Abuja - German President Horst Koehler urged on Friday for "a new regulatory framework for the global economy," at the opening of the fourth Partnership for Africa forum being held in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

Koehler arrived on Friday with his wife Eva Luise for a six-day visit devoted to bilateral and African issues.

In his opening speech Koehler made specific reference to the shared challenges presented by the current global financial crisis.

Los Angeles - US cable channel HBO has bought the rights to a documentary about president-elect Barack Obama, produced by Oscar- nominated actor Edward Norton, the Hollywood Reporter said Friday.

A crew for Norton's Class 5 Films has been following the African- American politician since early 2006 - even before he announced his intention to run for president.

New York - While United Nations peacekeepers are accused of failing their duties in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN General Assembly president said Friday the conflict there has reached an unprecedented scale in brutality against women and girls.

"This makes MONUC's mandate impossible to achieve," said Miguel d'Escoto, president of the 192-nation assembly, referring to the UN Mission in Congo known as MONUC, composed of about 17,000 military troops, or one peacekeeper for every 10,000 Congolese.

Brussels - European Union leaders said Friday they were leading world efforts to reform global finance by agreeing on a common set of principles and on five specific recommendations to avert future credit crunches.

The common EU position, agreed after more than three hours of "intense" discussions over lunch in Brussels, is intended to lay the groundwork for a Group of 20 summit of the world's leading economies, such as the United States, China and India, due to take place in Washington on November 15.

Nairobi/Goma - African leaders attending an emergency summit in Nairobi on the conflict currently engulfing the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have urged an immediate ceasefire and the extension of UN peacekeeping powers in the country.

The summit also called for the creation of humanitarian corridors to help the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the conflict in the North Kivu region of eastern Congo.

Washington - General Motors Corp warned Friday that it was running out of the minimum cash it needs to operate till the end of the year, and posted third-quarter operating losses of 4.2 billion dollars.

GM, the largest US automaker, has sought federal aid to avoid a collapse. The company said it needs at least 11 billion dollars in cash each month to pay its bills.

In the third quarter, GM used 6.9 billion dollars in cash and said it could fall below the minimum it needs to operate for the rest of the year.