France

by Nadege Puljak | May 25, 2012 President Francois Hollande is on his first visit to Afghanistan since taking office earlier this month President Francois Hollande on Friday defended France's imminent exit from Afghanistan, saying 2,000 combat troops will leave in a coordinated withdrawal this year but vowing not to abandon the country. Hollande met French soldiers deployed in the volatile province of Kapisa

Lisa Bryant May 25, 2012 French President Francois Hollande has defended his plan to withdraw combat troops from Afghanistan by the year's end, during a surprise visit to the restive country Friday. During his brief visit to Afghanistan, President Francois Hollande met with his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, and French forces in the country's restive Kapisa province - many of whom will be heading home this year.

By SAPA REUTERS (File image) Iran's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh. Photo: REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger The UN atomic watchdog said Friday that it has detected in Iran traces of higher-grade uranium than Tehran had said it was enriching, but that the Iranians had said it may be down to a technical error. "The results of analysis of environmental samples ...

Friday, May 25, 2012 - 08:53 PM Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi appears to be angling for the role of Italian president Б─" with enhanced powers. Mr Berlusconi, who has been ItalyБ─(tm)s prime minister three times, said his party will propose a constitutional amendment to allow Italians to directly elect presidents, as France does. Currently, the Italian presidency is mostly a ceremonial post, and elected

Photo: Can Djokovic add the French Open title to his trophy cabinet? (Alex Livesey: Getty Images) Novak Djokovic's bid to become the first man in 43 years to hold all four grand slam titles at the same time hit its first hurdle on Friday when Roger Federer became a potential French Open semi-final opponent. World number one Djokovic, three times a semi-finalist in Paris, is the top seed at the French Open with Federer, the 2009 champion, seeded three and