French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Sunday he was opposed to a full merger of Renault and Nissan, but wanted to "preserve the alliance", following a week of mounting tensions over the role of the state in the carmaker.

"What we want is to preserve the alliance, we don't want a merger. The state fully plays its role as a shareholder... and at the same time we have confidence in the managers of Nissan and Renault,"  Valls told reporters.

The Dubai Airshow took off Sunday to a slow start with a record low in sales expected as the Gulf's main airlines have already placed large orders with major manufacturers.

"Due to large previous orders, the total show order tally this year will be much less than years prior," said Ben Moores, senior analyst at IHS Aerospace, Defense & Security.

Huge blue and pink diamonds, the star attractions at major jewel auctions in Geneva in the coming days, are expected to fetch tens of millions of dollars and possibly set new world records. 

The anticipated sales prices for the two stones are part of a trend that has seen the market for colored diamonds explode, with values more than doubling over the last two decades. 

As International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde's mandate enters the final stretch, emerging-market powers seem hesitant about teaming up to try to wrest the job away from Europeans.

The IMF managing director has said she is "open" to seeking another term when her time is up in July 2016, while the so-called BRICS -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- seem divided about a power bid. 

Energy-rich Turkmenistan's leader has ordered the start of construction on a pipeline carrying gas from the former Soviet state to India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the government said Saturday.

President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov ordered state companies Turkmengaz and Turkmengazneftstroi to begin building the isolated republic's section of the pipeline, state media said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced $12 billion in financial assistance to Indian-administered Kashmir, more than a year after deadly floods devastated parts of the disputed Himalayan region.

Speaking in the main city of Srinagar amid intense security, the Hindu nationalist leader said he wished to take India's only Muslim-majority state back to its "former glory".

Two top aides of World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, including his controversial chief financial officer, are stepping down, according to a Bank internal memo obtained by AFP on Friday.

The two became key lieutenants Kim after his arrival in July 2012, crucial to his efforts to implement deep reforms at the huge development institution.

With its cash reserves in sharp decline, Venezuela withdrew $460 million from the International Monetary Fund last month in its third such operation this year.

The IMF website showed Friday that Venezuela exchanged part of its Special Drawing Rights -- an international reserve asset created by the IMF -- account at the Fund for greenbacks.

Danish shipping and oil conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk on Friday reported a near halving of profits as it was hit by weaker container freight rates and lower oil prices.

The decline "was primarily due to container freight rates deteriorating to a historically low level, especially in the later part of the third quarter, and profits in Maersk Oil being impacted by the lower oil price," chief executive Nils Andersen said in a statement.

German airline Lufthansa said it will cancel 290 flights Friday, the first day of a planned week of walkouts by cabin staff in a long-running dispute over cost-saving measures.

Some 37,500 passengers would be hit by the nine-hour strike scheduled to begin at 1300 GMT and affecting the Frankfurt and Duesseldorf airports, Lufthansa said in a statement.