A French judge has placed the chief executive of the Total oil group under formal investigation on suspicion of paying bribes to secure a major gas-field deal in Iran. Christophe de Margerie, who is already under investigation over the Iraq "oil-for-food" bribes scandal, was officially warned of the new accusations on Thursday night after he had spent more than a day in detention.
A Paris court on Thursday acquitted the editor of a satirical French weekly sued by two Muslim groups for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, in a case seen as a test for freedom of expression. Applause broke out in the courtroom at the announcement of the verdict.
The new CEO of French oil giant Total was being held for questioning on Wednesday in an investigation into the group’s activities in Iran, the latest legal challenge for the company and its embattled chief. Christophe de Margerie has already been targeted in a French probe over the scandal-ridden oil-for-food programme in Iraq.
A Paris court on Thursday hands down its verdict in the closely watched trial of a satirical French weekly sued by two Muslim groups for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Two influential Muslim groups took the editor of Charlie Hebdo, Philippe Val, to court for reprinting the cartoons in February last year.
A boat will ferry a special consignment of PlayStation 3s (PS3) to the foot of the Eiffel Tower as hard-core gamers queue in the cold at special midnight openings across Europe when Sony’s next-generation console hits stores on Friday. "The launch of PS3 will be the biggest video-games console launch of all time," said Jim Batchelor, entertainment head at Britain’s Woolworths.
A rebel leader from Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region said in an interview in Paris that the United Nations must either protect the area’s residents or arm them so they can defend themselves. "Either UN forces come to protect our people or the international community has to arm us to defend our people from genocide," Abdul Wahid Mohammed Nur said in an interview.
Wartime French Resistance hero Lucie Aubrac, who famously rescued her husband in a daring attack on a German convoy, died on March 14 in a Paris hospital at the age of 94. In 1943, Aubrac was with a group of fighters who ambushed a truck bearing Raymond Aubrac and 13 other resistance members from Gestapo headquarters in Lyon.
Henrik Larsson produced a fairy-tale end to his brief but eventful Manchester United career on Wednesday as the Swedish legend scored to give the Red Devils a 1-0 win over Lille to put them into the Champions League quarterfinals. United clinched the last 16 clash 2-0 on aggregate. United’s joy, however, was not mirrored by Premiership rivals Arsenal.
Rebel forces entered the Central African Republic town of Birao on Saturday, but government soldiers and a small detachment of French soldiers remained in the town, France’s defence ministry said. France in December sent special forces to dislodge rebel fighters from Birao and a large swathe of its former colony.
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/ 26 February 2007
French TV host Jean-Luc Delarue was detained by police officers upon arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport on Sunday for allegedly attacking cabin crew on a flight to South Africa earlier this month. The TV star, travelling in first class, allegedly insulted, bit and slapped one of the flight attendants.
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/ 25 February 2007
The collapse of two ice shelves in Antarctica has exposed an exquisite seabed ecosystem, including species of crustaceans and marine anemones that had never before been identified, researchers said on Sunday. The insight into this hidden marine world came from the break-up of the Larsen A and B ice shelves, 12 and five years ago respectively.
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/ 23 February 2007
Prime Minister Pascal Yoadimnadji of Chad died early on Friday in a Paris hospital after a brain haemorrhage, the ambassador of the impoverished north-central African state said. The premier had been flown from the Chadian capital, Ndjamena, on Wednesday after he collapsed with high blood pressure.
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/ 23 February 2007
Prime Minister Pascal Yoadimnadji of Chad died early on Friday in a Paris hospital after a brain haemorrhage, the ambassador of the impoverished north-central African state said. The premier had been flown from the Chadian capital, Ndjamena, on Wednesday after he collapsed with high blood pressure.
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/ 22 February 2007
Lille have hit out at being forced to adopt entrenched views in the friction with Manchester United following the crowd trouble at their Champions League game, which had echoes of the Hillsborough tragedy. French riot police used tear gas when they believed an uncontrollable situation was unfolding in a stand behind one of the goals.
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/ 21 February 2007
European football’s governing body, Uefa, confirmed on Wednesday that they have officially opened an investigation into incidents that marred the Champions League last 16, first-leg match between Manchester United and Lille in Lens. Tear gas was used during the match, which United won 1-0 at the Stade Felix-Bollaert on Tuesday night.
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/ 19 February 2007
French authorities issued an alert on Monday at the Canadian embassy in Paris when a staff member suffered from a nosebleed after receiving a suspicious envelope, firefighters said. But tests showed there was no danger and employees were allowed to return to their desks less than two hours later, said Florent Hivert, spokesperson for the Paris firefighters.
