.At least 50 people have been killed in violent storms that have caused chaos in Europe.
Most were killed in France, but Spain, Germany and Portugal have all recorded fatalities.
Packing winds just under 150 kilometres an hour, the intense low caused havoc in many countries.
In the French Vendee region, houses were inundated and people had to be rescued by helicopter from their roofs.
Flooding was most serious in France and Spain and a 10-year-old boy was one of a number of people killed by falling trees.
Up to a million people were without power.
At least a dozen people in France remain unaccounted for and there have been at least 60 injuries.
The UK is on flood alert and authorities in Denmark are on standby as the storm continues to track north.
.France has left itself with a ‘home run’ to a Six Nations Grand Slam after the tournament leader held its nerve to beat Wales 26-20 at the Millennium Stadium.
Victory appeared all but assured at half-time with France 20-0 in front following two interception tries.
But Wales, just as it did in its dramatic come-from-behind 31-24 win over Scotland last time out, rallied and cut France’s lead to 20-13 heading into the final quarter under the Millennium’s closed retractable roof.
Replacement fly half Frederic Michalak scored a penalty nine minutes from time that, importantly, put France two scores in front.
However, against a team of France’s all-round quality Wales left itself with just too much of a mountain to climb on this occasion.
There was still time for wing Shane Williams, on his 33rd birthday, to become the first Wales player to score 50 tries after a typical jinking run.
And with just two minutes left, scrum half Morgan Parra kicked his third penalty after Wales was caught offside in front of its posts.
Fly half Stephen Jones converted and Wales, who had been 14-24 behind against Scotland with minutes remaining, had hopes of another great escape. .
But France, unlike Scotland, booted the ensuing kick-off ‘dead’ through Michalak, belying his reputation for recklessness, and with that South African referee Jonathan Kaplan blew for full-time.”
France, which has now won three games in a row for the first time under coach Marc Lievremont, can look forward to wrapping up the Championship with matches in Paris against Italy and England on March 13 and 20 respectively.
“We’ve just got to stop pushing the self-destruct button.
“It was like watching the ghost of the Wales-Scotland match appear before us.
“We lost all coherence, you could feel that at half-time even,” Lievremont said.
“I’m very happy to win three in a row, but my emotions are divided between happiness and relief.
“I’m very happy to win three in a row, but my emotions are divided between happiness and relief.
France: 26 (Palisson, Trinh-Duc tries; Parra 2 conversions, 3 penalties, Michalak penalty)
Wales: 20 (Halfpenny, S Williams tries; S Jones 2 conversions, 2 penalties)
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.A move by a French fast-food chain to offer halal menus at a handful of restaurants has some politicians fuming, in the latest row over France’s increasingly visible Muslim minority.
The Quick chain has taken pork off its menu in eateries in Roubaix, northern France, as well as in Marseille and in the Paris suburb of Argenteuil, to try to tap into the growing market of Muslim customers.
But politicians have complained that the switch to no-bacon hamburgers, launched three months ago, is depriving non-Muslims of their right to the standard menu.
“I’m not bothered by the fact that there is a halal menu,” he said.
Roubaix Mayor Rene Vandierendonck plans to file a complaint for discrimination, arguing that non-Muslims now have to trek to the suburbs to get a bacon burger, as Quick is the only fast-food place in the city centre.”
French far-right politician Marine Le Pen suggested the Halal menus were providing a financial boost to Muslim organisations that certify meat as having been slaughtered in accordance with Islamic practices.
“But this is going too far because it is the only menu on offer and it has become discrimination.
Ms Le Pen condemned the menu switch as “unacceptable” and denounced a form of “Islamisation”.
But in eight of Quick’s 350 restaurants, the “Strong Bacon” double cheese hamburger is not on offer, replaced by a halal version with smoked turkey.
In cities and towns across France, Quick’s red-and-white signs are as familiar a sight as McDonald’s golden arches, offering the usual array of hamburgers, french fries and soft drinks.
