Warring factions agree to form Libyan govt

SKHIRAT (Morocco) • Delegates from Libya's warring factions signed a UN-brokered agreement to form a national government yesterday, a deal that Western powers hope will bring stability and help fight a growing Islamic State in Iraq and Syria presence.

Four years after Muammar Gaddafi's fall, Libya is deeply fractured with two rival governments - a self-declared one in Tripoli and an internationally recognised one in the east - each backed by coalitions of former rebels and militias.

REUTERS

IMF's Lagarde to face trial over negligence

PARIS • A French court has ordered International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde to face trial over her role in a payout of some €400 million (S$616 million) to businessman Bernard Tapie, her lawyer said yesterday.

The case will be heard by magistrates at the Cour de Justice de la Republique, France's prosecutor-general confirmed. The decision came despite the prosecutor's September recommendation that investigations be dropped against Ms Lagarde for alleged negligence in the affair while she was France's finance minister.

REUTERS