Nissan says to recall 841,000 cars over steering glitch

Japan's number two carmaker Nissan said Thursday it would recall some 841,000 compact cars worldwide due to a steering wheel problem.

The recall will cover the Micra, known as the March in some markets, and Cube models produced in Japan and Britain between 2002 and 2006, a company spokeswoman said.

Nissan sold the cars in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, but has not received any accident reports related to the glitch, the spokeswoman said.

IMF chief grilled in Paris court over 2007 payout

French prosecutors were grilling IMF chief Christine Lagarde in a Paris court on Thursday to decide if she should be charged over a state payout to a disgraced tycoon during her time as finance minister.

Lagarde has downplayed the investigation, but the stakes of the probe are huge for both her and the International Monetary Fund. Since March, the IMF has not commented on the affair but the board has reiterated its "confidence" in Lagarde.

Twin blasts in Niger hit uranium plant, barracks

A uranium processing plant owned by French nuclear giant Areva and a military base in northern Niger were hit by twin car bombings Thursday, wounding multiple people, said the defence minister and an employee at the site.

"There was an explosion in front of the military base at Agadez," Defence Minister Mahamadou Karidjo told AFP, calling it a car bomb attack.

Syria opposition open key talks in Istanbul

Syria's main opposition National Coalition opened a fresh round of talks Thursday in Istanbul, where dissidents will discuss a US-Russian proposal to bring rebels and regime officials to the negotiating table, an opposition official told AFP.

During their three-day meeting in Turkey, the Coalition is also expected to choose a new president, discuss expansion to include new members and decide the fate of an interim rebel government, opposition members told AFP.

Ford to halt car production in Australia in 2016

Ford announced Thursday it would stop making vehicles at its unprofitable Australian plants in 2016 and axe 1,200 jobs, ending an era that began in 1925 with the legendary Model T.

Ford Australia chief executive Bob Graziano made the announcement as he revealed losses of Aus$141 million (US$136 million) after tax in the last financial year and Aus$600 million over the last five years.

US tornado survivors begin rebuilding their lives

Survivors of the killer tornado that ripped through an Oklahoma City suburb rolled up their sleeves under a blazing sun and got down to the long, hard task of rebuilding their lives.

Local authorities in Moore deemed it safe for everyone who lived within the 17-mile (27-kilometer) long disaster zone to return to their homes, or what little remained of their homes, to collect whatever belongings they could.

Hezbollah sends new fighters to bloody Syria battle

Hezbollah fighters have poured across the border from Lebanon into Syria, a watchdog and others say, bolstering Syrian regime forces battling to retake the key rebel stronghold of Qusayr.

Washington condemned Hezbollah's intervention on the side of President Bashar al-Assad's regime and diplomats said the European Union was poised to place the Shiite militant group's military wing on its terror blacklist.

Syria army says it destroyed Israel vehicle in Golan

Syria's army has destroyed an Israeli military vehicle that it said had crossed the sensitive ceasefire line in the Golan Heights, the military declared on Tuesday in a televised statement.

"Our armed forces have destroyed an Israeli vehicle with everything that it had in it... The vehicle had crossed the ceasefire line and was moving towards the village of Bir Ajam, situated in the liberated Syrian zone" of the Golan, the statement said.

Vodafone annual profits slump 90% on eurozone woes

British mobile phone giant Vodafone reported a 90-percent plunge in annual net profit on Tuesday after taking a vast impairment charge relating to businesses in debt-laden eurozone nations Italy and Spain.

Earnings after taxation nosedived to £673 million ($1.03 billion, 796 million euros) in the group's financial year to the end of March, compared with £7.0 billion in 2011-2012, Vodafone said in a results statement.

Dozens dead as massive tornado strikes US city

A powerful tornado swept through an Oklahoma City suburb on Monday, tearing down blocks of homes, two schools and leaving up to 91 people dead, including 20 children, local officials said.

US President Barack Obama declared a "major disaster" as rescuers combed through smashed homes and the collapsed remains of an elementary school in Moore, where twister-seasoned residents were shocked by the devastation.

Syria regime agrees to attend peace conference: Russia

Syria's most powerful ally Russia said Friday that the Damascus regime had agreed "in principle" to attend an international peace conference on the crisis that world powers hope will take place in Geneva in June.

But Moscow also criticised Syria's various opposition groups for presenting tough demands that in some cases included the exclusion of President Bashar al-Assad's representatives from the negotiations.

Belmokhtar group threatens more attacks in Niger

The jihadist group led by Algerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar that claimed twin suicide car bombings in Niger which killed at least 20 people threatened on Friday to launch further attacks in the country.

"We will launch further operations" in Niger, the group said in a statement posted on Islamist Internet forums that also threatened France and countries involved militarily in battling Islamist extremists in neighbouring Mali.

