OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia on Thursday projected another budget deficit in 2017 but reported a less-than-expected shortfall for this year after cutbacks in the face of lower oil prices.

It is the first budget since the kingdom, aiming for a balanced budget by 2020, announced a wide-ranging plan to wean the economy off its oil dependency.

The Dubai government in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday announced its 2017 budget foreseeing a deficit of 2.5 billion dirhams ($681 million, 652 million euros) and 3 percent expenditure increase.

Protesters who shut off two Libyan oil pipelines, one for more than two years, have lifted their blockade, paving the way for a production boost, the National Petroleum Company said.

The European Union on Wednesday proposed tighter checks on cash and gold transfers as part of a crackdown on terrorist financing across a bloc grappling with a wave of terrorism.

Ukraine's parliament on Wednesday approved an austerity federal budget for 2017 that doubles minimum wages but keeps the deficit in line with the target set by the International Monetary Fund.

Most Asian markets turned higher Wednesday as investors tracked another record on Wall Street and refocused on the global economy after two deadly attacks.

The Berlin Christmas market horror and shooting of Russia's Turkish ambassador fanned concerns that fresh geopolitical woes could upend a rally in world assets triggered by Donald Trump's election as US president.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday opened the first ever road tunnel underneath the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, the latest project in his plan of transforming Turkey's infrastructure.

Three Qatari banks announced Tuesday that they are in merger talks to create a financial institution with assets of more than $44 billion.

A Greek parliament vote on a special tax allowance for Aegean islands struggling to accommodate thousands of migrants has been pushed to Wednesday, the chamber said.

The vote scheduled to be held late on Monday will be held on Wednesday evening after an opposition party called for a show of hands on the bill.

German businesses rounded off 2016 with a stronger-than-forecast increase in confidence, a closely-followed survey showed Monday, despite fears for the future over Brexit and Donald Trump.