saudi Arabia and Russia to extend the oil output cuts deal between OPEC and other producers until March 2018," Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouk said in a statement.