Tornado-hit US city mourns and rebuilds

Relief workers and clean-up crews defied thunderstorms while families and friends gathered for the funeral of one of the Oklahoma tornado's youngest victims.

Heavy rain and lightning at dawn threatened to upset Moore's long trail back to normality, with police at one point closing flash-flooded streets in the residential city of 56,000 struggling to get back on its feet.

Massive Far East quake felt in Moscow, no casualties

A massive undersea earthquake Friday in Russia's Far East prompted a tsunami warning and was felt in cities including Moscow far to the west, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The USGS estimated the quake at 8.2 magnitude and placed its epicentre in the Sea of Okhotsk off the shore of the Kamchatka Peninsula at a depth of more than 600 kilometres (370 miles).

IMF chief grilled for second day over payout scandal

French prosecutors began questioning IMF chief Christine Lagarde for a second day Friday to decide if she should be charged over a state payout to a disgraced tycoon during her time as finance minister.

Lagarde was grilled for 12 hours on Thursday over her 2007 handling of a row that resulted in 400 million euros ($515 million) being paid to controversial business figure Bernard Tapie.

Cars, schools torched in fifth night of Stockholm riots

More than a dozen cars were torched and schools, shops and a police station were set ablaze as riots swept through Stockholm's immigrant-dominated suburbs for the fifth straight night, police and firefighters said Friday.

The riots, which have shattered Sweden's image abroad as a peaceful and egalitarian nation, have sparked a debate about the assimilation of immigrants, who make up about 15 percent of the population.

Militants kill three soldiers in Indian Kashmir

Armed militants killed three soldiers on Friday in an ambush outside Srinagar, the main city of Indian Kashmir, an army spokesman said.

The soldiers were searching for militants during a patrol when they were ambushed in the village of Hardu Buchoo, 30 kilometres (19 miles) southeast of Srinagar near the forested area of Tral, the spokesman said.

Obama seeks to redefine the US war on terror

President Barack Obama laid out new guidelines for drone strikes and launched a fresh bid to close Guantanamo, warning that a "perpetual" US war on terror would be self-defeating.

Obama told Americans their country was at a crossroads, and must move on from the counterterrorism policies deployed after the September 11 attacks to confront a new era of diverse global threats and homegrown radicals.

Japan man, 80, scales Everest, sets record

An 80-year-old Japanese climber reached the summit of Mount Everest on Thursday, becoming the oldest person to scale the world's highest mountain, his website and a Nepalese official said.

Yuichiro Miura and his party, including his second son Gouta, arrived at the summit at around 9 am local time (0315 GMT), according to the website, besting the previous age record by four years.

UN chief visits Goma after deadly fighting

UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived in the DR Congo flashpoint city of Goma on Thursday after three days of sometimes deadly fighting between rebels and government forces that ended months of calm in the volatile east of the country.

Ban's visit to the mineral-rich troublespot comes a day after he and World Bank chiefs made a fresh push for peace and development in the region.

German business confidence up unexpectedly in May: Ifo

German business confidence rose unexpectedly in May, data showed on Friday, as businesses in Europe's top economy express satisfaction with their situation and become more optimistic about the future.

The Ifo economic institute's closely watched business climate index rose to 105.7 points in May from 104.4 points in April. Analysts had been expecting an unchanged reading this month.

European stock markets recover slightly at open

European stock markets rebounded modestly at the start of trading on Friday following sharp losses suffered the previous day.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index rose 0.23 percent to 6,712.15 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.46 percent to 8,390.16 points and in Paris the CAC 40 climbed 0.36 percent to 3,981.27.

Vietnamese inflation lowest in eight months

Vietnamese inflation slowed to its weakest pace in eight months in May, official data showed on Friday, in the latest sign that the communist-run economy is cooling.

Consumer prices rose 6.36 percent year-on-year in May, the Government Statistics Office said, slightly down from a 6.61 percent increase reported in April.

Economists attribute the slowdown in inflation to past monetary policy tightening and an easing of demand from domestic consumers.

Household spending saves Germany from recession

Buoyant consumer confidence and increased household spending is keeping Germany, Europe's biggest economy, from recession, despite sagging exports and falling investment, data showed on Friday.

The federal statistics office Destatis calculated in final data that Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) notched up anaemic growth of 0.1 percent in the period from January to March, with only consumer spending in positive territory.

India's Wockhardt shares dive on US import ban

Shares of Indian pharmaceuticals firm Wockhardt plunged nearly 19 percent Friday, a day after it said the US drugs regulator had banned imports from one of its manufacturing units over quality concerns.

Wockhardt shares fell as far as 18.9 percent to 1,066 rupees ($19) -- a near nine-month-low -- at the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Australia economy strong despite end to Ford production: PM

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard moved to allay fears about the economy on Friday saying it had strong fundamentals, after US carmaker Ford announced an end to production in the country.

