Paris - The Olympic torch was extinguished at least twice Monday in Paris as thousands of anti-China protesters disrupted its passage through the French capital, French media reported.

Sana'a, Yemen - France has made contact with Somali pirates holding 30 mostly French crew members hostage off the coast of Somalia, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in a radio interview Sunda

Paris - Dismay and anger were expressed in France Sunday after 148 graves at a military cemetery in the country's north were found to have been daubed overnight with anti-Islam slogans.

Sana'a, Yemen - Somali pirates took over a French yacht off in the Gulf of Aden and held hostage 30 mostly French crew members on Friday, a Yemeni port official said.

Paris - The French government on Friday started debating austerity measures of 7 billion euros (11 billion dollars) over the next three years.

Paris - France has prepared to send a passenger jet to French Guyana for the eventuality of a breakthrough in the Colombian hostages drama and possible release of Ingrid Betancourt, reports said Su