US youth fare poorly in OECD survey of childhood welfare, despite above-average spending

PARIS — American youths suffer among the industrialized world’s worst rates of infant mortality, teenage pregnancy and child poverty, even though the United States spends more per child than better-performing countries such as Switzerland, Japan and the Netherlands, a new survey indicates.

Starbucks to take control of French operations, turn it into a company-run business

NEW YORK — Starbucks Coffee Co. said Tuesday that it is taking full control of its French operations and turning it into a company-run business.

Vivendi net profit slips 3 pct in first half to euro1.19 bln on lower music, telecoms earnings

PARIS — Vivendi SA said Tuesday its net profit slipped 3 percent in the first half as the economic slowdown hit earnings at its core music and mobile telecommunications businesses.

US fares poorly in OECD survey of childhood welfare, despite above-average spending

PARIS — America has some of the industrial world’s worst rates of infant mortality, teenage pregnancy and child poverty, even though it spends more per child than better-performing countries such as Switzerland, Japan and the Netherlands, a new survey indicates.

Germany, France reinforce demand that Iran cooperate on nuclear issue or face more sanctions

BERLIN — Germany and France on Monday reinforced a call for Iran to respond to concerns about its nuclear program in September or face tougher sanctions, and said they wanted wide international agreement on those measures.

Air France crash investigators need money for larger search of Atlantic Ocean site

PARIS — Investigators looking for the Air France plane that disappeared into the Atlantic Ocean in June still cannot explain the crash and need more money and resources to search for the aircraft’s data recorders, the man leading the probe said Monday.

Air France crash probe could take year and a half; inquiry seeking funds for next stage

PARIS — The director of the French agency investigating the crash of Air France Flight 447 says the probe could take a year and a half.

Report: France gets list of 3,000 possible tax evaders from Switzerland

GENEVA — France has received a list of 3,000 French taxpayers with bank accounts in Switzerland as part of a double taxation agreement signed between the two countries last week, according to a report in a French newspaper Sunday.

France admits to green tides of toxic algae after death of thoroughbred on Brittany beach

SAINT-MICHEL-EN-GREVE, France — It should have been a perfect day for Vincent Petit, finishing up an afternoon gallop on a wide expanse of beach along a pastel-colored bay. Instead, he and his mount were sucked into a hole of noxious black sludge.

French official questions Apple representative about reports of iPhone ‘explosions’

PARIS — Apple sought to reassure the French government on Friday that several recent cases of iPhones cracking and allegedly shattering were not caused by product defects, but were the result of improper handling by users.

Hermes profit falls 7 percent in 1st half but still plans more store openings

PARIS — Luxury goods maker Hermes International on Friday reported a 7 percent drop in net profit in the first half of the year but said it still plans to open or renovate several stores in the second half.

Comoros says flight data recorder from crashed Yemenia flight is found

MORONI, Comoros — An international team on Friday retrieved a slightly damaged flight data recorder from a Yemenia Airways flight that crashed in the Indian Ocean on June 30, killing 152 people, Comoros-based officials said.

Comoros says flight data recorder from crashed Yemenia flight located, recovery under way

PARIS — The Comoros investigation team says the flight data recorder from the Yemenia Airways plane that crashed June 30 off the Comoros Islands has been located and recovery operations have started.

Carrefour books $82.75 million first-half net loss, hit by one-off charges and morose economy

PARIS — Carrefour SA, the world’s second-largest retailer, said Friday it made a euro58 million ($82.75 million) loss in the first half, hit by a one-off charge writing down the value of Italian assets and as recession-shy shoppers cut back on spending.

Brazilian relatives of Air France crash victims request criminal investigation

SAO PAULO — Relatives of Brazilian passengers who perished on an Air France jetliner that crashed over the Atlantic Ocean are demanding a criminal investigation.

Natixis posts Q2 loss; sees return to profitability with parent to guarantee toxic assets

PARIS — French bank Natixis said its parent company has agreed to guarantee euro35 billion ($50 billion) of its toxic assets, a move it expects will help it return to profitability in the second half after reporting Wednesday its fifth consecutive quarterly loss.

French agent kidnapped in Somalia escapes sleeping captors, walks 5 hours to safety

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A French security agent kidnapped by insurgents in Somalia last month said he escaped Wednesday while his captors slept, then walked five hours through one of the most dangerous cities in the world to safety at the country’s presidential palace.

Sarkozy criticizes Iran’s leaders and floats new sanctions, stands firm against al-Qaida

PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy criticized Iranian leaders for their handling of contested elections and their nuclear program, and pleaded for a new push for peace in the Middle East in a sweeping diplomatic strategy speech Wednesday.

Sarkozy calls for worldwide bonus rules, calls current world governance systems ’stupid’

PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy is urging other countries to follow France’s example and limit bonuses handed out to bank traders to avert the kind of risk-taking blamed for fueling the financial crisis.

French security agent kidnapped in Somalia last month escapes, officials say

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A French security agent kidnapped by insurgents in Somalia last month said he escaped Wednesday while his captors slept, then walked five hours through one of the most dangerous cities in the world to safety at the country’s presidential palace.

Paris looks to Americans to boost tourism amid global financial crisis

PARIS — Paris is counting on American tourists — and a new law allowing more stores to open on Sundays — to boost tourism revenues pinched by the global financial downturn.

Syria, Iran likely to star when Sarkozy lays out foreign policy goals to French diplomats

PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy will lay out his diplomatic strategies for Iran, Syria and other key areas, in a speech to France’s ambassadors Wednesday overshadowed by the uncertain plight of two Frenchwomen charged in Iran with fomenting unrest.

Resistance veterans, Sarkozy celebrate 65th anniversary of liberation of Paris from Nazis

PARIS — Veterans of the French Resistance have joined President Nicolas Sarkozy in a ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Paris from the Nazi occupation.

3 in French tour group still in hospital after deadly Death Valley van crash

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — Two French teenagers and their driver remained hospitalized Monday after a weekend crash that claimed two lives when the driver fell asleep on a tour through the Mojave Desert, officials said. One youth was in a coma.

Relics of once-mighty Maginot Line dot France’s border with Germany, Italy

FORT DU HACKENBERG, France — In the 1930s the Maginot Line was viewed as a military marvel, an impregnable network of underground fortifications stretching along France’s border with Germany — from Belgium to Switzerland — designed to stop the Nazi onslaught and prevent a repeat of the bloody trench warfare of World War I.

Busted by an SMS: Cell phone text messages now okay as divorce evidence in France

PARIS — Unfaithful spouses in France beware: Passionate text messages sent to mistresses and lovers can now be used as evidence against you in a divorce.

California authorities say 2 French teens killed, 5 others injured; sleepy van driver blamed

FURNACE CREEK, Calif. — Two French teenagers were killed and five other French nationals were injured when the driver of their van fell asleep, causing the vehicle to veer off the road and roll over, the California Highway Patrol said Sunday.

2 French teens on vacation killed, 4 injured in Las Vegas bus crash

PARIS — France’s Foreign Ministry says two French teenagers have been killed in an auto accident in the Las Vegas area.

Paris’ Picasso Museum shutting down for 2-year renovation, spiriting away masterpieces

PARIS — Paris’ Picasso Museum is closing its doors for renovations, spiriting away its masterpieces under high security to government warehouses for more than two years while seeking to expand the much-visited but cramped site.

Frenchman released 7 years after shooting at then-President Chirac in Bastille Day attack

PARIS — A French far-right activist has been released from prison seven years after attempting to assassinate then-President Jacques Chirac in a Bastille Day attack, a judicial official said Saturday.