Cinema audiences in Russia have been quick to point out that Avatar has elements in common with The World of Noon, or Noon Universe, a cycle of 10 bestselling science fiction novels written by the Strugatskys in the mid-1960s.

It was the Strugatskys who came up with the planet Pandora - the same name chosen by Cameron for the similarly green and lushly forested planet used as the spectacular backdrop to Avatar. The Noon Universe takes place in the 22nd century. So does Avatar, critics have noticed.

And while there are clear differences between the two Pandoras, both are home to a similarly named bunch of humanoids - the Na'vi in Cameron's epic, and the Nave in Strugatskys' novels, read by generations of Soviet teenagers and space-loving scientists and intellectuals.

President Nicolas Sarkozy became a grandfather yesterday after the wife of his second son, Jean, gave birth to a baby boy.

"Yes, he had a grandson this morning," said a presidential aide, who added that he had been given a "very unusual" name.

According to a parliamentary source, his first name is Solal, the hero of the 1968 novel Belle du Seigneur, a tragic love story by Swiss-Jewish writer Albert Cohen.

Nothing could ever defeat The Great Joe Rollino, neither the frigid waters of the Atlantic in winter nor even the passing of the years. The resilience of this short, sinewy man was the stuff of legend on the streets of Brooklyn as were the stories of his feats as a of Coney Island strongman.

Maybe at 104 years old - Rollino was born on 19 March 1905 - he should not have been out walking the streets of the Brooklyn he adored and which loved him back. But taking a five minute stroll every morning at dawn was part of his treasured routine. As were all the other habits that he said contributed to his unusual longevity: regular swims in the ocean whatever the season, breakfasts of oatmeal and never, ever meat, cigarettes or alcohol.