Amazon said Friday it has taken the first steps to begin maritime shipping operations, adding to its already vast arsenal of logistical operations.

The company confirmed to AFP that it had registered with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission to operate via a Chinese subsidiary Beijing Century Joyo Courier Service.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro decreed a state of "economic emergency" on Friday, seizing the initiative in a political standoff with the opposition in the oil-rich state.

"A state of economic emergency is declared across the whole territory of the nation" in accordance with the constitution, "for 60 days," read the decree published by the official state journal.

Ukraine on Friday launched the first cargo train to China that will bypass Russia along a new "Silk Road" meant to counter the Kremlin's most stringent trade embargo on Kiev to date.

"This is a historic event," Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Andriy Pyvovarskiy wrote on Facebook.

British brewer SABMiller said Friday it will close the only beer factory in South Sudan due to an acute shortage of foreign currency in the world's youngest country.

"There is currently an acute shortage of access to foreign exchange in South Sudan which means that our business there, South Sudan Beverages Limited, has been unable to buy raw materials," it said in a statement.

A German appeals court has allowed Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad to continue most of its code share flights with Air Berlin for the winter schedule ending in March. 

In a statement issued late Thursday, the administrative court in Lueneburg ruled that Etihad should be allowed to continue its code share agreement for 26 international routes.

Emerging currencies climbed Friday as investors moved into riskier assets following a rebound on key equity markets and as oil prices rallied from multi-year lows.

The advances came towards the end of another volatile week across trading floors, where have seen trillions wiped off valuations since the beginning of the year.

China’s bank lending declined sharply in December from November, the central bank said on Friday, despite moves to keep the world's second largest economy from slowing further with looser monetary policy.

New loans extended by banks slid to 597.8 billion yuan ($91.1 billion) in December, against 708.9 billion yuan in November, the People's Bank of China said.

“With this game, every day is your lucky day!”

La Libanaise des Jeux (LLDJ) chose the Four Seasons Hotel in Beirut to hold its press conference and officially launch the new daily draw game, “Yawmiyeh".

France said on Thursday it managed to reduce its budget deficit by more than forecast in 2015, just as the EU warned it was taking a harder line on the French shortfall.

The deficit came in at 70 billion euros ($76 billion), four billion less than forecast which, Finance Minister Michel Sapin told Europe 1 radio, takes it to levels last seen before the financial crisis.

Finnish telecom group Nokia said Thursday it had reopened its offer to shareholders of newly acquired rival Alcatel-Lucent in a bid to take over 100 percent of the Franco-American company.

The terms of the renewed public exchange offer -- open from January 14 until February 3 -- remain the same as during the initial offer period, Nokia said in a statement.