Paris - Thomas Leysen couldn't contain his happiness and wanted to tell everyone about the excellent purchase he had just made at the Paris auction of the art collection of the late French fashion legend Yves Saint Laurent and his longtime partner.

"I paid an acceptable price," Leysen said, with a sly smile. "I was even prepared to go a little higher."

Leysen, a businessman in his forties from the Belgian city of Antwerp, had just made the high bid of 100,000 euros (128,600 dollars) for an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque artist Cornelis de Vos.

Brussels - The European Commission was Wednesday expected to recommend the creation of a pan-European financial watchdog and issue guidelines on how to dispose of toxic assets held by European banks.

The call for a European-wide supervisory body is contained in a report by Jacques de Larosiere, a former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and of the French central bank.

De Larosiere was asked by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to provide ways of preventing a repeat of the current financial crisis at a time in which banks have become increasingly international.

Wellington - Air New Zealand criticized Wednesday the handling of a preliminary report by French investigators into a crash of one of its Airbus planes in the Mediterranean that blamed crew error.

New Zealand investigators also said a low-altitude stall which happened before the A320 plane crashed into the sea off Perpignan in southern France could not happen under normal flying operations.

The two German pilots and five New Zealanders performing in-flight checks before returning the plane to Air New Zealand at the end of a lease agreement with XL Airways died instantly.

London, Feb 25: In a bid to take his mind off the day job, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has taken up stamp collecting.

Giving a sneak peak into the 54-year-old''s private life, it was revealed fellow heads of state including the Queen have helped Sarko fill his albums.

Sarkozy even sponsors the Elysee Philatelist Club, named after the Paris palace where he lives with wife Carla Bruni - who says she is delighted he has given up "less appropriate" pastimes, including karaoke singing, sources have revealed.

Paris - The auction of the late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent's art collection achieved a record price for a piece of 20th-century furniture when an Art Deco Eileen Gray armchair fetched 21.9 million euros (27.9 million dollars).

The bid on the brown leather chair by an anonymous collector Tuesday night in Paris was also the second-highest price ever paid at action for a piece of furniture, Christie's auction house said.

The chair by the Irish designer, considered one of the most important designers of the 20th century, was made between 1917 and 1919 and features dragon heads sculpted onto its wooden arms.

Its sale price substantially overstepped Christie's pre-auction estimate of 2 million to 3 million euros.

Paris  - Prior to the official European sales start of the Peugeot 308 CC in March, the French car maker is offering a special open-air edition limited to 100 units in black metallic and exclusive