Qatar Airways chief Akbar al-Baker on Wednesday took a swipe at legacy carriers which complain of competition from Gulf carriers, accusing them of being "inefficient" and protected by EU policies.

Legacy carriers "are screaming about the Gulf Three," Baker told an aviation forum in Dubai referring to his airline, Dubai's Emirates and Abu Dhabi's Etihad.

The Iraqi government transferred $500 million to the autonomous Kurdish region on Wednesday as part of a deal aimed at ending long-running oil and budget disputes, the finance minister said.

The move eases tensions between the federal and regional governments, paving the way for a lasting settlement as well as possible increased cooperation against jihadists they are both fighting.

Asylum seekers washing up by the thousands in recession-hit Sicily are boosting the local economy as hotels transform into immigrant centers, with help from state subsidies said to have caught the Mafia's eye.

Sofas and widescreen televisions in once opulent suites of the Villa Mokarta hotel in Salemi have been replaced with beds for up to eight migrants a room, their only possessions tatty rucksacks, trainers and the odd Bible or Koran.

Oil prices were mixed in Asia Wednesday as dealers predicted that leading producer Saudi Arabia will resist pressure from other OPEC members to cut output in order to prop up falling prices.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for December delivery fell 44 cents to $74.17 while Brent crude for January rose eight cents to $78.55 in afternoon trade.

Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell has won a lengthy court battle against Indian tax authorities, marking a significant victory for multinationals involved in taxation wrangles in the country.

The Bombay High Court ruled in favor of Shell, whose Indian unit had been accused of under-pricing shares issued to its parent firm by about 180-billion rupees ($3 billion).

Indonesia's central bank raised interest rates Tuesday for the first time in a year in anticipation of surging inflation after the new government increased the price of subsidized fuel by over 30 percent.

At a special meeting called following the price increase, Bank Indonesia raised its key rate by 25 basis points to 7.75 percent, the first rise since November last year and its highest level for more than five years.

Actavis Monday announced plans to acquire Botox-maker Allergan for $66 billion, creating a global pharmaceutical behemoth and likely ending the aggressive pursuit of Allergan by Canada's Valeant Pharmaceuticals International.

The combination creates a heavyweight in opthalmology, neurosciences and medical aesthetics that will be among the 10 biggest global pharmaceutical companies by sales, according to a joint Actavis-Allergan statement.

Britain's 12-month inflation rose unexpectedly in October, rebounding from a five-year low the previous month, lifted partly by the rising cost of computer games, official data showed Tuesday.

The annual rate accelerated to 1.3 percent in October from 1.2 percent in September, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

Investors largely ignored the link-up between the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges Tuesday, a day after it launched to much fanfare and hopes of billions of dollars in daily cross-border transactions.

Officials have trumpeted the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect as opening up China's closeted stock markets to the outside world and giving mainlanders a chance to enter the lucrative Hong Kong exchange.

Belgian prosecutors charged a subsidiary of British bank HSBC on Monday with fraud and money-laundering worth hundreds of millions of euros, mainly for diamond dealers in the industry's international hub of Antwerp.

Swiss subsidiary HSBC Private Bank SA (Suisse), which is wholly owned by the Asia-focused banking giant, allegedly helped hundreds of clients cheat the Belgian state, a statement from the prosecutors said.