Ford said Thursday it will stop making vehicles at its unprofitable Australian plants in 2016, prompting concern for the manufacturing industry which is struggling due to the high Australian dollar.

US panel rejects Motorola bid to block Xbox imports

The US International Trade Commission sided with Microsoft in a patent dispute with Google-owned Motorola Mobility that could have led to Xbox 360 videogame consoles being banned from import.

"The investigation is terminated," the ITC said in a notice announcing it was rejecting a Motorola Mobility patent complaint dating back to late 2010.

Motorola Mobility had argued that Xbox 360 consoles infringed on patent technology for wirelessly transmitting data.

EADS offers $2.0 bln sweetener for S.Korea jet deal

European aerospace giant EADS has offered a $2.0 billion investment sweetener as it seeks to edge out US rivals for a contract to provide 60 advanced fighter planes to South Korea.

The consortium announced in a statement Thursday it would pump the cash into a separate South Korean project to develop its own advanced fighter jets, if EADS is chosen for the combat aircraft contract valued at 8.3 trillion won ($7.2 billion).

Venezuela, Russia in joint oil venture

Venezuela and Russia formed a joint venture to produce 120,000 barrels of oil a day by 2016 in two fields in the Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt.

Russia will loan Venezuela $1.5 billion to finance the development of the fields under the terms of the agreement, and put up $1.1 billion for a 40 percent share in Petrovictoria.

Brazil to open huge oil field to auction

Brazil on Thursday said it will auction concessions to drill and explore an offshore oil field believed to hold up to 12 billion barrels of crude, the country's largest find.

The tender process for the Libra oil field will take place in mid-October, said National Oil Agency (ANA) director Magda Chambriard, changing an originally scheduled date in late November.

Graphic gay sex stirs controversy at Cannes

Explicit gay sex has hit the big screen at the Cannes film festival in movies targeting mainstream audiences that stir controversy and spare the viewer nothing.

Critics described the non-simulated sex in "Blue is the Warmest Colour", which has its premiere Thursday, as "show-stopping" and "the most explosively graphic lesbian sex in recent memory".

Numerous sex scenes in the homoerotic "Stranger at the Lake" have been termed "hardcore".

At the movies, violence is the new sex

Sex may be a turn-off for Hollywood audiences but violence is all over the big screen, as filmmakers seek to capture the youth market, industry figures at the Cannes film festival said on Friday.

With online porn readily available, sex scenes are no longer prized by producers who look to action sequences or special effects to fill the gap.

New theft rocks Cannes film festival

Thieves have made off with a diamond necklace worth 2 million euros ($2.6 million) made by Switzerland's De Grisogono in the second jewellery theft at this year's Cannes Film Festival, the company said.

The heist took place during a gala evening Tuesday organised by the jeweller and attended by, among others, Paris Hilton and Sharon Stone.

Giant Lego Star Wars X-Wing lands on NY's Times Square

A massive Star Wars X-Wing spaceship has landed on New York's Times Square.

Well, not quite. It's actually a replica of one flown in the famed movie franchise and represents the largest model ever made by Danish toy company Lego.

Unveiled Thursday, the spectacular structure consists of more than 5.3 million of the company's multi-colored plastic bricks, weighs almost 46,000 pounds (20,865 kilograms) and took 32 builders about 17,000 hours to put together.

Verdi's Traviata to open La Scala season

Giuseppe Verdi's powerful love story "La Traviata", conducted by Italy's Daniele Gatti, will open the 2013-2014 season at La Scala opera house in Milan, which will feature 10 operas and six ballets.

Italian opera lovers will be pleased to see the line-up include Verdi's "Il Trovatore" and "Simon Boccanegra", as well as Pietro Mascagni's tale of adultery "Cavalleria Rusticana", Gaetano Donizetti's haunting "Lucia di Lammermoor" and Gioachino Rossini's humourous "Le Comte Ory."

Cannes goes from bling to crisis with US road movie

Cannes turned its back on bling Thursday with a road movie set in today's crisis-ravaged American Midwest, featuring the latest standout performance by a star from Hollywood's 1970s golden age.

After a raft of films at this year's festival gorging on wealth and splendour such "The Great Gatsby" and Sofia Coppola's "The Bling Ring", "Nebraska" stars Bruce Dern in what director Alexander Payne called a film for the modern "depression era".

Murakami translation out next year: report

The eagerly-awaited English translation of Haruki Murakami's latest novel could hit bookstores next year, a Japanese newspaper has reported.

"Shikisai wo Motanai Tazaki Tsukuru to Kare no Junrei no Toshi (Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage)" was released last month in Japanese, with the publisher ordering a million copies in the first week.

French singer Georges Moustaki dies at 79

French singer and composer Georges Moustaki, whose romantic ballads won him global fame including the 1958 song "Milord" he penned for Edith Piaf, died on Thursday at the age of 79.

