Frankfurt - The Frankfurt Stock Exchanged altered its rules Friday to prevent its three main indexes ever being distorted again by a crisis like this week's short squeeze on Volkswagen.

Stock in the German carmaker tripled on Monday and Tuesday to 1,000 euros a share after luxury car company Porsche revealed it owned or had options on 74 per cent of the stock. In August the stock had hovered near 200 euros.

Johannesburg - South Africa was gearing up Friday for a radical shake-up in the country's political landscape as a split in the ruling African National Congress (ANC), the party of liberation from apartheid, came within days of fruition.

ANC members and former members who disagree with the direction the party is taking under current leader Jacob Zuma began arriving in Johannesburg Friday from across the country for a weekend convention that will lay the foundations for a new party.

Moscow - Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi arrived in Moscow on Friday for a three-day visit the Kremlin hopes will lead to weapons purchases by the North African country.

Gaddafi is due to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during his stay. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had "no doubt" the visit would be a success.

Moscow has made a push to renew Soviet-era relations with Libya since former president Vladimir Putin traveled to Tripoli in April.

Vienna - After eight months in captivity, two Austrians kidnapped by a terrorist group in Tunisia were freed Thursday night in Mali, Austria's foreign ministry announced Friday.

Wolfgang Ebner, 51, and Andrea Kloiber, 43, spent their holiday driving around the Sahara near the Algerian border in February, when they were taken hostage, allegedly by the group al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb.

Following months of protracted negotiations, ransom demands and numerous deadlines set and extended by the alleged terrorists, the couple were set to fly home Saturday, Austrian Defense Minister Norbert Darabos said.

Peshawar - Unknown gunmen on Friday abducted the brother of Afghan Finance Minister Anwarul Haq Ahadi in Pakistan's North-Western Frontier Province, his family said.

They said Ziaul Haq Ahdi was on his way home after Friday prayers at a mosque in the Hayatabag neighbourhood of Peshawar when four assailants riding a vehicle kidnapped him on gunpoint.

"We were informed about the incident by witnesses," his elder brother Israrul Haq told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Israrul Haq has a permanent residence in Peshawar while his younger brother Ziaul Haq was visiting from Afghanistan.

Riga - The three Baltic stock exchanges ended the week quietly Friday, with relatively small movements recorded at the close of trading.

The NASDAQ OMX Tallinn exchange in Estonia was up 0.31 per cent, the Vilnius exchange in Lithuania was down 1.35 per cent and the Riga exchange in Latvia dipped by 
0.59 per cent.

The Baltic Benchmark Index (BBI), which includes data from all three exchanges, closed down 0.26 per cent at 273.18.