World oil prices soared on Tuesday, mirroring the performance of global equities, as markets followed Eurozone debt developments closely.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November jumped $1.59 to $105.53 a barrel in London midday deals.

Greece and the euro are facing a tough week as European Union and IMF experts resume an audit of progress on cutting the public deficit and reforming the economy, with default threatening.

The EU and IMF will decide on the basis of the audit whether to release the next slice of rescue funds of 8.0 billion euros ($11.0 billion) from a first bailout in May last year.

Italian oil giant ENI has resumed oil production in Libya more than six months after civil unrest brought oil and gas output in the country to a near standstill, the company said Monday.

A statement said that ENI had restarted production at the Abu Attifel oil field. Before the conflict that ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi, ENI was the top foreign oil producer in Libya, a former Italian colony.

Kuwaiti telecoms giant Zain said Monday it will challenge a court ruling that annulled the election of its board of directors, adding that the verdict will have no impact on its operations.

"The company will appeal against the ruling immediately after receiving the reasons" given by the court, Zain said in a statement posted on the Kuwait Stock Exchange website.

Asian markets tumbled on Monday and the euro was further pressured by nagging uncertainty over the Eurozone as leaders of the debt-troubled region struggle to find a plan to solve the crisis.

The week got off to a poor start as investors were left unimpressed by a commitment at the weekend from G20 finance chiefs that they would take strong, co-ordinated action to avoid another global financial crisis.

Apple threw open the doors to its first store in Hong Kong Saturday, its latest push to tap the booming China market, as protesters accused the technology giant of supporting sweatshop labor.

The minimalist store spread over two floors in one of Hong Kong's most upmarket shopping malls is Apple's sixth outlet in China, launching just a day after the doors opened on another new branch in Shanghai.

The Group of 20 major economies have vowed to mount a powerful response to the rising challenges facing the world economy as it reels from a debt crisis in the Eurozone.

The pledge, made in an unexpected statement late Thursday, came after world leaders ramped up pressure on Europe to take decisive action to contain its debt crisis as markets spun out of control.

The U.S. dollar rose against the euro Thursday, as investors fled from the single European currency amid a widespread global market sell-off.

The euro fell to levels not seen against the dollar since January, fetching $1.3470 by 2200 GMT versus $1.3564 the day before, as fears grew of a global slowdown.

Asian markets fell for a second straight day Friday and the dollar rose amid growing fears that the global economy is on the verge of slipping back into recession.

However, most markets were off their earlier lows after G20 finance chiefs meeting in Washington promised to take collective action to stabilize the financial system.

Switzerland said Friday that it has lifted sanctions against two Libyan oil firms -- National Oil Corporation and its affiliated Zueitina Oil Corporation, as well as Afriqiyah Airways.

The authorities announced the changes in a decree which entered into force Friday.