PARIS

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said on Friday he had been the victim of ”calumny and lies”, as he emerged from 17 hours of questioning by magistrates over an apparent smear campaign against a political rival. Villepin was heard as a witness, not a suspect, in the so-called Clearstream affair.

French animal lovers said on Wednesday they had filed a lawsuit after a publishing company issued a hunter’s year book extolling the virtues of "hedgehog stew". The recipe appears in the <i>Almanach du Chasseur</i> (<i>The Hunter’s Almanach</i>), published by a company called CPE in Romorantin, central France.

The United States urged a reluctant Russia and China on Tuesday to agree quickly on a sanctions plan against Tehran and its nuclear programme as officials from six world powers prepared to seek a breakthrough at talks in Paris. US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said he did not expect a deal in Paris but called on Moscow and Beijing to move faster.

It is a city so protective of its romantic skyline that skyscrapers have been banned in the historic centre for more than 30 years. But Paris on Monday unveiled plans for a vast glass-enveloped office block that will become its tallest commercial building and loftiest construction since the Eiffel tower was inaugurated in 1889.

Donor nations and organisations pledged around -million to an international effort to help former combatants in war-ravaged Central Africa back to civilian life, officials said on Wednesday after an aid meeting in Paris. The figure represents roughly half of the estimated funding still required for a programme totalling about -million, officials said.

What’s a television without its remote control? Not much, decided a thief in south-western France who returned to the home from which he had just stolen a TV to pick up the remote control — and was arrested. The man robbed a retiree’s house in the village of Mussidan, taking the TV set and some hunting rifles, police said.

France coach Bernard Laporte on Wednesday made seven changes to the side that suffered a humiliating 47-3 defeat to the All Blacks last Saturday in Lyon. France play their second of two autumn Tests against New Zealand at the Stade de France on Saturday, with Laporte desperate for a decent performance following the All Blacks seven-try massacre less than a week ago.

France is to aid the Central African Republic’s (CAR) army with logistics and aerial reconnaissance in its fight against rebels in the north-east of the country, the French Foreign Ministry said on Monday. ”Our help will consist essentially of logistic support and providing intelligence,” a spokesperson said.

Parisians opted for a mass smooch, while South Africans took a shot at the longest bra chain and a New Zealander risked his neck careening downhill in a giant balloon in a global assault on Thursday on bizarre world records. Individuals and groups happily put their bodies and self-respect on the line for the possibility of a footnote in Guinness World Records.

Individual Rugby World Cup tickets will be put up for sale on the internet on Thursday, with 10 months to go before the competition gets under way. A total of 550 000 tickets will be available to the general public from 8am GMT on websites including Rugbyworldcup.com and from other ticket outlets.

Iraq war protagonists the United States and Britain led the applause on Sunday after justice was meted out to Saddam Hussein, but other nations and groups were wary that he now faces the hangman’s noose. The White House welcomed the guilty verdict as proof of the viability of Iraq’s fledgling government.