The government has frowned on Quick’s decision, suggesting that it was a form of “communautarisme”, a pejorative term suggesting that a group is exhibiting a ghetto attitude.
One customer was quoted in Le Parisien daily as saying that “it’s just not the same”.
President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government is drafting legislation to ban the wearing of the full Islamic veil and is sponsoring a debate on national identity that has exposed fears about immigration.
- Series of controversies -
Home to Europe’s biggest Muslim minority, estimated at between 5 and 6 million, France has been caught up in a series of controversies that have highlighted its unease with Islam in a strictly secular society.
Responding to the hubbub over the halal hamburgers, the head of France’s Muslim Council called for reason to prevail and announced that he planned to meet with Quick’s owners.
Responding to the hubbub over the halal hamburgers, the head of France’s Muslim Council called for reason to prevail and announced that he planned to meet with Quick’s owners.
“There are plenty of restaurants that do not offer halal meals and Muslims are not complaining of discrimination. .
Lionnel Lucca, a deputy from Sarkozy’s right-wing UMP party, has called for a boycott of Quick to press for “freedom of choice to be restored” at the fast-food outlets.”
Quick manager Luc Demain, who runs the outlet in Roubaix among others, said there had been a slight increase in business since the new halal menus had been introduced and that he had not received complaints from customers.
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.France shattered Ireland’s dreams of a repeat of its Six Nations Grand Slam in Paris overnight beating them 33-10 with scrum half Morgan Parra, who had accused the Irish of being cheats earlier in the week, masterminding the defeat.
First-half tries by William Servat and Yannick Jauzion and a second-half one from Clement Poitrenaud with Parra chipping in with 15 points saw France easily see off a rather flat Irish team.
“It’s a great start for us but it’s too early to start talking about Grand Slams,” he added.
Toulouse winger Vincent Clerc described the win as a “great performance”.”
Ireland - winless here since 2000 - managed one try through David Wallace while Ronan O’Gara kicked the rest of its points.
“I was surprised how easily we beat the Irish but we played the perfect match.
The French were not faring very well in the line-outs as they lost three in a row on their throw and it was from the third one the Irish came desperately close to scoring the opening try as Brian O’Driscoll broke through, chipped over Poitrenaud and raced for the line.
The Irish camped themselves in the French half for the first 10 minutes but some sterling defence by France kept them at bay.
That led to two disastrous minutes for the Irish as Imanol Harinordoquy set up a great move that culminated in Cian Healy tackling Parra who did not have the ball and referee Wayne Barnes flourished the yellow card without hesitation - Parra slotted over the penalty to give the hosts a barely-deserved lead.
However, 31-year-old O’Driscoll having outpaced Poitrenaud didn’t get the bounce of the ball and it was ruled a dead ball when it hit the post.
Palisson, though, had played to limp off clutching his right thigh to be replaced by Julien Malzieu.
Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery was fortunate not to join Healy on the sidelines as his leg connected with Six Nations debutant Alexis Palisson laying him out - Barnes opted to give him the benefit of the doubt and just awarded a penalty to France.
However, the French now well and truly had their tails up and in the 31st minute Jauzion went over, after Mathieu Bastareaud had made the initial break, leaving the Irish to get a talking to by O’Driscoll - Parra converted to make it 17-3.
The French finally made the Irish pay properly for being one man down as with Healy preparing to return to the fray Servat crashed over while Parra converted to make it 10-0 - O’Gara reduced the deficit with a penalty just before the half-hour mark.
The pressure told as Keith Earls - who had moved from wing to replace the injured Rob Kearney at full-back - caught the ball in the 22 for a fair catch but in taking the quick kick he fumbled it and knocked it on.
The Irish were really under the hammer from the start of the second-half as the French pierced their defence at will highlighted when O’Driscoll failed to intercept a pass and Trinh-Duc ran 30 metres only to knock on close to the line when he was tackled.
