OECD forecasts unemployment in industrialized world to reach new post-WWII high in 2010

PARIS — Unemployment in the industrialized world will hit its highest level since World War II next year, surpassing the current peak, as the global economy looks set for only a timid recovery in 2010, an international organization said in a report Wednesday.

European Parliament backs Barroso for second term

STRASBOURG - The European Parliament Wednesday re-elected Jose Manuel Barroso for a second five-year term as head of the European Union’s executive arm, the European Commission.

Total expects oil production to rebound in 2010 after OPEC cuts weigh on 2009 output

PARIS — Total SA expects its oil production to rebound in 2010 after cuts by OPEC and falling demand caused by the global recession weighed on its output this year, the company said Wednesday.

OECD forecasts unemployment to reach new postwar high of some 10 percent in 2010

PARIS — Unemployment in leading industrialized nations will hit a new postwar record next year, surpassing the current high, as the global economy looks set for only a timid recovery in 2010, the OECD said in a report Wednesday.

European Parliament votes to give Barroso 5 more years as European Commission president

STRASBOURG, France — The European Parliament has agreed to give Jose Manuel Barroso another five-year term as European Commission President.

EU will ask Pittsburgh summit to agree on sanctions against banks that pay excessive bonuses

BRUSSELS — European Union leaders plan to urge the world’s largest economies on Thursday to threaten sanctions on banks that pay excessive bonuses to executives and traders as part of a promised overhaul of the global financial system.

Barroso likely to be reappointed European Commission president for second term

STRASBOURG, France — Jose Manuel Barroso will likely be reappointed European Commission president for a second five-year term when lawmakers hold a vote Wednesday, after leaders backed him as the best person to help steer the EU out of recession.

French legislators approve bill to cut off Internet for illegal downloaders

PARIS — France’s lower house of parliament approved a pioneering bill Tuesday allowing authorities to cut off Internet access to people who download illegally, a measure that entertainment companies hope will be a powerful weapon against piracy.

French legislators vote on compromise bill that could cut off Internet for illegal downloaders

PARIS — French legislators vote Tuesday on a pioneering bill allowing authorities to cut off Internet access to people who download illegally, a measure that entertainment companies hope will be a powerful weapon against piracy.

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Tuesday:

France Telecom seeks to soothe staff after 23 suicides that raised government concern

PARIS — France Telecom SA was mobilizing all 20,000 of its managers Monday in an effort to respond to a string of 23 employee suicides that unions blame partly on layoffs and restructuring at the telecommunications giant.

France’s Sarkozy calls for ‘revolution’ in measuring economic growth to account for well-being

PARIS — French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked world leaders to join a “revolution” in the measurement of economic progress by dropping their obsession with gross domestic product to account for factors such as health-care availability and leisure time.

AP Source: American Airlines talking with struggling JAL about a cash infusion

DALLAS — American Airlines parent AMR Corp. is negotiating for closer ties and possibly an investment in financially troubled Japan Airlines Corp., according to a person familiar with the talks.

Chicago doesn’t get the president, might not be getting the Olympics

They couldn’t persuade the president to twist some arms for his adopted hometown’s Olympic bid, settling for the first lady instead. They don’t have their own special Olympic plane like the Spaniards, and no king to bring along for the ride to Copenhagen.

Willy Ronis, one of France’s great photographers, dies at 99

PARIS — Willy Ronis, the last of the great French photographers best known for shots of the quirky corners of Paris, has died at age 99.

Report: Struggling JAL in talks with Air France-KLM over capital tie-up

TOKYO — Struggling Japan Airlines Corp. has entered talks with Air France-KLM over a capital tie-up, a newspaper said Saturday.

World honors 9/11 heroes but divided over faltering Afghan war effort as casualties rise

On the day to remember the terror of 9/11, the war it spawned in Afghanistan sowed fresh divisions. President Barack Obama, speaking under rainy skies after placing a wreath at the site of the attack on the Pentagon, called on the world to “renew our resolve against those who perpetrated this barbaric act and who plot against us still.”

Colleagues defend French interior minister after alleged anti-Arab slur

PARIS — Cabinet members rushed Friday to defend France’s interior minister — a key ally of President Nicolas Sarkozy — amid calls for the man’s resignation after he allegedly was caught on camera making anti-Arab remarks.

France optimistic that G-20 will strike agreement on bonuses at summit

PARIS — French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde expressed optimism Friday that world leaders will agree to international rules on trader bonuses at this month’s summit of rich and developed nations in Pittsburgh.

France’s top cop defends remark that rights groups denounce as anti-Arab

PARIS — France’s interior minister has been caught on camera making what sound like anti-Arab remarks, infuriating anti-racism groups, even as he insisted Thursday that his words were innocent and misconstrued.

Swiss city says law prevents it from returning painting stolen from Jews during WWII

GENEVA — Swiss law bars a museum from surrendering a 19th-century painting that it was given after it had been stolen from a Jewish family in Paris by the pro-Nazi Vichy French regime during World War II, authorities said Thursday.

Book claiming rigged party vote leaves French Socialists in disarray, rival Sarkozy in control

PARIS — A new book alleges that a vote last year to elect the leader of France’s Socialist Party was rigged, sparking further disarray among the once-mighty champions of the left.

France’s Sarkozy pushes ahead with contested, ambitious plan to tax carbon emissions

PARIS — French President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to tax carbon dioxide emissions by households and businesses, a measure aimed at helping France slash its output greenhouse gases over the coming decades — but viewed with skepticism by many.

Muslim woman urges French parliamentary panel to press for laws that would ban burqas

PARIS — Her voice trembling with emotion, the leader of an advocacy group for Muslim women and girls urged a French parliamentary panel on Wednesday to press for laws that would ban the wearing of Islamic body- and face-covering veils.

EADS chief favors negotiated settlement in trade dispute over Boeing and Airbus subsidies

PARIS — The head of Airbus’ parent company says the European jet maker did nothing wrong in a trade dispute with the U.S. over government subsidies, and called for a negotiated settlement with archrival Boeing Co.

Vivendi plans €2 billion offer for Brazilian Internet and telecommunications company GVT

PARIS — Vivendi SA will offer euro2 billion ($2.9 billion) to acquire Brazilian Internet and telecommunications company GVT SA, the French media and entertainment company said Wednesday.

NYSE Euronext in talks with brokers over sale of “significant” stake in NYSE Amex options unit

PARIS — NYSE Euronext Inc. said Wednesday that it plans to sell a “significant” stake in its NYSE Amex options unit to seven Wall Street brokers.

British, French, German leaders call for UN-backed Afghanistan conference

PARIS — Three European powers called Wednesday for a new international conference on Afghanistan, hoping to accelerate and improve training of local forces and lay out a timetable in which Afghans can take back full control of their war-battered country.

France, Britain, Germany: Iran must engage in ‘meaningful negotiations’ on its atomic program

VIENNA — Britain, France and Germany are urging Iran to engage in “meaningful negotiations” aimed at achieving a comprehensive diplomatic solution to the international standoff over its nuclear program.

Big stink over claim Sarkozy used short people as props to conceal his stature

PARIS — From elevator shoes to step-up boxes behind podiums, and even his own tippy-toes, Nicolas Sarkozy and his handlers have tried to compensate for his height — or lack thereof.