The USD ended near the highs of the day in late New York as the major pairs failed to hold early overnight gains. Despite a higher opening on Wall Street equities gains fizzled as investor confidence started the week on a down note; early excitement over the Chinese stimulus package announced over the weekend did not attract further buying. Traders note that continued concerns over emergency funding requested for the car makers weighed on investors as well as volatility in energy prices; crude oil had near a $6.50 range on the day before giving back gains and closing slightly better.

Paris - A four-day strike called by unions representing pilots for French carrier Air France will cost the company up to 100 million euros (125 million dollars), company head Jean-Cyril Spinetta said Thursday in an open letter to the pilots.

"Four days of strike is a diminution of 100 million euros of our profits and therefore of our capacity to invest at a time when ... banks are not eager to finance companies," Spinetta wrote.

The company said that the strike, which is to begin on Friday, will lead to the cancellation of at least half of its 760 middle-distance and 73 long-distance flights.

Tallinn- NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer restated the military alliance's desire to see Ukraine join its ranks at a high-level conference being held in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, on Thursday.

In his opening speech, de Hoop Scheffer said the talks were taking place at a special moment in NATO-Ukraine relations.

New Delhi, Nov 13 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today left for Washington to attend the G-20 summit.

Dr. Singh was accompanied by the Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia. He will stopover in Frankfurt while going to and coming back from the United States.

Shanghai- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga claimed his third revenge win in two months over Novak Djokovic as he produced a 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 Gold group comeback to spoil the Serb's hopes for a perfect group record on Thursday at the Masters Cup.

The 23-year-old Tsonga is out of consideration for a semi-final spot, but earned a moral victory over the man who beat him in the Australian Open final in January. Djokovic ended with a 2-1 mark.

Tsonga has now proved his point over the world number three in the Bangkok final and third round at Paris Bercy in addition to the year-end spectacular.

Colombo- Two strategic coastal villages in north-western Sri Lanka, both frequently used by rebels to smuggle in military hardware from South India, were brought under government control after a fierce round of fighting, military officials said Thursday.

The two villages, known as Devil's Point and Vallaipadu, lie 360 kilometres north of Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital. They were captured Thursday. Troops were in the process of consolidating their positions, military officials said.