Born on May 3, 1934 to an immigrant European Jewish couple who had settled in Egypt, Moustaki -- whose real name was Giuseppe Mustacchi -- wrote some 300 songs, marked by their poetic and haunting qualities.

Philippine capital angered by 'Da Vinci Code' author

Philippine authorities Thursday reacted angrily over "Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown's portrayal of Manila as "the gates of hell" in his latest novel.

The book "Inferno" includes a character who describes the capital as a city of horrible traffic jams, suffocating pollution, massive poverty and a thriving child sex trade.

Psy impersonator fools Cannes

A man from rural France impersonated South Korean "Gangnam Style" entertainer Psy at the Cannes Film Festival, eating, drinking and partying with the stars in Cannes for two days, press reports said on Thursday.

Psy "was spotted all over town, attending festival parties and events and posing for photos with festgoers and other celebrities," The Hollywood Reporter said.

Cycling: Snow forces cancellation of Giro's 19th stage

Heavy snow at altitude has forced the cancellation of the Giro d'Italia's 19th stage, organisers said Friday.

On the first of two consecutive stages in the Dolomites, the peloton was due to tackle two major mountain passes - the Gavia and the Stelvio, the latter, at 2,758 metres, being the highest point of the race's 96th edition.

Half-fit Messi called up by Argentina

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella has called up Lionel Messi for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Ecuador, even though the Barcelona forward is only half-fit.

Messi, recovering from a thigh injury which limited his participation in the Catalan club's Champions League semi-final rout by Bayern Munich, is a key figure in the squad to play Colombia in Buenos Aires on June 7 and then travel to Quito for a match against Ecuador four days later.

Di Luca positive for EPO before Giro: report

Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca, currently competing at the 96th Giro d'Italia, tested positive for EPO in an out-of-competition test before the race, a report said Friday.

Di Luca, who has already served a ban for testing positive at the Giro, tested positive for the banned blood booster at the end of April, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Kingston leads, McIlroy in Wentworth woe

South Africa's James Kingston posted a six-under par 66 to lead the first round of the European PGA Championship on Thursday on a day of frustration for Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy shot a two-over par 74, the same score as Graeme McDowell, whilst fellow Ryder Cup player Luke Donald, who has won the Wentworth event for the last two years, ended six-over and is in danger of missing the cut.

Clermont bid to bury Euro woes with Top 14 boost

European champions Toulon and beaten finalists Clermont face little rest after their hard-fought title battle, the two teams back in action this weekend in the fight for the Top 14 crown.

Toulon, whom English fly-half Jonny Wilkinson steered to a 16-15 victory over Clermont in the Euro final, are first up, with a tough encounter against 19-time champions Toulouse on Friday.

Veteran All Blacks lock Ali Williams retires

Veteran All Blacks lock Ali Williams called time on his international career Friday after playing 77 Tests over the past 11 years.

He made the announcement on the social media site Twitter with the message "It's that time" and a link to a video message in which the 32-year-old confirmed he was stepping down immediately.

Two years on, Li Na still stands alone

Li Na's momentous French Open title win of 2011 was expected to open the floodgates for Asian -- and in particular Chinese -- players in world tennis.

Two years on, little has changed with sixth-ranked Li being the only Asian player currently ranked inside the woman's global top 30.

Compatriot Peng Shuai is 34th, Taiwan's Hsieh Su-Wei is 42nd and Ayumi Morita of Japan is one step further back.

Palmer sizzles with 62 to seize lead at Colonial

Ryan Palmer fired a bogey-free eight-under par 62 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over fellow American John Rollins after the first round of the US PGA Crowne Plaza Invitational.

Palmer, a member at the host Colonial Country Club, used his knowledge to full advantage in the opening 18 holes of the $6.4 million event to edge Rollins for the lead.

"This golf course, I know where to hit it," Palmer said. "I hit driver all day. I was able to attack it and it paid off."

Peng stuns Stephens in Brussels

China's eighth seed Peng Shuai upset the rankings to defeat fourth-seeded American Sloane Stephens, 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday to reach the Brussels Open quarter-finals.

Peng is now through to the seventh Premier-level semi-final of her career, having gone 1-5 in her previous six.

However, she did make the final in the Belgian capital in 2011 where she lost to former world number one Caroline Wozniacki.

Former All Blacks coach Henry on misconduct charge

Former All Blacks coach Graham Henry was slapped with a misconduct charge on Thursday after blasting officials during the Auckland Blues' loss to the Canterbury Crusaders last weekend.

Henry, the Blues defensive coach, singled out television match official Keith Brown.

"Frank Halai (scored) a try in the corner -- it would have been nice (if) you had those given to you," Henry, filling in for Blues coach John Kirwan, told reporters.