Ireland showed some spirit in grabbing effectively a consolation try through David Wallace, which was converted by O’Gara, but the peerless Parra was to make it 30-10 with just over 10 minutes remaining with a long range penalty.
France took full advantage from the ensuing scrum as they fed it out to the left and Poitrenaud eased into the corner to touch it down - Parra added an impressive conversion followed minutes later by a wonderful drop goal.
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The mercurially-gifted Frederic Michalak was to rub salt even deeper into the wounds close to the final whistle with a drop goal to end a miserable day for the Irish
.The Federal Opposition has revealed that an inaccurate version of the Australian flag was flown at the previous month’s burial ceremony for Australian World War I soldiers in northern France.
The Veterans Affairs Department has confirmed problems with the flag involved one of the stars on the Southern Cross being in the wrong place.
The department says the problem is a matter for the Army, which conducted the ceremony in Fromelles.
It also had the Union Jack upside down and was a different shape.
“I would think that we wouldn’t be flying or ordering any flags and declaring and using them as an Australian flag when they were so incorrect,” Ms Markus said.
Opposition veteran’s affairs spokeswoman Louise Markus says she wants an explanation.
“The Minister for Veterans Affairs was there.
“I understand even the dimensions of the flag were not accurate. He needs to be able to explain why a flag that was not our Australian flag was flown as if it was. He was representing the Government.
The soldiers, who were killed in the 1916 Battle of Fromelles, are being buried at a cemetery close to where their remains were found in 2008.”
The first of 250 unknown British and Australian soldiers who died in World War I were reburied the previous month.
DNA tests have been carried out on the remains and the results are expected in March.
The cemetery was built close to a muddy field where the mass grave was discovered.
.A foreign national who forced his French wife to wear the full Islamic veil will be denied French citizenship, the immigration minister said.
Eric Besson says he signed a decree rejecting the man’s citizenship application after it emerged he had ordered his wife to cover herself with the head-to-toe veil.
The man’s name and nationality were not made public.
“It emerged during the inquiry and the interview process that this person forced his wife to wear the full veil, deprived her of freedom of movement with her face exposed, and rejected the principles of secularism and equality between men and women,” Mr Besson said in a statement.
The French Government is seeking legal advice before drafting legislation that would outlaw the burqa or niqab in as many areas as possible, Prime Minister Francois Fillon has said.
The decision came after a parliament report last week called for a ban on the full Islamic veil in all schools, hospitals, government offices and public transport.
Home to Europe’s biggest Muslim minority, France has been debating whether to ban the burqa that is worn by only about 1,900 women nationwide, according to interior ministry figures.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has proclaimed the burqa “not welcome” in secular France and come out in favour of legislation to outlaw the veil, but has warned against stigmatising Muslims.
A French court denied citizenship to a veiled Moroccan woman on the grounds that her “radical” practice of Islam was incompatible with French values. .
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.US airline Continental and five individuals have gone on trial in Paris accused of manslaughter over the crash of an Air France Concorde 10 years ago.
The French criminal court is examining conflicting explanations of why the supersonic jet smashed into a hotel in a ball of fire just after take-off from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport on July 25, 2000.
A former French civil aviation official and two former Concorde engineers face the same charge in the trial that is expected to last four months. .
The court will decide whether to side with investigators and technical experts who say the crash was caused by a strip of metal that fell off a Continental jet which took off shortly before the Concorde.
Witnesses saw flames coming from the jet as it was taking off from the airport.
But lawyers for Continental say they will prove the ill-fated jet was already on fire before it hit the metal debris.
Investigators say the strip shredded one tyre on Concorde’s landing gear, resulting in a blow-out and sending debris flying into an engine and a fuel tank to spark the fire.
Continental faces a maximum fine of 375,000 euros ($592,800) if found guilty.
Some of the relatives of the victims are represented at the trial, but most have already accepted compensation from Air France. The individuals face up to five years in jail and a fine of up to 75,000 euros ($118,575).
.The first of 250 unknown British and Australian soldiers who died during World War I will be reburied later this evening in France with full military honours.
