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. 

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday hailed a huge Pacific Rim free-trade deal, saying it showcased a bid by Japan and the United States to set rules for the global economy.

His comments come a day after the long-secret text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was made public.

Environment Minister Segolene Royal said Friday initial French tests had shown emissions cheating in Volkswagen group vehicles, but cars from other brands were in the clear.

Soon after the Volkswagen admitted in September that some 11 million of its diesel vehicles worldwide were fitted with so-called defeat devices to dupe normal pollution tests, France began a series tests on cars from a number of automakers.

Pakistan will receive the next installment worth $502 million of its loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in December as part of a three-year economic bailout package, officials said.  

The IMF's Pakistan delegation head Harald Finger said in a statement late Thursday that the decision was taken after a successful review of Pakistan's economic performance.