Paris  - The world will begin to emerge from the economic crisis in the first quarter of 2010, and the recovery will start in the US housing market, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was quoted Monday as saying.

"The crisis began in the United States, in the housing sector. The recovery will announce itself first in the United States. Therefore we must keep an eye on American real estate prices. The end of the fall in prices will be an important sign," Strauss-Kahn told the daily Le Figaro.

Paris  - Vicent Kipruto of Kenya became the ninth-fastest man in marathon history on Sunday when he won the Paris Marathon.

Kipruto clocked a track record 2 hours 5 minutes 47 seconds as he held off Ethiopian Bazu Worka (2:06:15) and Kenya's David Kiyeng (2:06:26) in the French capital.

Only eight men led by Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie (2:03:59 in Berlin 2008) have been faster than Kipruto over the classic distance of 42.195 kilometres.

Paris  - Never-shy John McEnroe has seized the moment of Roger Federer's Miami misery, producing an offer of coaching help in French media.

The 50-year-old legend and noted self-promoter told the Le Journal du Dimanche weekly that he would be available for coaching or other duties - on a limited basis, naturally.

"I'd like to help Roger," said Mac, adding: "He needs to change his strategy if he wants to beat (Rafael) Nadal - and I have an idea about that.

Paris, April 4 : A meticulous analysis of data has allowed astronomers to investigate the initial phases of a giant stellar explosion, which led to the ejection of matter at velocities close to the speed of light.

On 19 December 2004, the blast from an exploding star arrived at Earth.

ESA's (European Space Agency's) Integral satellite, an orbiting gamma-ray observatory, recorded the entire event, providing information for what may prove to be one of the most important gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) seen in recent years.

Ace Bollywood beauty Kareena Kapoor always finds a way of being in the limelight.

The hot and dazzling actress is now ready to wear a dress worth Rs 8 lac for a song in her forthcoming movie ‘Kambakkht Ishq’.

According to rumor mills, the producer of the film Sajid Nadiadwala had ordered the special dress for the ‘Jab We Met’ actress from Paris.

Paris - US President Barack Obama and his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, were to meet in the French city of Strasbourg on Friday for their first head-to-head meeting since Obama's election to the White House.

The meeting was to take place at lunchtime, ahead of a NATO summit in Strasbourg and in the German cities of Kehl and Baden-Baden.