Nice, France - The mandate of Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the group of countries that share the euro was extended by two years, European Union diplomats said Friday.

The decision was taken by eurozone finance ministers at an informal meeting in Nice.

Juncker, who is 53, first assumed the influential position in 2005.

The renewal of his mandate comes at a delicate time for the European economy, which is facing a slowdown and, possibly, a recession.

Rome - Pope Benedict XVI on Friday morning departed from Rome's Fiumcino airport and headed for France for a four day visit - his first there as pontiff.

Benedict left Rome on an Alitalia Airbus A321 jet at 9:15 am (0715 GMT) and was expected to arrive at Paris' Orly airport around two hours later, an airport spokesman said.

The trip, Benedict's 10th abroad since his 2005 election, includes talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The French president, together with his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, was scheduled to welcome the pontiff upon his arrival at Orly.

London  - Train services through the Channel Tunnel linking Britain and France were suspended Thursday following an alarm, the BBC reported.

Rome - "France, eldest daughter of the Church, what have you done to your baptismal promises? asked Pope John Paul II when he made his first visit to France in 1981.

The Polish pope was honouring France with the title it earned upon becoming the first Christian kingdom following the baptism of King Clovis of the Franks in 496 A. D.

But John Paul was also admonishing modern French society in which Christianity, and in particular the majority Roman Catholic faith, appeared to be losing their importance.

Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, will welcome Pope Benedict XVI when he arrives Friday at Paris's Orly Airport for a four-day visit to France, Sarkozy's office announced on Wednesday.

Sarkozy will then host the pope at the Elysee Palace for talks, which are to be followed by a reception at which both men will deliver speeches.

Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to spend two days in Paris before travelling to the pilgrimage site of Lourdes.

Paris - The International Energy Agency (IEA) said Wednesday that it has revised downward its forecast of global oil demand for this year and 2009.

In its Monthly Oil Report, issued in Paris, the IEA said the reason was that the global economic slump and high crude oil prices during the summer caused weaker-than-expected oil deliveries in industrial nations.

"The data suggest that the demand impact of weaker economic conditions and high prices during the summer - when oil prices reached an all-time peak - was more marked than expected, notably in the United States," the IEA said.

"Furthermore, the effects of the ongoing hurricane season on US demand are subject to considerable uncertainty."