France

BARCELONA - Serbian tennis player Nenad Zimonjic and Canada's Daniel Nestor qualified for the Barcelona WTA men's doubles final as they defeated Croatia's Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo of Brazil in the Saturday match, 6-4, 6-4.

The G7 group of economic powers has agreed to intensify sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine.

A G7 statement gave no detail of the sanctions, but US officials said they could announce measures by Monday, reports BBC.

Meanwhile, negotiators are trying to secure the release of international observers seized by pro-Russia gunmen.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to meet Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Berlin on Friday to discuss the prospects of an "energy union" proposed by Poland.

Tusk has recently reiterated calls for the establishing of a EU-wide union aimed at reducing energy dependence on Russia.

BELGRADE - An international conference on World War One is being held in Belgrade on Friday, with the goal to objectivise the truth abou that great conflict.

The conference started on Thursday and includes distinguished scientists, historians and military experts from 20 countries in Europe and Asia.

US engineering group General Electric has reportedly engaged into talks with France's trainmaker Alstom, with the rumors soaring the latter's shares.

The French company, which is a world leader in railway transport, has downpalyed the claims that GE has expressed interest in its assets, suggesting they lead to "speculation and rumors".

Credit Agricole Leasing Greece, Credit Agricole SA’s remaining business in the country, is seeking buyers for around 400 million euros ($554 million) of loans mostly backed by real estate, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Russia issued a blanket ban on foreign trips for its law enforcement and military personnel, reports LifeNews.ru. 

The list includes Bulgaria, USA, Canada, UK, Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Japan, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, etc. The number of off limits countries totals 150. 

Bulgaria's Prosecuting Authority has started analyzing documents to find out whether Ivan Danov, the Minister of Investment Planning, has abused the French welfare system.

In an interview for Bulgaria's NOVA TV, Atanas Chobanov, a journalist, made the announcement after saying he had been interrogated last week over the issue.

A mass demonstration in support of the autonomy of France's Brittany was held in the city of Nantes.

The main demand of the protesters is to restore the historical borders of the province and to grant it greater political independence, according to ITAR-TASS.

MONTE CARLO - Serbian tennis player Nenad Zimonjic and Canada's Daniel Nestor reached the doubles semifinals at the Monte Carlo Masters, after defeating Romain Arneodo and Balleret Benjamin of Monaco 6-4, 6-3 on Friday.