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/ 14 February 2007
France has not found a way to bring Zimbabwe to its summit of African leaders this week, the government said on Tuesday. France was criticised for hosting Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe at a similar summit in Paris in 2003 and appears keen not to repeat the experience.
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/ 12 February 2007
Lleyton Hewitt’s Davis Cup heroics were not enough to save Australia, the 28-time champions, from crashing out of the 2007 tournament on Sunday when they slumped to a 3-2 defeat against Belgium. Hewitt won a marathon five-set, opening reverse singles against Olivier Rochus 6-2, 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 3-6, 6-1 to leave the World Group first-round tie finely poised at 2-2 on the Liege indoor clay.
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/ 8 February 2007
Tour de France winner Floyd Landis has said he will not take part in this year’s race, the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) announced on Thursday. AFLD said they had postponed their disciplinary hearing into Landis scheduled for Thursday after the American promised not to participate in any race in France until the end of 2007.
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/ 6 February 2007
Fifty-eight countries agreed on Tuesday to take action to protect children from being recruited as soldiers in wars, joining for the first time an effort that has been largely confined to NGOs. The 58 countries that signed up to the so-called Paris commitments at the end of a two-day conference include 10 of the 12 nations where an estimated 250Â 000 children bear arms.
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/ 6 February 2007
France will be looking for more than just a high-profile exhibition match during Wednesday night’s international friendly against Argentina, striker Djibril Cisse warned. Cisse said that all eyes would be firmly focused on next month’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Lithuania rather than the South Americans.
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/ 5 February 2007
Pope Benedict was baptised at birth and will most likely be baptised again one year after his death, not by his Roman Catholic Church but by a Mormon he never met. The Mormons, a United States-based denomination officially named the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, encourage members to baptise the dead by proxy.
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/ 4 February 2007
Forty-five nations joined France in calling for a new environmental body to slow global warming and protect the planet, a body that potentially could have policing powers to punish violators. Absent were the world’s heavyweight polluter, the United States, and booming nations on the same path as the US, China and India.
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/ 2 February 2007
The United Nations climate panel issued its strongest warning yet on Friday that human activities are heating the planet, adding pressure on governments to do more to combat accelerating global warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted more severe rains, melting glaciers, droughts, heatwaves and rising sea levels.
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/ 1 February 2007
An Air France flight from Paris to Rome was diverted to the eastern French city of Lyon on Thursday after an anonymous phone call warned of a bomb, a spokesperson for the civil aviation authorities said. The spokesperson said the plane landed safely and all the passengers had disembarked.
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/ 25 January 2007
Lebanon won more than ,6-billion on Thursday to help it cope with a debt mountain and recover from war — and, some donors hope, to help its United States-backed government weather a growing threat from Hezbollah-led opponents. Saudi Arabia headed the list of donors with a promise of ,1-billion of development aid and grants.
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/ 25 January 2007
Lebanon’s political and economic crisis takes centre stage at an international aid conference on Thursday, with the country’s Western-backed leaders hoping anti-government protests don’t scare away the donors. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has said Lebanon needs billions of dollars to help shore up its debt-riddled finances and to recover from last year’s war.
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/ 23 January 2007
The head of the Israeli Defence Ministry Mission to Europe has disappeared from his Paris house, leaving behind notes that indicate he might have been considering suicide, a police source said on Tuesday. The man, named as David Dahan, has not been seen since the weekend, the source said. His car was missing but his cellphone was still at his home.
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/ 15 January 2007
A French court lifted on Monday a threat of bankruptcy over Eurotunnel, which operates the undersea rail tunnel linking France to Britain, but said a rescue plan must be applied within three years. A Paris commercial court approved a financial restructuring package to halve Eurotunnel’s debt mountain, meaning the group will avoid a cash crisis predicted for early this year.
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/ 15 January 2007
Of more than 30Â 000 African refugees who landed on the Spanish Canary Islands last year, few had time to see the statue towering above the small port Garachico. And if they did, few could have understood what it meant. It is the statue of a man dragging suitcases in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean.
The earthquake off Taiwan at the end of December that shattered internet connections for millions in Asia demonstrated starkly how vulnerable the vital network is to interruptions. Only a comprehensive back-up system in the infrastructure could prevent total paralysis, specialists warn.
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/ 29 December 2006
Tennis embraces major changes in 2007 but Roger Federer’s paramount New Year resolution remains the same — to win the French Open. The Swiss superstar racked up another record-smashing year in 2006 with 12 titles, a 92-5 match record in which he won back his Australian Open title and defended his Wimbledon and US Open crowns.