Washington, Dec 18 : ''The Queen of Soul'' Aretha Franklin will be among the lucky artists who will perform at President-elect Barack Obama''s inauguration ceremony on January 20 in Washington DC.

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies has announced the program for Obama''s swearing-in ceremony, reports CBS News.

And the event will see a number of musical greats and famous names performing on stage, which include Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma other than Franklin.

Paris - A court in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Thursday ruled that a company on the island of La Reunion must pay French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
40,000 euros (58,400 dollars) in damages for having used her nude photo on a line of shopping bags, French media reported.

The court found that the Pardon company had used Bruni-Sarkozy's image without authorization and had caused her "moral and patrimonial damage," the online edition of the daily Le Monde reported.

The company is also prohibited from selling or otherwise distributing the bag and must pay 3,000 euros in court fees.

New Delhi, Dec 18 : Defence Minister AK Antony today met the three services chiefs and Defence Secretary to review the overall security situation and to take stock of the state of preparedness of the Armed Forces.

The position with regard to certain critical equipment and the status of ongoing acquisition was reviewed in detail, top Defence Ministry sources said.

Antony emphasised the need for the forces to be fully geared up to face any challenge or threat that may arise. Security along the land and maritime borders, particularly in the light of terror threats was reviewed.

Brussels - Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme faced growing calls to quit Thursday after his office was accused of trying to influence a court ruling on the sale of the country's troubled Fortis bank.

"Leterme wobbles" read the front-page headline of leading Flemish daily De Standaard.

"Leterme torpedos himself" said the French-language daily Le Soir.

London, Dec 18 : Caner-stricken Jade Goody, who is believed to have fallen behind with payments, is in danger of losing her Bentley Convertible.

A finance firm has started repossession proceedings.

The reality television star is fighting cervical cancer, reports the Mirror.

A spokesman for Lombard said: "An instruction to repossess has been issued as a last resort because of the failure by Miss Goody to meet the terms of the contract."

But her spokesman said: "While she was in hospital, someone else was making the payments and there seems to have been a mistake.

Paris - An appeals court in the eastern French city of Colmar on Thursday confirmed a 200,000-euro (292,000-dollar) fine imposed on Volvo for the deaths of two children in a 1999 accident.

The court found that the Volvo 850 TDI driven by a French teacher ran over the two children, aged 9 and 10, because its brakes had not functioned correctly.

The children had been on the way to school when the fatal accident occurred. A third child was seriously injured.