Paris - Pirates boarded a French tug off the coast of Cameroon and took 10 of its 15 crew hostage, a spokeswoman for the owners said Friday.

Paris - David Nalbandian defeated compatriot Juan Del Potro for the second week in a row, earning a 6-4, 6-0 victory in the third round of the Paris Masters on Thursday.

Nalbandian's victory over his 20-year-old rival also mathematically delayed Del Potro's chance of formally clinching a place in the Masters Cup.

Del Potro has been nursing a painful split toenail for months, with no time to have it removed until after the Davis Cup final with Spain in late November.

He remains on provisional seventh in the race to the eight-man season-wrap event in Shanghai starting a week from Sunday.

Paris  - Roger Federer is keeping focus as he heads into the business end of the ATP season, with solid performances laying the groundwork for what he hopes in a return to world-class wins in 2009.

The Swiss claimed his home Swiss Indoors in Basle for the third time at the weekend before making a late confirmation of his entry into the Paris Masters.

He then leaves early next week for Shanghai to defend his title in the season-ending Masters Cup.

Paris - Inspired by a strong surge on Wall Street overnight and driven by bargain hunters looking for undervalued stocks, stocks on the Paris Bourse soared on Wednesday.

The CAC 40 blue-chip index finished the session up by a healthy 9.23 per cent, closing at 3,402.57 points. Thirty-nine of its 40 listed stocks gained ground.

Building materials producer Saint Gobain was the day's biggest winner, rising by 18.57 per cent, to 28.63 euros, despite substantial drops in building permits and housing construction starts in the third quarter.

Paris - Invigorated by a very strong rebound on Wall Street overnight, French shares were up sharply in early Wednesday trading on the Paris Bourse.