Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, is China's richest person with a fortune of nearly $20 billion, as billionaires increase despite a slowdown in the country's economy, Forbes magazine said Tuesday.

The number of Chinese billionaires surged to 242 this year from 168 in 2013, Forbes said in its annual "China Rich List", which ranks the wealthy.

The middle-aged salesman sat glumly among an array of shorts, khaki leisure suits bedecked with gold belts and dresses with plunging necklines in the ancient Damascus bazaar — luxuries few can afford in today's Syria.

He, like many traders, lost most of his customers when Syria's uprising erupted in 2011 against the rule of President Bashar Assad, and his new clientele is far poorer: Syrians fleeing the fighting with barely any possessions.

International donors pledged $8 billion in development aid Monday for projects across eight countries in the Horn of Africa, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon announced at the start of a visit to the region.

The aid, from organisations including the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), European Union and Islamic Development Bank (IDB), will support efforts to boost economies and stem conflict and hunger across the volatile region.

Kuwait has played down a row with Saudi Arabia over its decision to halt production at an offshore oilfield jointly operated by the two Gulf neighbors.

Oil Minister Ali al-Omair said the dispute over operations at the Khafji field would not affect strong ties.

Toyota kept its lead over rivals Volkswagen and General Motors as the world's top-selling automaker in the first nine months of the year, Monday reporting record sales of 7.615 million vehicles, up nearly 3 percent from the previous year.

Volkswagen said earlier this month it sold 7.40 million vehicles for January-September, barely edging out General Motors Co. in the closely watched auto sales race. GM reported sales of 7.372 million cars and trucks worldwide earlier this month.

Australia's Trade Minister Andrew Robb said Monday the shape of an ambitious pan-Pacific trade agreement was "crystallizing", with the 12 nations involved making further progress on market access negotiations.

Robb said at the end of the three-day talks in Sydney that trade ministers had laid the groundwork for the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal, which would encompass 40 percent of the global economy.

A watershed scheme to allow cross-trading between Hong Kong and Shanghai's stock markets has been delayed indefinitely, a Hong Kong official said Monday, warning the pro-democracy protests that have gripped the city could impact the project's progress. 

The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect platform, which would enable international investors to trade selected stocks in Shanghai's tightly-restricted exchange, and allow mainland investors to buy stocks in Hong Kong, was widely expected to launch this week.  

Kuwait's finance minister on Saturday called for economic reforms by energy-dependent Gulf states to cope with a drop in oil prices that has hurt their public finances.

Anas al-Saleh urged steps to tackle rising public spending, mainly on wages and subsidies, as well as efforts to boost the role of the private sector.

Lebanon’s largest Venture Capital fund, the first to comply with Banque du Liban Intermediate Circular 331, now set to boost Lebanon’s profile as a launching pad for global High Tech success stories, a press release said on Saturday.

The signing ceremony of the IMPACT Fund occurred on October 24, 2014, representing a major milestone for Lebanon’s Venture Capital scene, the press release added.

Unemployment in France hit a new record in September, with official statistics published Friday showing 3.43 million people claimed jobless benefits.

The figures showed a rise of 19,200 people joining the jobless queue and come as President Francois Hollande marks the midway point in his troubled mandate.