Schumacher banned for two years

Schumacher competed for the Gerolsteiner team in the 2008 Tour

Germany's Stefan Schumacher has been banned from cycling for two years after failing a drugs test during last year's Tour de France.

Schumacher tested positive for advanced blood doping product Cera (Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator).

The rider won two time trials at the 2008 Tour and held the overall leader's yellow jersey for two days.

Schumacher was banned from competing in France for two years by French anti-doping authorities last month.

International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid told a news conference: "Schumacher is now banned from activity from 22 January 2009 to 21 January 2011."

606: DEBATE Give your reaction to Schumacher's two-year ban

But the 27-year-old Schumacher vowed to clear his name through the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"One thing is clear: I have not doped and I have nothing to hide," said Schumacher.

Italy's Leonardo Piepoli also tested positive for Cera at the 2008 Tour, and compatriot Riccardo Ricco has admitted using the substance which is a version of blood booster erythropoietin (EPO).

The three riders won five of the 21 stages during the race last July between them.

Austrian Bernhard Kohl, who won the King of the Mountains jersey as the best climber and was third overall, is another to have owned up to using Cera.

The French Anti-Doping Agency has been retesting blood samples from the race in a bid to catch more cyclists they suspect may have used Cera.

This year's Tour of Germany was cancelled following the spate of failed drugs tests.

Viewpoints: Lisbon Treaty impact

All but a few of the EU's 27 member states have ratified the Lisbon Treaty, which is aimed at streamlining EU institutions.

But the reform treaty will not come into force unless all of them do so - and it still has to run the gauntlet of a second Irish referendum later this year. Irish voters rejected it last June. No other country put the treaty to a referendum.

Here, as part of a series of viewpoints on EU issues, two European think-tank experts argue for and against the treaty.

FOR - JEAN-DOMINIQUE GIULIANI

The Lisbon Treaty will give Europe more democracy, more capacity to decide and act and more international prominence.

It will give national parliaments control over the European Commission. The commission will not be able to act in areas not expressly set out in the treaties - for example, hunting or even the size of bird cages!

The people will get the chance to petition, to oblige the commission to scrap a decision. The European Parliament, the only institution directly elected by the people, will gain more power - in 40 new areas, for example the Common Agricultural Policy, the EU budget. It will have the power to elect the president of the European Commission.

The treaty will improve efficiency. The new voting rules will take account of the weight of the different member states. So the UK, France and Germany will have greater voting rights in the European Council, where ministers make decisions.

A bill will require the support of 55% of the member states, representing at least 65% of the European population.

The so-called "majority rule" for Council decisions will be extended to more areas. That means quicker decisions and fewer blockages.

This treaty is not a constitution - it neither sets up a new constitutional order nor a supranational state Q&A: Lisbon Treaty

With the Lisbon Treaty, the European people will for the first time be able to challenge the power of European institutions.

National parliaments will be able to challenge decisions that are the prerogative of member states. Under Lisbon, if one-third of the national parliaments agree on something, they can act together to oblige the Commission to cancel and review a wrong decision. They will also be able to refer the matter to the European Court of Justice.

Parliaments are legally entitled to ratify treaties and international conventions - there is no particular need for national referendums on European issues. Those who ask for referendums want to vote against the EU and their own government.

Referendums are really populist procedures. People use them to answer different questions - not the actual referendum questions.

Did Tony Blair ask by referendum to be allowed to send troops into Iraq? Did Margaret Thatcher ask by referendum to be allowed to carry out social reforms? Did Winston Churchill ask the English people to engage his country against Hitler? No. They all went to parliament, to have a debate and make the best decision. That is also what Sarkozy, Brown and Merkel did.

This treaty is not a constitution. It neither sets up a new constitutional order nor a supranational state. It only brings in new procedures, to improve the decision-making process. These innovations are needed to act better at the European level.

Jean-Dominique Giuliani is Chairman of the Robert Schuman Foundation in Paris.

AGAINST - LORRAINE MULLALLY

The Lisbon Treaty represents a huge transfer of powers away from EU member states and is bad news for Europe.

In more than 60 areas of policy, countries lose the right to veto legislation they disagree with - on everything from transport to the rights of criminal suspects and aspects of foreign policy.

Britain would lose nearly 30% of its power to block legislation it disagrees with, while Ireland would lose 40%.

It is a myth that the EU Lisbon Treaty will strengthen democracy in Europe.

The President of the German Constitutional Court has said the treaty's provisions for national parliaments are "ineffective" and "impractical".

The cross-party House of Commons EU Scrutiny Committee said: "We doubt the significance of the 'greater opportunities' for national parliaments to be involved in any meaningful manner in the workings of the EU".

The treaty is bad enough in itself, but it is the way it is being forced through that really demonstrates why EU institutions should not be given yet more new powers.

Most people now realise that the Lisbon Treaty is a carbon copy of the original Constitutional Treaty that was voted down in both France and the Netherlands in 2005. Open Europe's side-by-side comparison of the two texts found that 96% of the original reappears in the Lisbon Treaty.

The Lisbon Treaty will make it even more difficult to reform the EU in the long run, by ignoring the problems with waste, the lack of transparency and accountability

The author of the text himself, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, has confirmed this several times, saying Lisbon "is purely a legal re-writing - incidentally unreadable - of the draft Constitutional Treaty". And he revealed the reason for this: "Above all, it is to avoid having referendums".

