EUROPEAN UNION

Libya could descend into civil war if Muammar Gaddafi refuses to quit, the United States said on Tuesday, its demand for an end to his rule carrying new weight after word of unspecified Western military preparations.

Unemployment in the euro area fell back to sub-10 percent levels in January, official data showed on Tuesday.

Eurozone gross domestic product (GDP) will rise 1.6 percent this year, slightly above the previously forecast growth rate of 1.5 percent, the European Commission said in a report on Tuesday.

Manufacturing activity in the eurozone accelerated to a near 11-year high in February but input costs continued to rise, signaling inflationary pressures in the region.

The U.S. ambassador to China, who is considering a run for the White House, on Monday condemned the harassment and beating of some foreign reporters who went to cover a planned protest gathering against the government.

In an interview with BBC, Gaddafi claims he is loved by all of his people and denied that any anti-government protests have occurred in the capitol, Tripoli, which remains a Gaddafi stronghold.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition holds a narrowing one-point lead over the centre-left opposition in Baden-Wuerttemberg one month before the key state election, according to a poll published on Monday.

Irish opposition parties started coalition talks on Monday after a resounding election win gave them the mandate to renegotiate an EU-IMF rescue deal they fear will bankrupt the former Celtic Tiger economy.

Investors in Canada's forestry sector have feasted of late on Chinese demand for lumber and pulp, and a few of them are likely licking their chops at the idea China will also want to buy the mills.

Irish voters went to the polls on Friday to punish their government for bringing the former Celtic Tiger economy to its knees and leaving it a ward of the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Government forces shot dead at least two protesters in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Friday, television stations reported, as a popular uprising against Muammar Gaddafi closed in on his main power base.

A Chinese government study has found the European Union offered large subsidies to telecom firms in what Beijing might deem a violation of World Trade Organization rules, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Biogen Idec stock price can appreciate to the mid $70s based on five areas of potential upside, according to RBC Capital Markets. The brokerage upgraded its rating on shares of the biotechnology company to outperform from sector perform and increased its price target to $75 from $60.

Australia's government launched a third attempt on Thursday to make carbon polluters pay for their emissions, unveiling plans for a fixed-price scheme from 2012 and vowing not to surrender this time in the face of fierce opposition.

In urban China, poor people (and there are many of them) still have tough, despite the country’s stellar headline economic growth.

Inflation did not immediately follow because of the severity of the economic recession. However, as some economists correctly predicted, it was only a matter of time. In Europe, it's starting to heat up.

The two most powerful members of the European Union (EU), France and Germany, have threatened to strike Libya with sanctions in response to Moammar Gaddafi’s brutal crackdown on protesters. Such sanctions would eventually lead to the cancellation of all economic and business ties between Libya and the EU.

Greek police clashed with protesters Wednesday as around 100,000 workers, pensioners and students marched to parliament in protest at austerity policies aimed at helping Greece cope with a huge debt crisis.

Governments around the world scrambled on Wednesday to send planes and ships to evacuate their citizens from turmoil in Libya, whose leader Muammar Gaddafi has vowed to crush a revolt against his 41-year rule.

Violence has broken out in Greece as a nationwide general strike against the government’s austerity programs and budget cuts has led to clashes between stone-throwing protesters and police firing tear-gas.

Russia's membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be in focus as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets European Union leaders on Thursday, but business leaders and trade officials from the U.S., EU and the WTO think Russia's entry is going to be difficult, the Wall Street Journal has reported.