IBT Staff Reporter

French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said on Saturday that she does not expect Euro zone finance ministers to make any decision on financial help for Greece when they meet next week.

French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said on Saturday that she does not expect any decision to be made by Euro zone finance ministers next week on financial help for Greece.

Afghanistan rowed back on Saturday from a total ban on media broadcasts of disturbing images from insurgent attacks or live pictures of security operations.

A European Monetary Fund risks skewing the incentives of debt-ridden euro zone countries thereby endangering the stability of the euro, the head of Ifo think tank told Reuters in an interview.

Taliban suicide bombers struck across Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar on Saturday, killing 30 people and wounding scores in a series of strikes the militants called a message to NATO.

A bipartisan financial regulation reform bill could still be worked out in the Senate, despite a breakdown in negotiations, key Republicans said in a letter obtained by Reuters on Saturday.

The new junta ruling in Niger, one of the world's biggest uranium producers, should review and possibly renegotiate dozens of resource exploitation contracts, civil rights groups said on Saturday.

Iran has arrested 30 people suspected of belonging to a U.S.-linked cyber network gathering information on Iranian nuclear scientists and sending people abroad for training, a news agency reported on Saturday.

Crude oil prices tread water for the week as uncertainty about demand continued to weigh on the market. Prices were down slightly on the week, with the benchmark West Texas Intermediate settling on Friday at $81.24 a barrel, compared with $81.50 a week ago. Not even relatively bullish forecasts for oil demand, such as the International Energy Agency's report on Friday raising its forecast by 70,000 barrels a day for 2010, or the decline in the dollar could propel oil prices forward.

A teleconference with state leaders to discuss the federal government's hospital funding reforms will be led by NSW Premier Kristina Keneally, who is also the chair of the Council for Australian Federation. The next scheduled meeting with territory chief ministers and other premiers will start next Thursday.

The ban on the technology that offers allows parent to have the sex of their children, predetermined using IVF will be open for review by Australia's health watchdog. According to the Herald Sun reports, the National Health and Medical Research Council is ready to launch a review of the ban amid criticism from Australian fertility doctors.

Australian researchers are divided over the recent British studies which states that oral contraceptive pill is good for women. The study published in the British Medical Journal says that women who have been on the pill are less likely to die from any cause, including all cancer and heart disease, compared with those who have never been on it.

The widely believed notion that pregnancy and motherhood can cause women to be absentminded and forgetful, is false, says Professor Helen Christensen and colleagues at the Australian National University, as evident in the findings of the study of 1,241 women from 20 to 24 years of age.

The chief executive of Swisscom AG said Fastweb was a victim of fraud, a Swiss paper reported on Saturday, the second time the CEO has come out in defense of his company's subsidiary.

Kuwait's Investment Dar , which owns half of British carmaker Aston Martin, is applying for support under a government facility set up for troubled companies as part of a debt restructuring.

Kuwait's Investment Dar , which owns half of British carmaker Aston Martin, is applying for support under a government facility set up for troubled companies as part of a debt restructuring.

Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne will look at spinning off its car business from the rest of the industrial group only when he has a firmer grip on U.S. maker Chrysler and can put the two together.

Thousands of anti-government protesters headed for Bangkok from rural Thailand on Saturday for what they call a million-man march, aiming to paralyze the city and topple a government they say is a front for unelected elites.

Venezuela on friday outlined a plan to guarantee the distribution of food in case of any energy crisis in the country. The Venezuelan government and food producers have outlined the plan that involves reducing water use and investing to make food producers self-sufficient in energy within 90 to 360 days.

Israel's relationship with the United States, a defining feature of the troubled Middle East, was under severe strain as diplomats scrambled on Saturday to save newborn U.S.-brokered peace talks with the Palestinians.

A new platinum model of a famous classic car worth over £50,000 has been launched by a Japanese jeweller. Tomica, a line of die-cast toy vehicles, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and to celebrate, Ginza Tanaka has produced a version of the Nissan Fairlady Z 432.

Kuwait's Investment Dar , which owns half of British carmaker Aston Martin, is applying for support under a government facility set up for troubled companies as part of a debt-restructuring plan.

Paying for extras has become routine for airline passengers but it doesn't mean they like it, with a poll showing more than half all travelers hate having to fork out to choose their seat.

The revelation that an ex-employee of HSBC Holdings Plc stole tens of thousands of its Swiss accounts is likely to give U.S. tax authorities fresh clues in their pursuit of wealthy tax cheats abroad.

The top U.S. arms buyer said no protectionism was involved in the potential $50 billion refueling-aircraft competition that Europe's EADS quit this week along with Northrop Grumman Corp.

The primary general contractor for the $8.5 billion CityCenter project on the Las Vegas Strip plans to sue the project's owners for $492 million.

Two cabinet members and other top officials on Friday pledged a thorough examination of allegations that monopolistic practices in agriculture are driving small farmers out of business and said they would aggressively enforce antitrust laws.

As the U.S. economy improves, more of the shoppers who flocked to Wal-Mart to save money during the recession are moving back to the stores they frequented before, a new survey showed on Friday.

Senator Charles Schumer said on Friday he plans to move forward soon on legislation aimed at stopping China from manipulating its currency.