Shares in Finnish telecom giant Nokia plummeted on Monday after the group announced it had settled a patent dispute with South Korea's Samsung whose terms disappointed investors.

Nokia's shares fell by more than 11 percent on the Helsinki stock market following the announcement of the settlement.

Dubai International remained the world's busiest airport for international travel last year with a 10.7 percent rise in passenger numbers, its operator said on Monday. 

More than 78 million passengers passed through Dubai in 2015, led by an increase in travelers from India, Britain and Saudi Arabia, the state-owned airport said in a statement. 

Oil prices halted their rise in Asia Monday, hurt by the strengthening U.S. currency which makes the dollar-price commodity more expensive.

The greenback rose after Japan's central bank shocked markets Friday with a decision to adopt a below-zero interest rate policy in a bid to spur bank lending and drive up inflation.

Japan's biggest banks tumbled in Tokyo share trading Monday as a drop in their latest earnings was compounded by fears that the Bank of Japan's new stimulus measures would hit their bottom line.

Shares in the trio -- Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group -- suffered a sell-off after the central bank on Friday unveiled plans to effectively charge lenders on some deposits.

Plummeting oil prices have led to falling plane ticket prices -- and prospects for an even bigger bonanza of consumer-friendly fares in the coming months, airline industry experts say.

With fuel prices down by two-thirds from the dizzying heights of mid-2014, when oil topped $100 per barrel, the once cash-strapped airline industry is now reaping record profits.

Stock markets in the energy-rich Gulf states enjoyed a strong rally Sunday on improved oil prices, reducing massive losses suffered in January.

Led by the Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Saudi bourses, all seven Gulf markets made gains in the last session of the month but still ended January sharply lower.

With 360 villas and apartments around an artificial lake, swimming pools, a halal supermarket and a Muslim prayer area, the 'Sarajevo resort' is one of Bosnia's most ambitious residential projects to date.

It is one of dozens of real estate ventures in the picturesque hills surrounding the capital of the Balkan country that are specifically targeting visitors from Gulf states.

A German proposal for a continent-wide fuel tax to help finance the absorption of migrants has won backing from the European commissioner for the euro, news magazine Spiegel reported Saturday.

Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble had last week floated the idea of introducing a tax on petrol in Europe to help cover the costs of tackling the continent's worst migration crisis since World War II. 

The United States has attacked high-profile EU tax probes into American companies as unfair and encroaching on the U.S. government's right to tax them, the Financial Times reported Saturday.

The European Commission has cracked down hard on companies, including U.S. icons such as Apple, Starbucks and Amazon, who worked out arrangements with EU member states allowing them to slash their tax bills.

A Fiat 500L used by Pope Francis during his visit last year to the U.S. city of Philadelphia sold at auction Friday for $82,000, with the proceeds going to various Catholic charities.

Church officials in the northeastern U.S. city said the auction was the highlight of a gala black-tie event kicking off this year's Philadelphia Auto Show.