From smog breaks to pollution bonuses, Asia's businesses are promising increasingly inventive perks in a desperate bid to lure executives to a region where toxic air engulfs major cities for much of the year.

The investigator hired to look into the release of intimate images of Jeff Bezos said Saturday he has concluded that Saudi Arabian authorities hacked the Amazon chief's phone to access his personal data.

French banks called Saturday for an end to violence against branches, cash machines and personnel as the country braced for a 20th day of "yellow vest" protests.

A ferry firm that has signed a contract to ship critical products to Britain in the event of a no-deal Brexit on Friday launched the first of its extra services.

The pound fell Friday after Britain's parliament again rejected a proposed deal to withdraw from the European Union.

The pound climbed solidly on Friday before a crucial vote on Britain's Brexit future.

Stock markets meanwhile rallied, with investors looking past a downgrade of US growth to focus on the next round of top-level China-US trade talks.

London's stock market steadied at the open on Friday, with investors sitting tight before a crucial vote on Britain's Brexit future.

Top negotiators from China and the United States resumed a fresh round of trade talks in Beijing on Friday aiming to settle the bruising spat that has threatened the global economy.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were greeted by Vice Premier Liu He at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse as the three men seek to resolve the long-running trade war between the world's top two economies.

U.S. banking giant Goldman Sachs has been fined £34.3 million ($45.3 million, 40.2 million euros) over failures to report transactions properly, British regulators said Thursday.

Iceland's troubled budget carrier WOW Air said it had ceased operations and canceled all flights on Thursday, stranding thousands of passengers in the low-cost airline industry's latest collapse.