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.

Rising fertility rates, immigration push Britain’s population over 61 million for 1st time

LONDON — Britain’s population took its biggest jump in almost half a century last year, as a baby boom made new births rather than immigration the main contributor to growth for the first time in a decade.

Aircraft-satellite combo to improve heat wave forecasts in Athens

PARIS - Scientists, using aircraft and satellites, have been collecting data amid the ancient ruins in the Greek capital of Athens, in order to improve ‘urban heat island’ forecasts to make life in the city easier during heat waves.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

ESA investigates new methods of mapping tropical forests from space

PARIS - The European Space agency (ESA) is investigating new methods of mapping tropical forests from space.

French family sues Air France over plane crash investigation

PARIS — A lawyer says the family of a French flight attendant who perished in an Air France plane crash on June 1 over the Atlantic Ocean is suing the airline to force it to release information on what caused the tragedy.

Kidnapped French tourist freed in Pakistan

PARIS - A French tourist who had been kidnapped in May in southern Pakistan was freed, authorities here said Friday.

Muslims in France to observe Ramadan fast from Saturday

PARIS - The Muslims in France will observe the holy month of Ramadan from Saturday, WAM news agency reported Friday citing the French Council of the Muslim Faith.

Combating climate change creates new kind of crime: Carbon crooks can cash in on credit trade

AMSTERDAM — Customs agents this week arrested nine people in the London area suspected of a multimillion dollar fraud in trading carbon permits, bringing attention to a rich new field for crime sprung from the fight against climate change.

French investigators halt underwater search in Atlantic for black boxes of Flight 447

PARIS — French investigators said Thursday they have abandoned a second round of search efforts for the black box flight recorders from Air France Flight 447, believed to be resting in the depths of the Atlantic.

Underwater robots reach site of Yemen plane’s crash in Indian Ocean nation of Comoros

PARIS — France says a ship carrying an underwater robot has arrived at the Indian Ocean nation of Comoros to retrieve the flight recorders from the Yemenia Airways plane crash.

Churchill statue in Paris desecrated

PARIS - French anti-war campaigners have desecrated a statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on the anniversary of Paris’s liberation from Nazi rule.
The red paint attack on the bronze hands of the 250, 000 pound statue took place at night, The Telegraph reports.

Heat wave drives French to cool off in fountains and cold showers

PARIS — French citizens and tourists are diving into fountains and taking cold showers to try to cope with a heat wave hitting France during its traditional vacation season.

3 suspected Basque militants detained in France

PARIS — Police detained three suspected members of Basque separatist group ETA in a French Alps ski resort and seized material for making explosives, officials said, after a series of bombings claimed by the group on the Spanish island of Mallorca.

French government wants to charge tourists who need to be rescued from dangerous countries

PARIS — French tourists heading to risky foreign destinations could be asked to foot the bill if the French government comes to their rescue.

French scholar’s father hopes she returns home in weeks, after release on bail from Iran jail

PARIS — The father of a French academic on trial in Iran said Monday he hopes she can come home within weeks as the government continued efforts to secure her unconditional release.

Interpol issues arrest warrants against 25 Pakistanis

PARIS - Interpol on the request of Pakistan Government has issued arrest warrants of 25 Pakistanis involved in smuggling, terrorism, murder and other heinous crimes.

Sarkozy: French academic freed from Iranian prison but charges against her in place

PARIS — The French academic who is part of a mass trial in Iran has been freed from prison on bail and turned over to the French embassy in good health, French leaders said Sunday, urging that charges against her be dropped.