BASTIA - A Portuguese businessman was shot dead in Corsica, the 18th person killed on the French island this year, despite a security build-up in the region with Europe's highest homicide rate. Victor Ribeiro, 45, a contractor for public works projects, was gunned down at a petrol station in Prunete-Cervione, south of the port city of Bastia, a police source said. Justice Minister Christiane Taubira pledged to "re-establish the rule of law" on the island in the wake of the killing. AFP
THE HAGUE - Dope-selling coffee shops in the Dutch capital won't be shutting their doors to foreign visitors any time soon after a u-turn by the government. The city of Amsterdam welcomed changes in the national government's drug policies as a green light to let tourists keep rolling in to the city's 220 world famous cafes that sell cannabis, marijuana and pre-rolled joints. Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten announced he was scrapping a nationwide rollout of the so-called "weed pass" that was designed to keep non-Dutch residents out of coffee shops. AP
PARIS - Rightist Jean-Francois Cope, a protégé of former president Nicolas Sarkozy, claimed the leadership of France's main conservative party in a closely fought contest marred by mutual accusations of fraud. Cope, already the incumbent leader of the UMP party, beat centrist former prime minister Francois Fillon by 50.03 per cent to 49.97 per cent - a margin of just 98 votes out of almost 175,000 cast. The victory could pave the way for Cope either to run for president in 2017 or stand aside if his mentor Sarkozy re-enters politics. Reuters