EUROPEAN UNION

U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the eurozone crisis and financial-market turbulence on Saturday and vowed action to bolster the global economy, the White House said in a statement.

The new head of the IMF on Saturday called on global policymakers to pursue urgent action, including forcing European banks to bulk up their capital, to prevent a descent into a renewed world recession.

President Bashar al-Assad's forces killed eight people across Syria overnight, activists said Friday, in a renewed campaign to crush protesters cheered by the downfall of Moammar Gadfafi in Libya.

Brent crude steadied around $110 a barrel Thursday, boosted by reduced U.S. crude stocks and positive manufacturing data but countered by economic growth uncertainties.

Female politicians took three out of the top five spots in Forbes' 2011 list of the most powerful women in the world.

A Dutch court ruled that Samsung violated an Apple patent by using the Android 2.3 operating system in three of its smartphones.

The U.S. ambassador made a surprise trip to a southern Syrian town Tuesday, his second visit to an area rocked by protests against President Bashar al-Assad and a move likely to antagonize the authorities in Damascus.

The eurozone could collapse if its member countries don't work together to solve its debt crisis, but China is pleased to see that Germany and France are cooperating to avert that risk, a Chinese vice foreign minister said in an interview.

Billionaire Investor/Philanthropist George Soros has provided more thought-provoking commentary on the markets, and he says a U.s. double-dip recession is more likely now.

Libyan government tanks and snipers put up scattered, last-ditch resistance in Tripoli on Monday after rebels swept into the heart of the capital, cheered on by crowds hailing the end of Muammar Gaddafi's 42 years in power.

Moammar Gadhafi's put up scattered, last-ditch resistance in Tripoli Monday after rebels swept into the heart of the Libyan capital, cheered on by crowds hailing the end of his 42-year rule.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a radio interview on Monday that the euro remains a stable currency and despite the euro zone debt crisis has held steady against the dollar in a consistent range.

European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny is concerned that euro zone countries will not push through parliamentary approval of changes to their EFSF bailout fund as quickly as planned, an Austrian magazine quoted him as saying.

Greece's Finance Minister said the issues addressed in the debt-choked country's new bailout deal concern the euro zone as a whole, not only Greece, and the right package hinges on the bloc's political will.

Germany strongly rejected mounting calls for the euro zone to issue joint debt at the weekend, but signaled it was open for the bloc to move toward a form of fiscal union, with the finance minister saying he personally supported a European counterpart.

Germany on Saturday rebuffed renewed calls that euro zone countries should issue joint euro-denominated bonds and have a joint finance minister, arguing that would only be possible if fiscal policy were collective already.

The state of Schleswig-Holstein released a statement saying Facebook's Like button violates some of Germany's privacy and data collection laws.

France's top AAA credit rating is likely to be downgraded and Germany could easily follow as the costs of bailing out weaker euro zone economies push up their own debt piles, says credit hedge fund firm Cairn Capital's chief investment strategist.

Euro zone member states will have to decide if a deal between Finland and Greece on collateral for financial support to Athens is in line with the agreement on the bailout agreed last month, the European Commission said on Friday.

Gold charged to a record high early Friday in electronic trading as a host of bad economic news from around the world drove investors away from stocks for the safety of the yellow metal.

The United States and European Union called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down Thursday, and U.S. President Barack Obama accused him of torturing and slaughtering his own people in what U.N. officials said could be crimes against humanity.