The party of jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is asking the German government to arrange for her to be flown to Germany for treatment for a back problem.

Tymoshenko ally Arseniy Yatsenyuk asked German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle Friday to help send her to Germany. The move is seen as an initial face-saving measure acceptable to both Western governments and President Viktor Yanukovych, whose relations have been strained by Tymoshenko’s imprisonment.

Tymoshenko is serving a seven-year sentence on charges of abuse of office, which Western countries have condemned as politically motivated. The European Union has warned it will not sign a long-awaited cooperation agreement with Ukraine until it resolves what the EU calls issues of “selective justice.”

 A Milan court on Wednesday convicted the designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of tax evasion. They were found guilty of failing to declare 200 million euros ($268 million) through a Luxembourg company to authorities and given a one year and eight months suspended jail sentence. They were ordered to pay a penalty of 500,000 euros (about $670,000) to tax authorities. The court, however, acquitted them of misrepresenting income of 416 million euros (around $560 million) each, even though the statute of limitations had expired on the charge. The designers have denied the charges.

Violent clashes have broken out in a Paris suburb after police tried to arrest a Muslim woman for wearing a veil.

It came as two men today put a 21-year-old pregnant woman in hospital for covering her face with a veil on the same council estate.

Under a law which came into force in 2011, women found guilty of wearing niqabs in public can be fined the equivalent of around £130.
But when officers approached the unnamed woman, passers-by became involved in a ‘riot’ and police used tear gas and flash-ball shots to disperse them, according to a police source.

Two men aged 23 and 37, including a cousin of the young veil-wearer, were arrested and placed in custody under suspicion of violence and public order offences.

Pope Francis joked about the difficulties of being head of the world’s Catholics, saying he never wanted the job, on Friday in unscripted comments in which he also said he had turned down luxury Vatican housing because it would be “boring”.

The European Commission on Wednesday gave Latvia a green light to join the 17-nation eurozone in January, saying the country met the conditions to join the single currency and had successfully overcome its 2008-2009 crisis.

The family of Oscar Pistorius say they are “shaken” by the leaked graphic photos of the blood-spattered bathroom where the world-renowned athlete shot dead his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has accused an acclaimed filmmaker of losing objectivity while making a documentary about the whistleblowing organisation.

The raised levels of customer satisfaction at this drive-in site near Naples have nothing to do with spectacular views or luxury amenities.

This is the site of a set of unique ‘sex bays’- where visitors can book a parking bay and become intimate with the great outdoors.

The bays’ location promises to excite and arouse users who want to experience the effects of ‘natural viagra’.

They are beside the Solfatara volcano near Naples. The volcano emits hydrogen sulfide- a gas that is proven to help men with erectile problems.

Hydrogen sulfide is known as the ‘devil’s stink’ because it smells like rotten eggs. The gas can also be toxic in large quantities.

However, in smaller doses, scientists say the chemical plays an important part in a male erection.

As well as increasing blood flow, the chemical relaxes nerves in muscles that control an erection.

Experts say hydrogen sulfide could be as effective as Viagra in treating erectile dysfunction if a new product was properly developed.

However, the levels of concentration at which the chemical is safe to use remains unknown.

In what country would the presidential palace auction off some of its finest wines to buy more wine and boost state coffers?

France, bien sûr!

The Élysée Palace — the official residence of the French president — has dipped into its wine cellars and put 1,200 bottles up for auction in Paris.

Mainly from Bordeaux and Burgundy, the wines would normally have been served to ambassadors or visiting dignitaries as they dined with the president, showing off the finest of French viticulture in the process.

The funds raised will allow the renewal of the palace’s wine stocks, auction house Drouot said.

The 1,200 bottles represent about a tenth of the cellar’s total stocks. Some date back decades, while others are newer but represent great vintages.

The auction house expects the bids to range between 15 euros ($19) for the most ordinary and an estimated 2,200 euros ($2,800) for a 1990 Petrus.

The leaders of France and Germany meet Thursday in Paris to discuss a joint plan to combat a spiralling youth jobs crisis in the eurozone which threatens the future of millions.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet counterpart Francois Hollande to hammer out a common position on the subject, which will be among key issues dominating a European Union summit at the end of June.
The two leaders will first visit the Louvre for an exhibition on the main themes that structured German thinking from 1800 to 1939, before holding talks at the Elysee in the afternoon and addressing a news conference.
They will also be handed a report on promoting growth and competitiveness in Europe which is co-authored by Gerhard Cromme, the chairman of the board of Siemens, and Jean-Louis Beffa, the chairman of the board of French glass and construction material maker Saint Gobain.
Berlin and Paris have pledged a joint action plan to create more jobs for youth. Hollande has warned of a generational “rupture” if the problem is not tackled on an emergency footing.