FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party has rejected as “grotesque” suggestions that Dominique Strauss-Kahn was the victim of a plot to ruin his presidential ambitions.

President Barack Obama summoned leaders of both parties to the White House to hammer out a deal to stave off a US debt default with the potential to trigger a major, worldwide financial crisis.

President Barack Obama has signed into law a massive tax package that frayed his relations with liberals, caused him to abandon a pledge not to extend tax cuts to the rich and heralded a new balance of power in Washington.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy today reappointed Francois Fillon as prime minister and asked him to create a new government.