Donald Trump said Wednesday he had formally handed "complete and total" control of his business empire to his adult sons, Don Jr and Eric, in a bid to avoid conflicts of interest once he enters the White House. 

The 70-year-old Trump, who is the wealthiest man to become U.S. president, has been beset by accusations of conflict of interest ever since his electoral defeat of Democratic former secretary of state Hillary Clinton in November.

Central Bank Governor of Lebanon Riad Salameh declared on Wednesday that Lebanon has met all the international financial conditions, in terms of both the legislation and practice, the National News Agency reported.

During his participation in Iraq Banks Forum, Salameh indicated that BDL had always endeavored to maintain the best of ties with its Arab counterparts, especially with the Iraqi central bank, considering the importance of those relations in the exchange of banking techniques.

Vietnamese police have arrested seven ex-bankers accused of approving illegal loans that led to $21 million in losses, state media reported Wednesday, the latest scandal to hit the country's financial sector.

Those arrested by anti-corruption police late Tuesday include former chairman Hoang Van Toan and CEO Tran Son Nam of TrustBank, the state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper said.

Turkey's embattled lira on Wednesday took a new pounding on foreign exchange markets as emergency measures announced by the central bank failed to impress markets rattled by terror attacks and political instability.

The lira has lost almost 10 percent in value against the American dollar since the start of this year alone with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's plan for a presidential system, currently debated by parliament, unnerving investors.

The United Arab Emirates announced Tuesday plans to invest 600 billion dirhams ($163 billion) in projects to generate almost half the country's power needs from renewables.

Egypt's annual inflation rate rose to 24.3 percent in December, official figures showed on Tuesday, two months after the government floated the pound sparking the biggest price hikes in years.

Industrial action brought fresh disruption for travellers in Britain on Tuesday as rail workers and airline cabin crew walked off the job, the day after a major strike on the London Underground.

Japan's top pharmaceutical company Takeda said it is buying a US cancer drugmaker for $5.2 billion, as its top executive left the door open to more overseas acquisitions.

Takeda is paying $24 a share for Ariad Pharmaceuticals, a premium of about 75 percent over Ariad's closing price on Friday, the companies said in a joint statement on Monday.

The Turkish lira, pounded by higher-than-expected inflation and security fears, hit record lows against the dollar on Monday after a gloomy Moody's statement.

A major contractor on Riyadh's $22.5 billion urban rail and bus system said Monday the project is on track despite Saudi government cuts to infrastructure last year after oil revenues fell.