France's literary elite was in uproar on Thursday after an MP loyal to President Nicolas Sarkozy told the winner of the "French Booker prize" that she had a duty not to criticise his policies.

There was a chorus of approval last week when Marie NDiaye, 42, a Senegalese-French novelist, became the first black female to win the Prix Goncourt for her best-selling work Trois Femmes Puissantes (Three Powerful Women).

However, Sarkozy loyalists were less than amused when French media re-aired her vitriolic views on his government. In an interview with Les Inrockuptibles, an arts magazine - published before the winner was announced - Miss Diaye said she went to live in Berlin after the 2007 presidential elections "in large part because of Sarkozy".

"I find the police state, vulgar atmosphere detestable. I find (Eric) Besson (the immigration and national identity minister), (Brice) Hortefeux (the interior minister), those people, monstrous," she went on.

A German thief stole a van, only to discover after he sped off that there was a circus lion in the back.

Caesar, Circus Probst's ferocious five-year-old star, was being transported a Mercedes van when the vehicle was stolen.

The thief drove off, but abandoned the vehicle with the engine still running after crashing into a road sign. It was unclear whether the thief's sudden awareness of the animal in the back of the van had inspired him or her to abort the mission.

Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, who is already fighting to avoid imminent trials for tax evasion and bribery, was dealt a further blow today when Veronica Lario, his estranged wife, announced that she was taking him to court in a divorce battle.

At stake is his fortune, estimated at between 5 billion and 8 billion euros (£4.5 billion and £7 billion). It is not yet known whether Ms Lario's divorce action includes a specific demand over the division of his legacy. But Corriere della Sera said experts on inheritance and business law had been included in Ms Lario's legal team, and his business empire would be the crux of the case.

Me Berlusconi, 73, has been seeking a discreet out-of-court settlement with Ms Lario, 53, since she declared she was leaving him six months ago over his relationships with other women. He is known to have wanted to avoid a messy court battle over the division of his wealth between his three children by Ms Lario and his two by his first wife, Carla Dall'Oglio.

However lawyers for Ms Lario said she regarded him as the guilty party, and had applied for a formal separation, the first step in divorce proceedings, accusing her husband of being to blame for the breakdown of the marriage.

A bunch of Finns do their annual naked run through the daylit streets of Southern Helsinki in freezing temperatures. Don't ask me why. But I can't see how it does any harm.

You can't be me, I'm taken