Francois Murphy

The people of Libya have argued that it is time for Benghazi to regain it's rightful place as a leading business and commercial centre.

Libya's NTC has named a new government with a line-up that dropped several seasoned officials in favour of appointees who will soothe rivalries.

Libya's National Transitional Council has appointed the commander whose forces captured Muammar Gaddafi's son at the weekend as new defence minister.

The European Central Bank's chief and the chairperson of euro zone finance ministers rejected any need for a European rescue fund.

European Union leaders are considering imposing sanctions against Russia ahead of a summit on Monday to discuss the situation in Georgia.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadaffi fought back against criticism of his rights record on Tuesday by accusing European countries of abusing African immigrants. ''They brought us here like cattle to do hard and dirty work, and then they throw us to live on the outskirts of towns and when we claim our rights, the police beat us,'' he said.

A transport strike that crippled the French rail network for nine days petered out on Friday after workers voted to give talks on pension reform a chance. The number of trains on the rail system and the Paris underground approached near-normal levels for the first time since the dispute started on November 13.

European Union leaders clinched agreement on Saturday on a mandate to overhaul the 27-nation bloc after persuading Poland to end a stand-off that nearly torpedoed a marathon summit. The leaders agreed to negotiate a reform treaty by the end of this year, to be ratified by mid-2009.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy met his prime minister on Monday after securing an unexpectedly small parliamentary majority and losing a senior minister -- setbacks that nonetheless left his reform programme on track. Sarkozy formally reappointed Prime Minister Francois Fillon, and their first task will be to find a replacement for government number two Alain Juppe.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy named Francois Fillon as Prime Minister on Thursday, banking on the moderate conservative's negotiating skills to push through sweeping reforms in the face of union resistance. On his first full day in office, Sarkozy held a breakfast meeting with Fillon before confirming the appointment of the 53-year-old.

The leaders of Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic met on Thursday and declared they would not back rebels attacking each other's territory -- repeating a pledge that has failed to stop fighting in the past. Violence in Sudan's Darfur province has spilled over into the neighbouring states, which accuse Sudan of supporting rebels launching cross-border attacks.

A summit intended to strengthen ties between Africa and former colonial power France opened on Thursday but all eyes will be on a subject not on the agenda -- Sudan's battered Darfur province. The United Nations Security Council has proposed sending peacekeepers to secure Darfur's border area, but UN officials say there must first be peace.