The yen pushed towards an 18-month high against the dollar Tuesday as investors seek refuge from an equity market sell-off and expectations of a near-term U.S. interest rate hike fade.

Strong U.S. jobs and manufacturing data last week were not enough to fire up the greenback after the Federal Reserve's earlier comments that borrowing costs would remain unchanged until the second half of the year.

Israel has authorized another 500 Jordanians to work in hotels in its  Red Sea resort of Eilat to make up for a domestic labor shortage, the tourism ministry said Monday.

Israel's state-owned energy company reduced power to a number of Palestinian areas including Bethlehem on Monday, officials said, citing unpaid debt by the Palestinian Authority.

Greece on Monday resumes reform talks with its international creditors, including the IMF, amid leaks claiming the global lender was toying with the idea of a Greek default.

Middle Eastern and North African nations can make a "net benefit" of $750 billion if they achieve their set targets on the use of renewable energy, a senior official said Monday.

World oil prices steadied Monday as Saudi Arabia cast doubt on whether a key producers meeting would reach an agreement to freeze output to address a global supply glut.

The eurozone unemployment rate improved only marginally in February, official data showed Monday, stoking concerns the economy could be slowing after only a modest recovery.

Stocks in French telecoms companies fell sharply on Monday after market leader Orange said talks to purchase the rival network owned by industrial group Bouygues had failed. 

The company said that "after in-depth discussions, the Board of Directors of Orange has concluded that an agreement regarding a possible consolidation with Bouygues Telecom has not been reached.

Spain's unemployment, the eurozone's highest after Greece, shrank by 1.4 percent in March over February, the employment ministry said Monday.

The jobless total fell by 58,216 to 4,094,770, the ministry said, adding that unemployment has fallen over eight percent over the past 12 months.

Israel last year recorded stable economic growth of 2.5 percent and its lowest unemployment rate in three decades, the central bank announced Sunday.