Fancy travelling from Paris to Tokyo in two and a half hours? Do you yearn for the Concorde days?

The G8 world powers threw their weight behind the Arab Spring on Friday, intensifying the pressure on Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi and pledging billions for fledgling democracies.

The West's driv

Former military chief Ratko Mladic appeared in court Thursday, hours after his arrest in Serbia ended a 16-year manhunt for the general accused of masterminding the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

Europe's

The leaders of the G8 powers were to tell Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi on Friday that he has lost all legitimacy and must step down, according to a draft version of their summit statement.

The United States and France are united in their resolve to finish the job in Libya, US President Barack Obama said after talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy at the G8 Summit on Friday.

The Cannes film festival wraps on Sunday with no clear favourite to win the Palme d’Or, after weathering a furore over Danish contender Lars von Trier’s off-colour remarks about Hitler.

Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza's preparations for the French Open were hurt badly as she suffered first round defeats in both singles and doubles events of a WTA tournament.

In the singles on Tuesday,

The manager of a French distillery in the renowned Burgundy wine-making district was sent a sobering phone bill for 716,414,273 euros (1.02 billion dollars).

"It's so enormous when you see it written

Two vegans who fed their 11-month-old daughter only mother's milk went on trial in northern France on Tuesday charged with neglect after their baby died suffering from vitamin deficiency.

Sergine and

American party girl Paris Hilton was briefly held by the police on the French island of Corsica after being caught with cannabis in her handbag, according to police sources. Hilton was detained after arriving at the airport in Figari on a private jet from Paris on Friday.