Paris airports will shut to flights from 2000 (1900GMT) for 12 hours because extremely high winds are expected, transport officials say.

The French capital is facing winds of up to 120km/h (75mph), forecasters say.

The country is on storm alert with the French Atlantic coast expected to be worst hit.

But forecasters predict the storm will not be as bad as the one that lashed France on 14 January, leaving 11 dead and causing widespread damage.

The number of deaths from bushfires that have already claimed 170 lives in the Australian state of Victoria is likely to rise, officials have warned.

Police believe some of the fires were started deliberately - actions which Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said amounted to "mass murder".

Survivors have recounted how they fled walls of flames. Some people died in their cars trying to escape the fires.

Some rural towns have been completely destroyed.

Police have sealed off a number of sites, including the devastated small town of Maryville, as possible crime scenes.

Heavy rain sweeping across England has left many councils preparing for floods - but forecasters warn more snow is on the way elsewhere.

Up to two inches of rain is expected across southern England, with 15 flood warnings in place across the south west.

Council emergency planning teams are on "full alert", according to the Local Government Association.

Blizzard conditions are expected in Wales and the Midlands later.

After a week which saw the UK's heaviest snowfall for 18 years, closing schools and crippling public transport, the rain has heightened the risk of flooding.

PARIS (AFP) -- The bow of the legendary ocean liner "France," later renamed "Norway," fetched 273,000 euros (350,000 dollars) at auction on Sunday, more than twice its estimated value.
[...]
The bow was valued at between 80,000 and 100,000 euros.

A VINTAGE 1973 Citroen DS convertible has fetched a record amount at a Paris auction, Bonhams auctioneers said. The Chapron model of the iconic DS brand (affectionally known as the "Goddess") had an estimated value of €140,000 to €190,000 ($A274,483-$A372,512.5) but sold for much higher during the auction on Saturday, said spokeswoman Sylvie Robaglia.

The ivory-coloured DS was one of seven Citroen cars put up for auction which fetched a total of around €960,000 ($A1.88 million).

Two auctions last week-end in Paris where items fetched final sales prices much higher that the original estimates. Who says France is in a recession? Not everyone suffers from financial hardship, apparently. Another shining success for our president's "reform" policies...

Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger knew his US Airways jetliner was in trouble the moment it hit birds, and with both engines damaged, made a quick decision to attempt a dangerous landing in New York City's Hudson River.

"I needed the wings exactly level at touchdown. I needed to make the rate of descent survivable. I needed to touch down at a nose-up attitude. And I needed to touch down just above our minimum flying speed. And all those needed to occur simultaneously," Sullenberger told reporters on Monday.

The US press talked at length of "miracle", as if only divine intervention could explain the safe ditching of Flight 1549 on the Hudson river.

This was no miracle: you had a very experimented captain, an Air Force veteran whom you can assume has seen his fair share of sticky situations, and also an experienced glider plane pilot. I can tell you from personal experience: flying glider planes makes you extremely sanguine about landing a plane without engine power.

Capt. Sullenberger did it plenty of times, of course not with a A320, but controls were fully operational and he did a classical L-shaped approach (downwind leg, base step and then final approach) using airbrakes when needed.

And let's not forget the cabin crew: you'd think their jobs is to serve you drinks and bad food, but 95% of their training is to repeat security procedures in case of emergencies, over and over again, until they can do this in their sleep.

So, it was no miracle: a very experienced and well trained crew (and unionized, as Jerome pointed out) who coldly assessed the emergency, took the right decision and executed superbly. In these situations, this can make all the difference between a happy ending and a major disaster. Of course, things could have gone wrong, but in their predicament, passengers of Flight 1549 had the odds definitely stacked in their favor.

Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.