Paris designers send out raw and sexy looks in abbreviated leather, dazzling rhinestones

PARIS — Galdiatrixes in minidresses that looked like they were made from the skins of freshly vanquished crocodiles and models that scintillated like human disco balls had the run of Paris’ catwalks on Thursday as the City of Light’s spring-summer 2010 collections moved into day two.

ESA’s satellite sends data for development of best gravity map ever

PARIS - Reports indicate that the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) GOCE (Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer) has started sending data that will lead to the development of the best gravity map ever, providing a better understanding of Earth’s gravity.

US, EU still working sanctions plan for Iran for pursuing nuke enhancement

PARIS/BERLIN - Plans are still being worked out by the United States and its European on how to punish Iran if nuclear program-related talks that begin on Thursday are not successful.

Family of Americans killed in Air France crash claim in lawsuit that plane had defective parts

HOUSTON — The families of two Americans killed in the crash of an Air France flight off the coast of South America in June filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming the airline and the plane’s various manufacturers knew the aircraft had defective parts that could have caused the accident.

Writer Umberto Eco is the Louvre’s new guest curator

PARIS — The Louvre Museum has invited Italian writer Umberto Eco to be a guest curator in coming months.

Official: Prosecutors ask court to drop corruption case against Chirac, others

PARIS — The Paris prosecutor’s office has asked a court to drop a case against former President Jacques Chirac and others accused in an alleged corruption scandal dating back to his 1977-1995 tenure as Paris mayor, a judicial official said Tuesday.

France Telecom worker kills himself, becoming latest in a spate of suicides at phone giant

PARIS — Officials say a France Telecom employee has killed himself, becoming the giant phone company’s 24th worker to commit suicide in 18 months.

French military: 3 French soldiers killed in storm in Afghanistan

PARIS — Officials in France say three French soldiers have been killed in a violent storm in northeastern Afghanistan.

3 French soldiers killed in Afghan storm; another dies in road accident

PARIS — Three French soldiers were killed Sunday in a violent storm in northeastern Afghanistan, while another was killed when an armored vehicle fell into a ravine, French officials said.

Soon, clothes that can send and receive messages through ‘textile antennas’

PARIS - Thanks to the efforts of a Finnish company supported by ESA (European Space Agency), clothes that can send and receive messages would soon turn out to be a reality, through the use of textile antennas.

Polanski to fight extradition to US (Second Lead)

PARIS - Film director Roman Polanski, jailed in Switzerland on an American arrest warrant, will fight extradition to the United States, his French attorney said Monday.

Afghan minister survives attack, 6 NATO soldiers killed

KABUL - An Afghan cabinet minister survived a suicide attack in Herat province Sunday, but four civilians were killed and 17 people were injured, officials said.

FBI investigates allegations American youth was Somali suicide bomber

NAIROBI, Kenya — FBI agents are investigating whether an American teenager detonated one of two stolen U.N. vehicles packed with explosives at a peacekeepers base in Somalia, killing 21 people last week.

French prosecutor studying toxic algae complaints after horse’s death on beach

PARIS — The prosecutor’s office is studying up to 300 complaints linked to noxious green algae after the death of a horse this summer on a beach in Brittany, a judicial official said Friday.

Questions about France’s role in Holocaust at center of training for defense recruits

PARIS — The French official choked on the words he read to a room of Defense Ministry recruits and swallowed back tears as he tried to kick off an unusual program aimed at teaching about the Holocaust.

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone supports Jean Todt as replacement for FIA president Mosley

PARIS — Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone is supporting Jean Todt to replace Max Mosley as president of motor racing’s governing body.

France out of recession, official figures show

PARIS - France emerged from recession in the second quarter of 2009 as its GDP rose by 0.3 percent, the government’s statistics office INSEE announced Friday.

2 French military jets crash into the sea during training mission, 1 pilot missing

PARIS — Officials say two French military fighter jets have crashed into the Mediterranean Sea during a training mission and that one pilot is missing.

Egyptian culture minister blames ‘world’s Jews’ for blocking his selection as UNESCO chief

CAIRO — Egypt’s culture minister on Wednesday blamed a conspiracy “cooked up in New York” by the world’s Jews for keeping him from becoming the next head of the U.N.’s agency for culture and education.

Minister: minors detained in roundup of illegal immigrants at French camp won’t be expelled

PARIS — France’s immigration minister said Wednesday that minors detained in a roundup of illegal immigrants in the English Channel port of Calais would not be expelled from France.

France asks for report on absenteeism among air traffic controllers

PARIS — France’s transport minister asked civil aviation authorities Wednesday to look into a report of widespread absenteeism among the country’s air traffic controllers.

Irina Bokova to be first woman Unesco director-general

PARIS - Bulgarian diplomat Irina Bokova was late Tuesday elected as the first-ever woman Unesco director-general, diplomatic sources said.

Bulgarian diplomat defeats controversial Egyptian in race to lead UNESCO

PARIS — A Bulgarian diplomat on Tuesday became the first woman to lead the U.N.’s agency for culture and education, beating out a controversial Egyptian candidate whose one-time threat to burn Israeli books had galvanized opposition.

Fraud allegations rise as last 2 candidates face off in UNESCO leadership race

PARIS — The U.N.’s cultural agency braced for an unusually suspenseful final round of voting to select its new chief — a race so tight it may come down to a random drawing between a controversial Egyptian and his low-profile Bulgarian rival.

Paris catacombs closed to public due to vandalism

PARIS — Paris’ underground bone collection, the catacombs, has been closed to the public indefinitely after being vandalized.

Bulgarian and controversial Egyptian are neck-and-neck in UNESCO race

PARIS — An Egyptian culture minister who once threatened to burn Israeli books will face off against a career diplomat from Bulgaria in the race to lead the U.N.’s agency for learning and culture.

International travelers get introduced to Paris life a la francaise thanks to a new network

PARIS — A cure for Parisians’ brusque, haughty reputation may be at hand. Take a Web site, add a hint of anise-based pastis liqueur, a game of petanque and international travelers ready to mingle.

Workers at French heater factory pose nude in calendar in bid to save their jobs

PARIS — Workers at a struggling heater factory in northwest France are taking it all off in a bid to save their jobs: They posed nude for a calendar to call attention to their plight.

Renault handed 2-year suspended ban from F1 in crash scandal; Briatore banned

PARIS — Renault has escaped severe punishment for ordering former driver Nelson Piquet Jr. to deliberately crash, receiving only a suspended two-year ban from Formula One’s governing body.

French ex-prime minister Villepin on trial over alleged smear campaign targeting Sarkozy

PARIS — Former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin lashed out at French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday at the start of a slander trial involving alleged dirty tricks by top politicians and businessmen.