UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Boeing has frozen the price on its bid for a multi-billion-dollar Brazilian air force jet contract, sources close to the deal told Reuters, as the global race to sell military hardware to emerging economic powers becomes more competitive.

Iran is seeking to close grain purchases using gold and oil as payment, and has paid in yen for a large volume of wheat in its first deal since western sanctions against Tehran started choking imports of food staples, European wheat exporters said.

Next-generation software for BlackBerry's smartphones is ready to compete, Research In Motion's new chief executive, Thorsten Heins, told more than 2,000 technical developers on Tuesday, expressing confidence in RIM's long-term future.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad promised to stop the bloodshed that has engulfed his country for the past 11 months. Assad reached an agreement with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was in Damascus on Tuesday.

The member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) recalled their Syrian ambassadors on Tuesday after violence against protestors in the country escalated yet again.

Mergers and acquisitions in the Middle East and North Africa rose slightly in 2011, but the combined value of deals fell by more than one-quarter as slower economic growth weighed on prices, Ernst & Young said on Sunday. Deal values fell to $31.7 billion last year compared with $44.1 billion a year earlier.

The United States, European governments and Arab states have begun discussing the possibility of exile for Bashar al-Assad despite skepticism that the defiant Syrian president is ready to consider such an offer, Western officials say.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announced Monday that his charitable foundation will contribute $363 million over the next five years to the fight to stop neglected tropical diseases worldwide.

The world's major pharmaceutical companies joined forces with governments and leading global health organizations Monday to donate drugs and scientific know-how to help control or wipe out 10 neglected tropical diseases by 2020.

South-Korean electronics giant Samsung might have inadvertently listed its latest Galaxy S3 on the official Web site, according to latest reports.

Japan and South Korea are Iran's third and fifth biggest oil customers, but the United States, looking for international support for new sanctions pressuring Iran's oil sector, would like that to change.

Which countries buy the most Iranian oil and what does it mean for the international community's attempt to stop Iran's nuclear program?

Why would Israel take such a risk to engineer such acts against one of their deadliest enemies, Iran?

Iran said on Sunday it had received a letter from the U.S. government about the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial oil shipping lane that Tehran has threatened to close if sanctions prevent it exporting oil.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pressed Saudi Arabia to open its huge oil and gas resources to expanded Chinese investment, media reports said on Sunday against a backdrop of growing tension centered on Iran and worries over its crude exports to the Asian power.

Japan has joined the U.S. in its economic efforts to pressure Iran to abandon its nuclear program by agreeing to buy less Iranian oil.

A YouTube video showing what appears to be U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban fighters will not affect efforts to broker peace talks, according to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid who spoke to Reuters on Thursday, despite investigations being launched.

The union government has told refiners to reduce Iranian oil imports and find alternatives as New Delhi may not seek a waiver that would protect buyers of Tehran's oil from a fresh round of U.S. sanctions, two industry sources said on Wednesday.

Honda Motor Co <7267.T> unveiled three Acura models at the Detroit auto show on Monday including an entry-level sedan and an NSX supercar as it aims to put the struggling premium brand back on the map in the crowded U.S. luxury market.

A part of The World, a man-made archipelago off the coast of Dubai, is reportedly ready to receive tourists. The island - supposedly Lebanon Island - has seen development activities recently.

Israel said on Saturday the online publication of thousands of its citizens' credit card details by a hacker who says he is based in Saudi Arabia was comparable to terrorism, and promised to hit back.