Paris - A close advisor to Francois Hollande resigned on Friday after allegations about an alleged conflict of interest and his extravagant lifestyle, in a fresh blow to the beleaguered French president.

Perth - Authorities investigating the still-unexplained disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 say their search for debris floating in the Indian Ocean is ending and efforts will shift to the seabed.

The team creating the OnePlus "perfect" smartphone has ended the speculation on how much the device will cost by releasing base prices for the unit in key territories at launch.

Paris - Cannes film festival organisers on Thursday unveil their pick of the A-listers and art house "auteurs" chosen to take part in this year's movie extravaganza on the French Riviera.

Paris - The ultra-deep Angolan offshore oil project called Kaombo generated the third huge contract in three days on Wednesday when French group Total picked two firms to carry out underwater engineering worth $3.5 billion.

Paris - A hi-tech scanner can help tell whether a brain-injured patient who appears to be in a vegetative state has a chance of regaining some consciousness, a study said Tuesday.

Strasbourg - The European Parliament adopted new rules Tuesday to tighten the regulation of financial markets in order to stop rampant speculation, including on foodstuffs.

Paris - France will stick to the country's EU-set budget deficit reduction target, the new finance minister insisted on Tuesday, dismissing earlier indications that Paris was angling for a delay.

Strasbourg - The European Parliament approved on Tuesday the last elements of a new set of rules to prevent failing banks from ever again driving EU member states into bankruptcy.

Paris - Imperial Tobacco on Tuesday announced the closure of factories in Britain and France with the loss of 900 jobs, citing declining sales in Europe, tougher anti-smoking measures and the growth of contraband sales.

Strasbourg - Improved access to porn movies across Europe's many borders is one of the merits of the European Union, conservative party chief Joseph Daul said Tuesday.

Paris - French nuclear power group Areva said on Tuesday it was part of a consortium retained for a major contract in Britain to handle radioactive metallic waste.

Paris - Red Bull on Tuesday lost their appeal over Daniel Ricciardo's disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix.The world champions had sought to overturn the stripping of Ricciardo's second place in Melbourne for breaching fuel flow regulations.

Paris - A Chinese herb called thunder god vine works better than a widely-prescribed pharmaceutical drug at easing rheumatoid arthritis, a study published on Monday said.

Paris - French telecom operator Numericable and its parent company Altice said Monday they are planning to issue more than 10 billion euros ($13.8 billion) of bonds to fund their acquisition of SFR.

Grenoble - A former driving instructor dubbed the "Black Widow" of the French Alps on Monday denied drugging her husband and then burning him to death in his car.

Paris - French auto group Peugeot Citroen, fighting to recover from crisis with a new Chinese shareholder, presented a global recovery strategy on Monday, but its shares slumped.

Paris - Men with blood group O are far less likely to suffer a recurrence of cancer after prostate tumour surgery than men with other blood types, researchers reported on Monday.

Paris - What a difference a week makes. Seven days ago, Paris Saint-Germain were riding the crest of a wave - 13 points clear at the top of the league and taking a two-goal cushion into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

Paris - French oil group Total has found ways of reducing the cost of extracting ultra-deep Angolan offshore oil reserves by a fifth and has decided to go ahead with investment in the Kaombo project, the firm said on Monday.