Adam Plowright

Leading cellphone makers had good news for anyone with a drawer full of old phone chargers on Tuesday: the industry plans to standardise the device.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, there can be no higher tribute to the influence of Apple than a walk around the Mobile World Congress.

Samsung unveiled the world's first solar-powered cellphone, "Blue Earth", in front of curious crowds at an industry show in Barcelona on Monday.

The US government plans to invest directly in US banks for the first time since the Great Depression, says Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

The Georgian-Russian conflict, which began on August 7, has dealt a devastating blow to the country's fledgling tourist industry.

Two weeks of anti-foreigner violence in South Africa have highlighted the growing disconnect between a public impatient for change and a governing party that claims a divine right to rule. Although there is little prospect of the African National Congress (ANC) losing next year's elections, genuine signs of anger have emerged during the crisis.

The first cellphones fitted with Google's Android software platform made their debut at an industry trade show on Monday, a milestone for the internet giant as it looks to dominate the wireless world. A handful of chip makers showed off prototype handsets at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Serious concerns were raised in Davos last week about the ability of the Chinese government to spy on the country's 500-million cellphone users. China's biggest cellphone company stunned delegates by revealing that the company had unlimited access to the personal data of its customers and handed it over to Chinese security officials when demanded.

The annual Davos gathering of the world's political and business elite opened on Wednesday with the fragile state of the world economy and stock-market turmoil casting a pall over the glitzy get-together. In recent years the annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort has been held against a backdrop of bumper corporate profits, strong economic growth and tame inflation.

Airbus on Monday delivered the first of its A380s, the world's biggest passenger jet, to Singapore Airlines, 18 months behind schedule but with both sides hailing the major advance in air travel. The 73m-long superjumbo was handed over in a ceremony at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse in southern France.

The number of millionaires in the world increased by 8,3% in 2006, with about 9,5-million individuals now estimated to have more than -million in financial assets, a report said on Wednesday. The financial assets owned by the group totalled ,2-trillion, an increase of 11,4% from 2005.

Attention hip-hop stars and billionaires: the world's biggest airliner, the 73m-long Airbus A380 super jumbo, has been ordered by a mysterious buyer for private use. The order could be seen as setting new heights in the private-jet sector, leaving the Learjet, which used to be the ultimate symbol of ostentatious air travel, in second class.