France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain will “intensify their cooperation” to identify U.S. tax cheats in return for help in finding U.S. accounts held by residents of those countries.

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5 European Nations Agree to Help U.S. Crack Down on Tax Evasion

With little fanfare, federal prosecutors on Friday dropped their investigation of Lance Armstrong , nearly two years after it began. After convening a grand jury, summoning dozens of witnesses and involving several federal agencies, the government decided not to bring fraud and conspiracy charges against Armstrong stemming from allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his legendary cycling career. Read full article > >

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End of Lance Armstrong probe raises questions about media’s reporting

An appeals court ruled on Monday that Alberto Contador, a three-time winner of the Tour de France, used a performance-enhancing drug when he won the race in 2010.

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Alberto Contador Found Guilty of Doping

PARIS — After more than two decades of trying, France apparently has finally found a foreign customer for its Rafale fighter jet, reaching an $11 billion deal with India for 126 planes and a heavy technology transfer, the government announced Tuesday. Read full article > >

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France to sell Rafale figher jet to India

ARAB AND WESTERN governments plan to mount a major diplomatic offensive at the United Nations on Tuesday in the hope of breaking a deadlock in the Security Council on Syria. Nabil ­el-Araby, secretary general of the Arab League, will present a plan to end the swelling violence by calling for dictator Bashar al-Assad to step down and be replaced by a coalition government that would organize elections. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the foreign ministers of Britain and France will attend the meeting as a way of raising the pressure on Russia, which has been blocking action by the Security Council since the Syrian uprising began 10 months ago. Read full article > >

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Editorial Board: Saving Syria requires Russia’s cooperation

PARIS—France said Friday that it will accelerate the pullout of its combat forces from Afghanistan by one year, to the end of 2013, and in concert with Afghanistan urged NATO to hand over all combat operations to the Afghan army by the same date. Read full article > >

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France will speed up troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by one year

KABUL — One week after four French troops were killed by a rogue Afghan soldier, prompting President Nicolas Sarkozy to suspend military operations in Afghanistan, France will sign a bilateral agreement outlining its commitment here over the next two decades. Read full article > >

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France agrees to two decades of support in Afghanistan, despite attack on its troops

The owner of a French breast implant maker at the centre of an international safety scare is arrested in the south of France, police sources say.

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PIP breast implant boss arrested

The bill criminalizes the denial of officially recognized genocides, including the Armenian genocide begun in 1915 — an event whose public affirmation in Turkey is treated as a crime.

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French Senate Passes Genocide Bill, Angering Turks

Ratings agency Moody’s is maintaining France’s top AAA credit rating for now, three days after it was downgraded by another agency.

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Moody’s keeps French AAA rating

The recent downgrade of French debt, though not unexpected, adds to the challenges facing the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, as he seeks re-election.

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France’s Gloomy Economic Outlook Haunts Presidential Race

Standard & Poor’s imposed a sweeping cut to the credit standing of major European nations including France on Friday in an action that could further weaken the region’s finances and make life more expensive for governments as they fight to control a chronic crisis over public debt. Read full article > >

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Standard & Poor’s cuts credit ratings for France and eight other European nations

PARIS — France lost its top-tier credit rating Friday, the finance minister announced, dealing a strong blow to the country’s effort to redress its finances and to President Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign to get reelected. Read full article > >

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France loses AAA credit rating

Ferry firm SeaFrance is to shed 127 jobs in the UK and hundreds more in France after it is liquidated by a French court.

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Hundreds of SeaFrance jobs to go

Germany’s Chancellor Merkel and France’s President Sarkozy hold their first eurozone crisis talks of 2012 as the outlook remains bleak.

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Euro crisis: Merkel meets Sarkozy