Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a joint statement Saturday to the governments of Israel and Egypt supporting efforts for a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

According to the statement, the three EU countries "declared our readiness to take a series of measures that would contribute to the end of weapons smuggling into Gaza."

Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni became stars of France's comic book scene last year.

The cover of the recently published book, Carla and Carlito, depicts the French first lady carrying an image of Sarkozy in a baby sling.

It has sold 100,000 copies and demand continues, the newspaper Le Parisien reported in late December. The book depicts Bruni as the real power in the Elysee Palace and reveals that her control over him is so strong that the staff refer to him as Carlito or little Carla.

London, Jan 11: The secret to Nicolas Sarkozy's boundless energy has been unlocked - all thanks to a French author who claims that the "hyper-président" secretly consults a specialist in alternative medicine.

In his new book, Patrice Machuret, a political journalist and author of a book on Sarkozy published last week, the alternative medicine specialist massages French President's back and sends him "positive energy waves".

Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday in Paris that Israel must be given certain security guarantees before the fighting in the Gaza Strip can end.

"Certain conditions for a ceasefire must be created. The key is to give Israel security guarantees that arms smuggling across Egypt's border with Gaza will cease," Merkel told journalists after a meeting with Sarkozy.

Paris - Russia must respect the contracts it has signed to deliver natural gas to Europe, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday in Paris.

"Russia has contractual obligations with the Europeans, and they must be respected," Sarkozy told journalists after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The French president also urged Ukraine to respect European interests.

"Europe has done a great deal for (Ukraine), because under the French (EU) presidency we obtained the opening of a privileged partnership for Ukraine," Sarkozy said.

Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday opened an economic symposium in Paris by calling for the "moralization" of the capitalist system.

"We must work, not for the destruction of capitalism - which would be a catastrophe - but for its moralization," Sarkozy said at the opening of the symposium New World, New Capitalism, which he established as a response to the economic crisis.

"Either we re-found capitalism or we destroy it," Sarkozy said as he called for an economic system based on the value of work rather than finance.