Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday the government had drawn up a plan that earmarks 1.3 billion euros (1.7 billion dollars) to aid jobless under the age of 26.

In a speech in the town of Jouy-le-Moutier, north of Paris, Sarkozy said his plan would lead to the recruitment of 320,000 apprentices by June 2010.

Barcelona - Russian Nikolay Davydenko checked in for another successful work day on the clay Friday while Rafael Nadal took advantage of a quarter-final walkover as the pair prepared for a Saturday semi-final clash at the Barcelona Open.

Top-seeded world number one Nadal put in some practise time after learning the day before that seventh-seeded Argentine opponent David Nalbandian would not be fronting up for their match due to hip problems which intensified during the previous round.

Mumbai, Apr 24: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday climbed to a six-month high at 11,329.05.

The Sensex, which touched the high level of 11,362.88 during the day, ended with a gain of 194.06 points at 11,329.05.

The National Stock Exchange’s Nifty also rose by 57.05 points to 3,480.75.

Daily trading on the BSE increased to 5,723 crore rupees from 4,743 crore rupees in the previous session.

Ahmedabad, April 24: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Shourie on Friday said that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi should become the Prime Minister after party’s prime ministerial candidate Lal Krishna Advani.

“In my personal opinion, the next Prime Minister should also be elected from Gujarat after Advani becomes the Prime Minister after ongoing general elections,” Shourie told a press conference here.

Arun Shourie further said that Gujarat has made rapid development under Modi’s leadership, which made him the best candidate for PM’s post.

Sakhir, Bahrain - Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali Friday backed record Formula One champion Michael Schumacher as "part of our team" following criticism of the German's advisory role.

Schumacher, who retired in 2006 after winning seven championship titles, had come under fire from former world champion Niki Lauda and others for the team's failed strategies in the opening two races of the season.

Schumacher did not attend last week's Chinese Grand Prix when Ferrari was again out of the points, and was not planning to be at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.

Ahmedabad, Apr 24: Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Ashok Singhal on Friday said his organisation would support the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win the ongoing general elections.

“The BJP is the only party which supports issues of Hindu and is concerned about terrorism, conversion and other issues. We will work to see the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government is defeated and a new government led by BJP is voted to power in the Lok Sabha polls,” Singhal told reporters here.