France ex-PM Lionel Jospin dies aged 88

Jospin -- who was head of government from 1997 to 2002 before being overtaken by the far right in presidential polls -- died on Sunday, they told AFP. He had said he had a "serious operation" and had returned home to rest in January, without providing details. To supporters, Jospin was honest and strait-laced. To his critics, he was a colourless technocrat. He paid a high price for his lack of pizzazz when he ran for president in 2002. A former economics professor, Jospin cast himself as a clean...