France loses AAA credit rating

French finance minister François Baroin has confirmed that the ratings agency Standard and Poor’s intends to strip France of its AAA credit rating. (photo, from lemonde.fr)

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Britain isolated as all EU countries reach fiscal pact

The UK is the only EU member state which refused to back a tax and budget pact – known as a “fiscal compact” – aimed at tackling the eurozone debt crisis.

UK prime minister David Cameron (photo, from guardian.co.uk) said he had to protect key British interests, including its financial markets.

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Strauss-Kahn recognises ‘moral error’ on French TV

On Sunday evening ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn (photo, from nouvelobs.com) apologised to his country on TV for what he described as a “moral error”. On 14 May he was arrested in New York and accused of attempted rape on a hotel maid.

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Judge drops sexual assault charges against Strauss-Kahn

The sexual assault case against former IMF director Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been dismissed on Tuesday by a New York judge Michael Obus. (photo, from leparisien.fr)

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Christine Lagarde named new IMF chief

Christine Lagarde (photo, from lemonde.fr), the French finance minister, will become the first woman to head the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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IMF chief charged over alleged sexual assault

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn (photo, from cnn.com), was taken off an Air France plane at JFK airport on Saturday minutes before if left for Paris and has been charged by New York police over an alleged sex attack on a hotel maid.

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Schengen zone closed for Romania and Bulgaria

Bulgaria and Romania will be blocked from joining the Europe’s passport-free travel zone, following French and German interior minister declared it “premature” to let them join Schengen in March 2011. (photo, from bbcimg.co.uk)

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French library uncovers Leonardo da Vinci coded manuscript

In the French city of Nantes, a coded manuscript (photo, from bbcimg.co.uk) by Leonardo da Vinci has been discovered in a public library, after a journalist came across a reference to it in a Leonardo biography, the library said.

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Picasso’s unknown works revealed

In southern France, a retired electrician who worked for Pablo Picasso (photo, from bbcimg.co.uk) says he has 271 of previously unknown works by the artist.

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US issues travel alert

In light of intelligence pointing to possible attacks by al-Qaeda in Europe (map, from bbcimg.co.uk), the US government has warned its citizens in an official travel advisory to be vigilant when travelling there.

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