Ms Rice said the Bush administration was trying to patch up strained relations with Germany, but would continue to marginalise Mr Schröder, according to the conservative German magazine Focus.

Jayson Blair, the New York Times reporter whose fabricated and plagiarised stories continue to send shockwaves through one of America's most influential newspapers, has boasted of his deceptions and branded the paper a racist "snake pit".

"The president said he was convinced the text can be markedly improved so everyone can look upon it favourably," said Mr Chirac's spokeswoman, Catherine Colonna.

The proposal, which would relegate the UN to an advisory role, alongside the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, while lifting economic sanctions, was expected to pass despite serious concerns from some permanent members.

France and Russia oppose the plan and call instead for a return of the weapons inspectors and a stronger role for the UN in rebuilding Iraq.

A federal court in New York found that Island Def Jam, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, which is owned by the French company Vivendi Universal, used bad business practices in attempting to block the completion of an early recording by Ja Rule.

Now the story of Stephen Glass, the 25-year-old who was fired from the New Republic magazine in 1998 after his tall tales came to light, is about to take another twist.

A recently released book by a New York Times investigative reporter, Don Van Natta, examines the golfing habits of the American presidents and discovers that in many cases they can act as an illuminating motif for their presidential style.

America's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart, has dropped three bestselling lad magazines, Maxim, FHM and Stuff, because the words are too racy and the pictures too bawdy.

Intelligence from Baghdad suggested that "approximately $1bn was taken from the Iraqi central bank by Saddam and his family just prior to the start of combat".

Dean is the great red hope. True, the polls place him fifth in the Democratic field, with only 6% support. But if he cements his place as the only left challenger with a chance - there are three others vying for that title - there should be a base of around 20% from which he can mount a serious bid. He has been drawing large crowds in Iowa and is a frontrunner in New Hampshire - two of the first key states in the primaries.

White students at Taylor County High school held a whites-only prom, separating on racial grounds some children who had been educated together since kindergarten in their final rite of passage as they leave school.

"Nobody's gonna respect us if we have a gay homosexual boss sitting down discussing La Cosa Nostra business," an informer told the court on Wednesday.