Talks between Zimbabwe's ruling and opposition parties are set to begin in South Africa, the host country said, in a first step toward resolving the country's political crisis.

Former Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic, a war crimes fugitive and one of the world's most wanted men, was arrested on Monday evening in a sweep by Serbian security forces, the country's president said.

A former member of the first family of oil-rich Kazakhstan is accusing its authoritarian ruler, Nursultan Nazarbayev, of extensive corruption, potentially complicating U.S. efforts to improve relations with the strategically important Central Asian state.

Vodafone said it expects full-year sales to be at the low end of its guidance range, even as the U.K. mobile-phone company reported a 19.1% increase in first-quarter sales.

Roche's $44 billion bid to gain full ownership of Genentech took the staunchly independent biotechnology company by surprise and risks upsetting the highly successful -- but delicate -- relationship the partners have developed over two decades.

Ericsson reported a 70% decline in second-quarter net profit on weakness at its networks segment and poor sales at mobile-handset joint venture Sony Ericsson.

HBOS said holders of 37.83% of its shares had subscribed to its $8 billion rights issue to date.

The U.K. arm of German utility E.On and Denmark-based DONG Energy said they bought Royal Dutch Shell's stake in the U.K.'s London Array offshore wind project for an undisclosed sum.

A Swedish-Indian start-up developed equipment to let telecom companies extend mobile service into developing nations.

Cholesterol drug Vytorin doesn't lower the risk of major heart-valve problems, a study found. The outcome could put further pressure on sales of Vytorin and sister drug Zetia, which fell 9% in the latest quarter after an earlier study raised efficacy questions.

Grupo SOS agreed to buy Unilever's Bertolli olive-oil and vinegar business for $998 million to boost its market share by five points to 20%.

TNK-BP's chief faces increasing odds he will be forced to leave Russia as BP and its partners continue their battle over the joint venture.

Germany's Schaeffler Group raised its takeover offer for Continental by a little over 1% to $2.1 billion to meet the average three-month price of Continental's shares.

China and Russia signed an agreement to end a long-running dispute over the demarcation of their eastern border, the scene of military clashes between the once-bitter Communist rivals.

Britain's prime minister slammed Iranian calls for Israel's destruction during an address to Israel's Parliament, and pledged that the U.K. would remain at the forefront of efforts to block Tehran's efforts to acquire nuclear arms.

Australia's Primary Health Care agreed to sell its vitamin-making unit to French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis for $543.4 million.

British's Prime Minister Brown called on Israel to stop settlement construction and offered additional financial support to the Palestinian government after meeting with Palestinian President Abbas on a two-day visit to the Middle East.

The Lowy family, which controls shopping mall owner Westfield Group, is under investigation for alleged use of tax shelters in Liechtenstein. Senators are looking into why the Lowys used LGT Group to hold $54 million in assets.

Nuclear talks with Iran fizzled, with Iran stonewalling Washington and five other world powers on their call to freeze uranium enrichment. The attending powers imposed a deadline, which could set the stage for a new round of U.N. sanctions.

Morgan Stanley and Dresdner Kleinwort are likely to do better than expected on HBOS's rights issue after the U.K. lender's stock surged.