Sunitha Rao and her French partner Aurelie Vedy went down fighting against top-seeded Chinese combination of Chun-Mei Ji and Sheng-Nan Sun in the doubles final of the $ 50,000 ITF women's event in New Delhi on Friday.
As President Nicolas Sarkozy began talks with Indian leaders to boost Indo-French ties, a French company Friday offered to sell 40 of its new generation Rafale fighters to New Delhi on a fast track basis to help IAF maintain its combat edge.
During the exercises, the Navy's Sea Harriers would operate sorties from the French carrier.
Though Singh will receive the first of the 36 Rafale jets on Tuesday, the first batch of four aircraft will come to India only by May next year.
Singh received the aircraft at the Rafale fighter jet handing-over ceremony at Merignac in the presence of French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly. Members of the top military brass of France as well as senior officials of Dassault Aviation, the makers of Rafale, were also present at the ceremony.
The Indo-French pair broke no sweat in defeating Vania King of the US and Frantisek Cermak of the Czech Republic 6-2 6-0 in their opening encounter at Roland Garros on Friday.
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna got past Bruno Soares and Daniela Hantuchova in the mixed-doubled match as Indian Aces edged past Singapore Slammers in the UAE leg of the International Premier Tennis League on Thursday.
Masaan recently screened at the ongoing French film festival and was given a rare five-minute standing ovation.
Air France on Wednesday said it wants to upgrade its codeshare arrangement with Air-India in the face of heightened competition on Indian destinations from British Airways and Lufthansa.
Indian scientist awarded Legion d' Honneur
The Indian ace and France's Fabrice Santoro beat Jiri Novak and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic in the final.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on spoke to French President Francois Hollande over the terror attack in Paris and reaffirmed his commitment to enhance Indo-French counter-terrorism cooperation as a key element.
Addressing a joint media event with Macron, Modi said the two countries have robust cooperation in the fields of defence and security.
Adoor Gopalakrishnan will be honoured with the Commandeur des Art et Lettres for his contribution to world cinema.
Mehul Kumar's next film is based on a real life incident, and other Bollywood news.
The Indo-French pair lost their doubles quarter-final in the WTA Indian Open.
Indian challenge in the men's doubles competition of the Wimbledon ended on Thursday with both Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna losing their respective semi-final matches after being engaged in gruelling five-setters.
Responding to the statement by France, Gandhi said, "Let them deny it if they want. He (Macron) said that before me. I was there, Anand Sharma and Dr Manmohan Singh were also there."
Condolences continued to pour in from world dignitaries for former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj who breathed her last due to cardiac arrest on Tuesday night.
"You can change friends but not neighbours," Atal Bihari Vajpayee famously said this 15 years ago.
"The meeting demonstrated the depth of India-France bilateral partnership, especially in the defence sector, that has significantly strengthened in recent times. Both leaders resolved to take the relationship to the next higher level," said a statement issued by the ministry after the 35-minute meeting.
"Welcome to India, President @EmmanuelMacron! Your visit will add great strength to the strategic partnership between India and France. I look forward to our talks tomorrow," Modi tweeted after receiving Macron at the airport.
Move over Ash and Sonam. This motley crew of Masaan is making their presence felt the real way at the ongoing French Film Fest.
It was end of US Open campaign for Somdev Devvarman and Mahesh Bhupathi after they lost their respective hard-fought matches even as Rohan Bopanna had a mixed day.
The third Bonjour India is coming to 33 cities!
Proof that leading ladies can be friends too.
The notices were moved by Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Veerappa Moily, K V Thomas, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Rajiv Satav, sources said.
Indian veteran Leander Paes and his doubles partner Hugues Herbert turned it around remarkably for the Japan Warriors, who beat UAE Royals 24-21 to record their first win of the tournament in the opening match of the International Premier Tennis League's India leg in New Delhi.
Modi, who was in France on the first leg of his three-nation tour, said there have been a number of constructive changes in the last five years.
India has been spearheading the campaign at international fora for automatic exchange of information with a view to check tax evasion.
India and France on Friday signed 17 agreements, including on the stalled nuclear project in Jaitapur in Maharashtra, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with French President Francois Hollande.
Sukanya Verma glances at the changing faces of women bonding in Hindi movies.
Former US Open champion Del Potro fired down 11 aces and did not face a break point during the one hour, 33 minutes match.
The BJP, however, reacted sharply to Gandhi's remarks saying the Congress leader will do well worrying more about his constituency.
'There is a degree of civility, efficiency, cleanliness and cultural ease here that has all but vanished in the squalid, chaotic and rootless Hindi heartland,' says Sunil Sethi.
'Over the last two decades, the India-French relationship has grown steadily, no major political difference having darkened the sky between Paris and Delhi,' says Claude Arpi.
Top moments from PM Modi's France visit
