After losing her title as France’s first lady, Valerie Trierweiler has begun forging a new role as a goodwill ambassador, with her glamour and media savvy guaranteeing her maximum publicity on a charity trip to India.

Valerie Trierweiler, the ex-partner of French President Francois Hollande, flew to India yesterdayon a charity mission, despite Saturday’s announcement that the couple have split.

DROUGHT-HIT Somalia is stretching the work of relief workers to their limits and is facing a fully-fledged humanitarian catastrophe, aid agencies have warned.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s office says six people linked to a French aid group have been released after nine months in captivity in Somalia.

DONWEH BAR props up her skeletal frame, wizened beyond her 48 years, with spindly arms wrapped around a twisted cane. Nearby a toddler with protruding belly and ribs eats a few grains of corn meal from her mother's hand.