When it comes to the World Cup Jabulani football, perfect may not be good enough, according to scientists who have analysed the controversial ball.
Experts puzzling over its allegedly erratic flight — which has unnerved more than one goalkeeper in South Africa — have concluded that the Jabulani may simply be too round to fly straight.

Former France captain Thierry Henry said on Friday he felt sidelined after playing only a cameo role in his country’s disastrous World Cup campaign, but insisted the squad were right to show support for Nicolas Anelka. “I felt sidelined. People didn’t speak to me as they used to,” Henry told Canal Plus television in his first interview since France crashed out following a miserable tournament.

Conditions suitable for life — most notably the presence of water — may once have existed all over Mars, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Friday.

France Telecom is set to buy a stake in Le Monde, the chief executive said in an interview on Sunday, raising the prospect that the state will have indirect ownership in France’s newspaper of record.

France’s loss to Mexico unleashed a storm of outrage in France as media, former France internationals and politicians on both sides of the ideological divide heaped criticism on the team and coach Raymond Domenech.

France’s richest woman, Liliane Bettencourt, filed a police complaint against her daughter on Friday over the release of tapes reportedly revealing that the L’Oreal heiress conspired to evade taxes.

A sculpture by Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani has fetched $52.6 million at a Paris sale, an auction record for the artist and the highest price paid for a work of art sold in France.

Footballers are known for their superstitions — be it putting one sock on before the other, last out onto the pitch (France’s William Gallas) or kissing your goalkeeper’s bald head — the French again in the shape of Laurent Blanc and Fabien Barthez.

A huge, potentially life-giving sea likely covered more than a third of Mars some 3.5 billion years ago, according to a study released on Sunday.

New research has found Jews share a genetic bond with Cypriots and Druze and confirms the Jewish diaspora maintained a strong DNA continuity despite its long separation from West Asia, scientists said