LIBYA

An International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir may have compromised the quest for peace in Darfur, a U.N. and African Union mediator said on Thursday.

Oil edged up toward $42 on Wednesday, after surging nearly 4 percent overnight, on a brightening outlook for China's economy and in anticipation that producer group OPEC would cut supply further at its next meeting.

Oil edged down toward $41 on Wednesday, after surging nearly 4 percent overnight in anticipation that producer group OPEC would cut supply further at its next meeting.

Resource-rich countries hoping oil will rebound from a $100 crash will not relinquish overnight the power that came with record prices, but relations between international firms and state-run companies have begun to thaw.

On Monday distributors stated that various foreign press titles are set to return to the press stands this week following a 25 year absence.

On Monday at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi, was elected leader of the African Union, a position he has long sought.

An estimated 50,000 people in Alexandria, Egypt and thousands in more than a dozen Middle Eastern cities have taken to the streets protesting against Israel.

The U.N. Security Council is expected to adopt a third round of sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program on Monday, but diplomats said this might be the first round that is not approved unanimously.

Oil prices surged more than 4 percent on Tuesday to hit a record over $100 a barrel on expectations OPEC will keep production levels steady when it meets next month. News Nigerian oil delta rebel leader Henry Okah had died raised worries about supplies from the OPEC country, but a spokesman for the government later said he was alive and in custody.

President Nicolas Sarkozy defended a visit by Muammar Gaddafi on Monday, just hours after his top human rights official said France was not a doormat on which the Libyan leader could wipe off the blood of his crimes.

Oil prices were higher amid speculation the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will reject calls for an increase in production.

Crude oil fell more than Tuesday amid expectations that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may boost production for 2008.

Oil fell more than $1 to stand near $88 a barrel on Tuesday, awaiting a clear signal from OPEC as a chorus of opinion within the exporting group spoke against an output increase.

OPEC's big Gulf producers are leaving open the option of an oil supply increase that could influence whether crude prices head back towards $100 a barrel or not.

Intel Corp and Microsoft Corp are supplying Libya's government with 150,000 rugged laptop computers that cost $200 to build and are designed to meet the needs of children in developing countries.

Sudanese government officials and Darfur rebels will meet privately on Monday to discuss an agenda for peace talks but delegates said little real progress was expected in the absence of key rebel leaders.

Delegations gathered in Libya on Saturday to launch talks to end 4-1/2 years of conflict in Sudan's Darfur region but the absence of key rebels cast doubt on whether negotiations could produce any meaningful deal.

Libya, Vietnam and Burkina Faso were elected to nonpermanent seats on the United Nations Security Council for the years 2008-09 on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia persuaded OPEC to raise oil output by 500,000 barrels per day on Tuesday in a gesture to consumer nations worried by the economic impact of $77 oil and rapidly diminishing fuel stocks.

The planned merger of Gaz de France and Suez to create one of Europe's largest energy groups has once more underlined President Nicolas Sarkozy's determination to keep a firm hold on French industrial policy.

The U.S. Justice Department and other authorities have stepped up investigations into several large European banks for violating sanctions against Iran, Libya, Cuba and Sudan, the Financial Times reported in its online edition.