Paris - A lawsuit has been filed in Paris accusing three African presidents of corruption, the online edition of the daily Le Monde reported on Tuesday.

The suit, filed by the anti-corruption organization Transparency International and a citizen of Gabon, accuses Gabonese President Omar Bongo, the president of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, and the president of Equitorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, of having used state funds to enrich themselves.

Paris - Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong has decided to race in next year's edition of the race, the web site of his Astana team said late Monday.

The 37-year-old Armstrong retired from racing on July 24, 2005, after winning his last Tour championship, but said in September of this year that he would return to competitive cycling for the 2009 season to publicize the fight against cancer.

Armstrong recovered from a severe case of testicular cancer and has used his cycling success to promote the cause.

Paris - Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d

Paris - The registration of new private cars in France fell by more than 14 per cent year-on-year in November, confirming the onset of a crisis in the sector, the online edition of the daily Le Figaro reported on Monday.

According to the Committee of French Car Makers (CCFA), 145,918 new vehicles were privately registered last month, a drop of 14.4 per cent over November 2007.

In addition, French domestic car sales fell by 9.7 per cent last month, while foreign car sales in France plunged by more that 18 per cent.

Brussels/Paris - A spokesman for the European Commission on Monday denied that Brussels was blocking the French bank bailout, after French media reported that the 10.5-billion-euro (13.24- billion-dollar) plan was in trouble.

"There is no blocking. The commission is working with the French authorities," European Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger told reporters in Brussels, adding that a decision on the plan could come as early as this week.

Paris - France's First Lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, is to be named later Monday a special ambassador in the global fight against AIDS.

Bruni-Sarkozy, whose brother died from the disease, will become a special ambassador for the the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, an international fund-raising organization.

"Of course, I'm particularly sensitive to this issue because of my brother," the 40-year-old former top model told Elle magazine. "But I am generally very sensitive to the cause of fighting AIDS. It's a pandemic. We forget; we are used to it."