A special ceremony will take place in the village of Fromelles close to the battlefield where more than 7,000 allied soldiers, most of them Australian, were killed in July 1916. .
“These men have laid at rest since that time in an unmarked grave.
Federal Veterans Affairs Minister Alan Griffin says the battle was the first major engagement involving Australian troops on the Western Front in WWI
“The circumstances were it was also the bloodiest 24 hours in Australia’s military history before or since,” he said.”
He says there will also be a ceremony marking the anniversary of the battle later this year. Their remains have recently been discovered and are now in a process of receiving a dignified burial that they so richly deserve.
“There will be a full ceremony today to inter the first of those soldiers,” he said.”
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“Over the next month most of the remaining remains will be interred, and then there will be a final ceremony at the anniversary of the battle in July of this year, where the last of those men will be interred with full military honours
.The World Health Organisation and the pharmaceutical industry have been criticised for their handling of last year’s swine flu pandemic.
At a hearing of the Council of Europe - the European Union’s human rights body - the WHO faced accusations that it exaggerated the danger of the virus under pressure from drug companies.
When a pandemic was declared last June, most European countries changed their health priorities to accommodate thousands of expected patients. .
A number of European governments had signed contracts with the drug companies to buy back vaccines, believing a flu pandemic long predicted by health experts would be a virus-like bird flu with a very high death rate.
- BBC
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The organisation denies any conflict of interest
.Snow and icy weather has disrupted travel across Europe, closing Geneva airport on one of its busiest tourist weekends of the year and prompting a state of emergency on part of Germany’s Baltic coast.
Thousands of passengers were stranded at Geneva’s Cointrin airport after heavy overnight snow kept it closed until noon.
“It was the first time we had so much snow on the runway since 1985,” said airport spokesman Bertrand Staempfli as departures began at midday.
Many British, German and other European skiers use Geneva airport to reach popular Swiss and French ski resorts in the close toby Alpine region, including Verbier.
Delays were expected as frustrated passengers queued to re-book flights at the airport, where 100,000 people had been due to transit over the weekend.
Schools across the state will stay closed on Monday.
Hundreds of motorists had to abandon their cars in the north-eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where 25 centimetres of snow fell and the district of Ostvorpommern declared a state of emergency, local authorities said.
Levees in parts of the neighbouring state of Schleswig-Holstein showed cracks on Sunday, threatening low-lying areas with floods, police said.
In Poland, at least 200,000 households suffered a power outage and shoppers and workers were evacuated from a shopping centre in the western city of Leszno when its roof began to give way under 1. Coastal towns like Flensburg and Travemuende had suffered flooding by afternoon.
A police spokesman said that since the onset of cold weather in October, 152 people had been found frozen to death in Poland.5 metres of snow, rescue services said. .
- Cars trapped -
On Germany’s Baltic island of Fehmarn, some 5,000 residents were shut in by the blizzards, while scores were trapped in their cars for hours on the A20 autobahn because normal snow ploughs could not reach them, authorities said.
The weather had caused over 1,100 road accidents between Saturday and Sunday morning in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, according to the regional government.
The weather had caused over 1,100 road accidents between Saturday and Sunday morning in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, according to the regional government.
In the south-western state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, snow caused more than 900 road accidents between Friday and midday on Sunday, seriously injuring 15 people and causing 4 million euros of damage, the regional interior ministry said. At least 16 people have been badly injured in the state due to the snow since Saturday.
In Britain, chemical firm Ineos said it had diverted 12,000 tonnes of salt for use on British roads that had originally been destined for Germany.
Ninety-one flights were cancelled on Sunday at Frankfurt airport, Germany’s busiest, compared to 225 the day before.
The government told local authorities to reduce the amount of salt they put on roads by a quarter at the end of last week in a bid to conserve supplies.
“Because we’ve been inundated with calls from local authorities, we’ve decided to retain the supplies in the UK,” a spokesman said.
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