Case against IMF chief 'near collapse'

Attorneys for Dominique Strauss-Kahn will ask a court to reduce the conditions of his bail after New York City prosecutors raised serious concerns about the hotel chambermaid who accused the former International Monetary Fund managing director of sexual assault, according to a person familiar with the case.Strauss-Kahn may be freed from house arrest Friday after attorneys for both sides requested an unexpected late-morning hearing in State Supreme Court. Prosecutors are expected to tell the court that they have found information that raises questions...

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A BRITISH hiker has found the bodies of six mountaineers who died in the French Alps.

The hiker found the bodies near the Neige Cordier summit at an altitude of 8,850 feet."The victims were climbing roped together in two groups. It looks like there was a slide of snow and stones," the local mayor, Xavier Cret, said.The climbers appear to have died while making an ascent in good weather on Saturday, according to police. The group was apparently headed for a point at 11,857 feet in the Massif des Ecri...

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Suspected Irish serial killer flees to France

Sex beast Larry Murphy – linked with the disappearance of New Yorker Annie McCarrick 18 years ago – has fled Ireland for a second time.The 46-year-old was caught on camera by the Irish News of the World as he escaped to France last Thursday.He had been forced to return to Ireland from Spain in May after losing his passport but told police he would leave the country again as soon as the paperwork was completed.The convicted rapist had spent recent weeks in a number of hotels and guesthouses after complaining that media attention made it impossible...

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France bans UK garden firm's seeds in E.coli scare

At least two people suffering from E.coli in the French city of Bordeaux have the strain that caused scores of deaths in Germany, French authorities said, and they halted sales of vegetable seeds from a British gardening firm.The firm, Thompson & Morgan, based in the eastern British town of Ipswich, said on Saturday it did not believe its seeds were the cause of the outbreak. A British member of the European parliament said the French authorities should be careful not to damage businesses by hastily assigning blame.French authorities say six...

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BRITISH officials warned against eating uncooked sprouts after French authorities linked seeds to an E coli outbreak.

France halted the sale of fenugreek, mustard and arugula sprout seeds from British mail order seed and plant company Thompson and Morgan after eight people were hospitalised following an E coli outbreak.French investigators found that two of them were sickened after consuming sprouts from the three seed types in the southwestern town of Begles, a suburb of Bordeaux.Some of those affected were infected by the same strain of E coli that has killed 44 people - all but one in Germany - and sickened more than 3700 in recent weeks.In a statement, Thompson...

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British pilot and his wife died when their light aircraft crashed near the French Riviera

A British pilot and his wife died when their light aircraft crashed near the French Riviera. James and Jacqueline Balmer, from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, set off from Italy and were making their way towards Troyes, 100 miles south-east of Paris.The wreckage of their aircraft was discovered yesterday on Mont Agel, between the port of Menton and the principality of Monaco. The bodies of Mr Balmer, 68, and his wife, 54, were taken to the nearby city of N...

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7 Children Infected With E. Coli in France

French health authorities say seven children have been hospitalized with E. coli infections in northern France, five of them after eating defrosted beef burgers.The officials said Thursday the strain of E. coli that infected the children is not linked to a deadly outbreak of bacteria in Germany that has killed at least 39 people and infected more than 3,300 others in recent weeks. The seven children, the youngest of them 20 months old, come from towns in France's Pas de Calais region.  They were hospitalized on Wednesday and Thursday with...

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An insider’s guide to navigating the host of the legendary Cannes film festival and why this glitzy French enclave has much more to offer than films.

An insider’s guide to navigating the host of the legendary festival and why this glitzy French enclave has much more to offer than films.For two weeks in May, the picturesque, seaside resort of Cannes is transformed into the core of the international film industry and a debauched haven for the jet set looking to hobnob with moguls and movie stars. Hundreds of thousands descend upon the palm-tree lined Boulevard la Croisette to take part, or at least get a taste of, the Festival de Cannes. Thousands of films are screened (some brilliant, mostly...

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Britons will have to pay a new tax on their French holiday homes in a shock move,Those on the Riviera are likely to rocket, forcing owners to sell up because the property would become too expensive to run.

Britons will have to pay a new tax on their French holiday homes in a shock move by President Sarkozy, it was announced today.The tax only applies to foreigners with second homes that are unoccupied all year whether the property is owned personally, through a company or a trust.Sarkozy is introducing it to help raise revenues and improve his poll ratings. The new charge was approved after a marathon debate in the National Assembly which ended as dawn broke.But France's newly-affluent will pay less after it was agreed that no-one should be taxed...

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Robbie Cammack, a 19-year-old medical student from Moray in Scotland, has died after falling 1,300ft while climbing the Aiguille du Midi peak near Mont Blanc in the French Alps.

The University of Edinburgh student, who set out for the climb with his partner last Tuesday, became lost and called mountain rescue on Wednesday.However, a rescue helicopter was unable to attend due to inclement weather and the 24-hour delay meant only his climbing partner was rescued.Mr Cammack's body was recovered by rescue teams on Friday morning, but he was pronounced dead at the scene having suffered fatal injuries from a fall of more than 400m, according to reports.Speaking about the tragedy, the climber's father Adrian told the Press and...

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French banks back off lending to overseas property buyers

French lenders are reducing their appetite for lending to overseas borrowers looking to buy property in France amid rumours that some have already reached their lending targets for 2011.  Lenders are increasingly becoming more risk averse and are changing their lending criteria to reduce the risks inherent in their mortgage lending.French banks ‘reluctant to lend to international investors’Recent comments from French mortgage specialists Athena Mortgages suggest that French banks are increasingly making it more difficult to agree ‘interest...

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The hotel maid who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of trying to rape her has said she is prepared to face him in court

The hotel maid who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of trying to rape her has said she is prepared to face him in court - after he vowed to fight to clear his name.The former head of the IMF arrived at a hearing in Manhattan accompanied by his wife, Anne Sinclair, to heckling from a group of chambermaids who shouted "Shame on you" as he walked into the building.The 62-year-old was one of the most influential people in the global economy and was widely considered to be a leading contender for the French presidency until his shocking arrest three weeks...

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French banks more reluctant to offer property loans to overseas buyers

There has been a dip in the desire of French banks to lend to international investors buying property and it is rumoured that some have already reached their targets for residential lending for the year, indicating a lack of liquidity and increase in risk aversion.French loan specialists Athena Mortgages points out that there also seems to be behind a reduction in the available durations for interest only mortgages and an increase in the net assets required for a pure interest only loan from 120% of net assets to 150%.‘If we widen the picture we...

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French former minister went to Morocco for an orgy with "little boys", according to an ex-minister, who claims the country's strict privacy laws led to a cover-up.

Luc Ferry, a French philosopher who was in government from 2002 to 2004, told a TV chat show that an unnamed minister had been "caught" taking part in "an orgy with little boys" in the tourist town of Marrakesh."All of us here probably all know who I'm talking about," he told Le Grand Journal on channel Canal Plus on Monday night. Asked if he had any proof, he said: "Of course not. But I have testimony from cabinet members at the highest level, state authorities at the highest level."He said he received the information from top government sources,...

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