Francois Hollande

The eurozone and IMF threw a new lifeline to Greece on Tuesday, releasing funds to avert bankruptcy and admitting that help to reduce debt will be needed for years, leading the Greek prime minister to herald a new dawn for his country.

Two-thirds of Australia's top 500 companies had no female executives and less than 10 percent of directors were women, according to data Tuesday, which comes on the back of a sexism row in politics.

Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy called Monday for a fresh vote to resolve the bitter leadership battle that has left France's main right-wing opposition party, the UMP, on the verge of collapse, party officials said.

Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday waded in to a bitter leadership battle that has left France's main right-wing opposition party, the UMP, on the verge of collapse.

Europe's main stock markets weakened on Monday in cautious deals as eurozone finance ministers met again to discuss the release of the next slice of Greece's bailout cash, dealers said.

France's main right-wing opposition party was close to collapse on Monday after talks failed to resolve a bitter leadership dispute and an ex-prime minister vowed to take the battle to the courts.

Former French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy backed controversial plans for France to legalise gay marriage in an interview with Vogue that sees the 44-year-old return to her supermodel roots.

France's main right-wing opposition party was close to collapse on Sunday after talks failed to resolve a bitter leadership dispute and an ex-prime minister vowed to take the battle to the courts.

Syrian troops bombarded the outskirts of Damascus, where monitors said almost 50 people died in a battle for a military airport, as the country's 20-month conflict homes in on the capital.

The rivals to lead France's main right-wing opposition party, the UMP, clashed again Sunday as a political heavyweight called in to mediate their damaging dispute said he saw little chance of success.

Former French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has endorsed the government's plans to legalize gay marriage, adoption. Former French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has endorsed the government's plans to legalize marriage and adoption for gay and lesbian couples. In a cover story for the December issue of the French edition of women's fashion glossy Vogue, Bruni-Sarkozy said she disagrees with her husband, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who said during his unsuccessful bid for a second term that he's opposed to extending such rights to gay couples. ?I am rather in favor of gay marriage and adoption,? she told the magazine. ?I have a lot of friends ? women and men ? who are in this situation and I see nothing unstable or perverse in families with homosexual parents.? The cabinet of President Francois Hollande has approved a marriage equality bill and sent it to lawmakers for their approval. Opposition to the reforms has come mainly from the Roman Catholic church and Sarkozy's own

French police clashed for a second day running Saturday with protesters squatting on protected swampland the government wants to clear for an airport, a battle that has strained the ruling Socialists' ties with their Green allies.

French police fired tear gas for a second day running Saturday as they sought to evict protesting occupiers from protected swampland where Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault wants to build a new airport.

Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy told judges he received no money from France's richest woman Liliane Bettencourt, a newspaper said, amid allegations that his 2007 election campaign was illegally financed.

French police fired tear gas Friday as they sought to evict protesting squatters from the site of a proposed new airport to be built on protected swampland, a pet project of Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has ended his European isolation, for the time being at least, after Germany and other nations backed his call for cuts to the troubled EU budget.

Steel giant ArcelorMittal warned the French government Friday that efforts to force it to sell all of its Florange plant, rather than just the parts it wants to close, threaten the company's presence in France.

Talks on the European Union's trillion euro budget ended in deadlock Friday when leaders of the 27-nation bloc failed to overcome seemingly irreconcilable differences on spending.

Talks on the European Union's trillion-euro budget ended in deadlock Friday as leaders of the bloc's 27 member states failed to overcome seemingly irreconcilable differences on how to reduce spending.

British Prime Minister David Cameron risked further isolation Friday over the EU's disputed new budget, although an unlikely alliance with Germany's Angela Merkel could win him some concessions.