Greece formally dissolved parliament on Wednesday ahead of a general election on Jan. 25 that has cast its international bailout into doubt and set financial markets on edge just as the euro zone grapples with renewed signs of weakness.
The U.S. State Department has expressed deep concern over the detention of Bahraini opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman, warning that the arrest could lead to more tensions in the island kingdom.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited a district on the outskirts of Damascus and thanked soldiers fighting "in the face of terrorism", his office said on Twitter late on Wednesday, posting pictures of the rare trip.
Brazil's state-run oil firm Petrobras said on Tuesday it may increase the number of foreign companies it works with after banning several Brazilian contractors because police have implicated them in a kickback scheme at the company.
