● PARIS. France?s Sarkozy set for huge parliamentary win. New French President Nicolas Sarkozy is set to secure a big majority in parliament this month, according to a poll for the Paris Match magazine released yesterday. An Ifop poll gave Sarkozy?s ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) 41 percent of the vote in a June 10 first round ballot, a rise of 4 points on the previous poll.

● ANCHORAGE. South Atlantic whale sanctuary proposal defeated. A majority of nations voted yesterday to create a whale sanctuary in the southern Atlantic Ocean, but failed to get 75 percent of the vote needed to pass the proposal raised by Brazil and Argentina.

● BANGKOK, Thaksin urges supporters to accept party ban Exiled former. Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has urged his supporters to accept the disbanding of his party and a five-year political ban on its top leadership. Thaksin has been living in London since his ouster in a coup last year.

● RULING. UN approves Hariri murder court. The UN Security Council has approved the creation of an international court to try suspects in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The resolution was adopted by 10 votes to zero, with five abstentions from Russia, China, South Africa, Indonesia and Qatar.

Cannes award doesn?t make her global according to Korean actress

Winning best actress award at the Cannes film festival has not made South Korea?s Jeon Do-yeon a global star, she said yesterday, but it has made her family a lot nicer to her.

Jeon, 34, acclaimed at home for roles ranging from a prostitute with AIDS to a common girl caught in scandalous love affairs in a historic Korean court, took home the award for her role as a newly widowed mother in ?Secret Sunshine?.

Colombia writer Garcia Marquez feted in homecoming

Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez returned for the first time in more than 20 years recently to the home town that inspired him to create his most famous novel, ?100 years of Solitude.?

Thousands packed the town?s streets to greet the 80-year-old patron of Latin America?s magic-realism style, with cheers, shouts and applause for the man known fondly as Gabo on a visit 40 years after his most famous novel was published.

Adriana Karembeu, bénévole de charme pour la Croix-Rouge

La Croix-Rouge française a lancé hier un nouveau film pour promouvoir sa quête nationale des 9 et 10 juin, avec le mannequin Adriana Karembeu en bénévole de charme pour la septième année consécutive. Comme les précédentes années, la campagne tourne autour du topmodel. Les dons collectés sont destinés à l?aide alimentaire et à la lutte contre l?illettrisme entre autres.

Jamel Debbouze propose un jogging à Sarkozy

Jamel Debbouze a surpris tout le monde lors de la cérémonie de remise des prix à Canne récemment en en annonçant ?officiellement son ralliement à Nicolas Sarkozy?, déclenchant des sifflets dans la salle. ?Je vous demande de vous arrêter !?, a-t-il ensuite ajouté en référence à l?exclamation d?Édouard Balladur à ses supporters à l?issue de sa défaite en 1995. ?Quand vous voulez pour un jogging républicain !?, a-t-il enfin lancé à l?adresse du président de la République.