Beijing authorities plan to build a "seven-star hotel" modeled after Dubai's Burj Khalifa -- the world's tallest building -- in a $1.3 billion joint project with Saudi Arabia.

The hotel will be erected in western Beijing's Mentougou district some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the

Jordan’s Transport Minister said Thursday that Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey have moved closer to economic integration.

The official Petra agency said that the countries signed an agreement establishing a committee to unify their legislation to enhance economic integration.

India's biggest oil refiner said Thursday it did not expect any supply shortages because of a payments problem between India and Iran, but other refiners are making contingencies in case of disruption.

In December, India's central bank said payments to Iran -- India's second biggest supplier of crude -- could no longer be settled through a long-standing clearing house system because of sanctions.

French Industry Minister Eric Besson on Thursday warned the country was facing "economic war" following an industrial espionage scandal at automaker Renault.

"Unfortunately, the affair appears serious," Besson said on RTL radio, after discussing the issue with Renault management.

Microsoft sold more than eight million gesture-sensing Kinect controllers for Xbox 360 video-game consoles in just two months, the technology titan's chief executive Steve Ballmer said Wednesday.

Ballmer used much of his time on stage for a keynote presentation on the eve of the Consumer

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang vowed on Wednesday to help Europe beat its debt crisis, starting a three-nation tour with promises to buy Spanish bonds and sign multi-billion-euro contracts.

Li, widely tipped to be the next premier, delivered a significant vote of confidence given China's world record foreign reserves of 2.648 trillion dollars (2.0 trillion euros), much of it in euros.

The dollar rose against the euro on Wednesday as investors grow more optimistic about the US economic recovery and stayed wary about the eurozone debt crisis, analysts said.

In late morning deals, the European single currency fell to 1.3256 dollars from 1.3303 late in New York on Tuesday. The dollar edged up to 82.06 yen from 82.00 yen on Tuesday.

U.S. computer giant Dell said Tuesday it has reached an agreement to buy information technology security firm SecureWorks.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

French car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen said on Tuesday it would temporarily boost production at its Slovak plant in response to high demand.

"The company, currently operating in two shifts, will prolong the second shift by one hour for three weeks, starting January 10," PSA spokesman Peter Svec told Agence France Presse.

Seven insurance companies have sued Toyota Motor Corp. in an attempt to recover money paid to cover crashes they blame on sudden acceleration.

The insurers cite data that blames 725 crashes on the problem and fault the Japanese automaker for failing to equip its cars with an override system that would cause a car to idle if the brake and gas were deployed simultaneously. They are seeking damages in excess of $230,000 from 14 crashes throughout the United States.