Brussels - The European Commission on Wednesday approved Greek government plans for the privatization of Olympic Airlines, but told the carrier that it must pay back 850 million euros (1.2 billion dollars) in illegal state aid from the sale of its assets.

Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani said an investigation had shown that Greece's ailing flagship carrier had receive financial help from the government since 2005.

"This aid is incompatible with the (European Union) treaty," Tajani said.

At the same time, the commissioner approved plans for a new, smaller carrier, which will be born from the ashes of Olympic and will likely be called Pantheon Airways.

Taipei - Taiwan is taking a softer approach at this year's UN General Assembly by attempting to join UN agencies instead of seeking full UN membership, a Taiwanese official said Wednesday.

Taiwan faces strong opposition against its UN membership from China, forcing the country to change tack after trying for 15 years to rejoin the international organization.

Frankfurt - The European Central Bank

Frankfurt - Shares on European markets nosedived on Monday in financial turmoil triggered by the collapse of one of the biggest US investment banks and the sale of another.

Lehman brothers filed for bankruptcy protection after frantic negotiations throughout the weekend failed to produce a buyer. Hours earlier, Merrill Lynch agreed to be bought out by Bank of America Corp for 50 billion dollars in stock.

Germany's blue-chip DAX fell 4 per cent, while the Paris bourse lost 4.9 per cent and the London Stock Exchange was down more than 4 per cent by mid-afternoon.

Frankfurt - Share prices tumbled in early trading in Europe on Monday as markets reacted to the financial turmoil triggered by the demise of US investment bank Lehman Brothers.

Germany's blue-chip DAX fell 2.8 per cent, while the Paris bourse lost nearly 3.5 per cent and the London Stock Exchange was down more than 2 per cent. In nearly all cases banking shares were hardest hit.

Traders in Frankfurt said there was no panic on the German market, noting that the 30-share DAX recovered slightly to 6,059 after slumping to 6,050 at the opening.

Frankfurt  - The European Central Bank (ECB) said Monday it was watching money market conditions closely in the eurozone, following indications that US bank Lehman Brothers would declare itself bankrupt.

The ECB said from its headquarters in Frankfurt it was ready to contribute to orderly conditions in the euro money market.

The US Federal Reserve said Sunday it was taking measures to stabilize conditions on financial markets, including accepting a wider range of financial instruments as collateral.