Paris, August 24 : The European Space Agency (ESA) is about to launch the most sophisticated mission ever to investigate the Earth''s surface, core, and, gravitational field, with unprecedented resolution and accuracy.

Known as the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE), the satellite will be placed onto a low altitude near sun-synchronous orbit by a Russian Rockot vehicle launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Northern Russia, some 800 km north of Moscow. 

Lift-off is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, September 10. 

Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Saturday said Russian troops must leave the important Black Sea port of Poti, even as he thanked his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev for keeping his commitment on the withdrawal of troops from Georgia.

The two heads of state discussed over telephone the importance of fully implementing the six-point ceasefire brokered by France, which currently holds the European Union presidency.

Paris - French Defence Minister Herve Morin on Thursday rejected accusations that the French military's response to a Taliban attack on its troops in Afghanistan which killed ten soldiers was too slow.

Morin told RTL radio that the exact circumstances of the attack must be clarified before criticisms can be made.

The French newspaper Le Monde had written on Thursday that support troops were sent to the combat zone too late, and that the patrol in which ten soldiers were killed had been under fire for four hours without help.

But Morin told RTL that a rapid reaction force was despatched "15 to 20 minutes after the firefight began" although it did take about an hour for them to reach the battle site.

Beijing - Beijing's foreign ministry on Wednesday sharply criticized plans by French government ministers to meet with the Dalai Lama.

Ministry spokesman Qin Gang demanded more "consideration" for the Sino-French bilateral ties.

"We hope the French side respects China's concerns and will deal carefully with the important and sensitive issues," Quin said in Beijing.

French Human Rights Minister Rama Yade announced plans to meet with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, who is currently on a 12-day visit to France, on Friday.

President Nicolas Sarkozy declined to meet the Dalai Lama, but the monk is expected to meet with first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.

Kabul - French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Kabul on Wednesday to visit his country's troops and meet with his Afghan counterpart, a day after 10 French soldiers were killed and 21 were wounded in a Taliban attack.

Sarkozy visited French troops in Camp Warehouse on the eastern outskirts of Kabul Wednesday morning and paid his respects to the dead soldiers, a diplomatic source who declined to be named said.