Indeed, despite several governments initially promising to give their people a say on the treaty, Ireland was the only country to hold a referendum, because it is constitutionally obliged to do so.

There 53% of people said "No", but they will be forced to vote again. One leading German politician said the No vote was "a real cheek", while a British Labour MP said the Irish voted No because they had "become extremely arrogant".

It is not just Irish voters who are concerned about the treaty.

Judges at the German Constitutional Court recently pointed out that the treaty involves a clear extension of the EU's competences. One judge said: "One has to ask soberly: What competences are left with the Bundestag [German lower house of parliament] in the end?" He also asked "whether it would not be more honest to just proclaim a European federal state".

The Lisbon Treaty will make it even more difficult to reform the EU in the long run, by ignoring the problems with waste, the lack of transparency and accountability, the outdated policies; and by cementing the status quo. The EU needs urgent reform, not more powers.

Lorraine Mullally is Director of Open Europe, in the UK.

Carla Bruni says 'may adopt' baby

Ms Bruni and President Sarkozy have been married for one year

France's first lady Carla Bruni says she wants to have more children, adding that she will adopt if she cannot have a baby with President Nicolas Sarkozy.

"I'd love to have a child, but I'm not going to fight against nature," the 41-year-old model-turned-singer told the French weekly, Madame Figaro.

"If it is not possible biologically, I'll adopt one," she told the magazine.

The interview, to be published Saturday, comes one year into her marriage to President Sarkozy.

"I'm not obsessed by blood ties... I think you can build a powerful bond without that," she told Le Figaro, explaining her attitude to adoption.

"We can't say that we need children," said Ms Bruni, who has a seven-year-old son from a previous relationship, while Mr Sarkozy has three boys from two earlier marriages.

The interview was carried out during Ms Bruni's trip to West Africa last week to promote Aids projects.

She has also announced plans to create a foundation aimed at developing education, reading and culture among youth.

France tweak squad for Twickenham

Damien Traille is likely to feature on the bench at Twickenham

France have made four changes to their 23-man squad for their Six Nations match against England on 15 March.

Coach Mark Lievremont has recalled centres Florian Fritz and Damien Traille in place of Clement Poitrenaud and the injured Benoit Baby (knee).

Back-row forwards Fulgence Ouedraogo and Louis Picamoles make way for lock Jerome Thion and Julien Bonnaire.

Sebastien Chabal moves from lock to the back row, while Francois Trinh-Duc is the only fly-half named in the party.

Stade Francais stand-off Lionel Beauxis is still out with a back injury.

Fresh from a confidence-boosting 21-16 victory over defending champions Wales in Paris last Friday, Lievremont has once again tinkered with his squad.

The omission of blind-side flanker Ouedraogo, who has formed a potent back-row trio wuth Thierry Dusautoir and Imanol Harinordoquy, is the biggest surprise.

With Chabal set to return to the back row, Bonnaire - who has not been involved with Les Bleus for almost a year - is likely to start on the bench.

Thion, whose last Test was the final match of last year's Six Nations against Wales, will compete with Romain Millo-Chluski for the second-row spot alongside captain Lionel Nallet.

Fritz returns having served a three-week ban for punching during France's 30-21 defeat by Ireland on the opening weekend of the Six Nations.

But he may also have to settle for a place on the bench after the superb debut of Mathieu Bastareaud at outside centre against Wales.

Traille, who last played for France in their defeat by Australia in November, offers options at centre, full-back or fly-half.

Sale's Lionel Faure is added to the four props on duty against Wales, with one of the quartet set to miss on the match-day 22.

France have lost their last two Tests against England - last year's Six Nations clash in Paris and the semi-finals of the 2007 World Cup.

They also lost on their last Six Nations visit to Twickenham, in 2007, but did win a World Cup warm-up match there later the same year.

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France squad to face England at Twickenham on 15 March:

Backs: Maxime Medard, Cedric Heymans (both Toulouse), Julien Malzieu (Clermont-Auvergne), Damien Traille (Biarritz), Mathieu Bastareaud (Stade Francais), Florian Fritz, Yannick Jauzion (both Toulouse), Francois Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), Morgan Parra (Bourgoin), Sebastien Tillous-Borde (Castres).

Forwards: Benjamin Kayser (Leicester), Dimitri Szarzewski, Fabien Barcella (Biarritz), Thomas Domingo (Clermont-Auvergne), Lionel Faure (Sale), Sylvain Marconnet (both Stade Francais), Romain Millo-Chluski (Toulouse), Lionel Nallet (Castres, capt), Jerome Thion (Biarritz), Julien Bonnaire (Clermont-Auvergne), Sebastien Chabal (Sale), Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse), Imanol Harinordoquy (Biarritz).

Sarkozy team gets death threats

It is not clear why these top UMP politicians were threatened

President Nicolas Sarkozy and eight other top French politicians have received death threats in letters stuffed with bullets, officials say.

Anti-terrorism police are investigating the mysterious, identical 20-line typed letters, which were full of spelling mistakes and abusive language.

Senior members of Mr Sarkozy's centre-right UMP party were targeted, along with three cabinet ministers.

Justice Minister Rachida Dati and former PM Alain Juppe were among them.

Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and Culture Minister Christine Albanel also received such letters.

They contained 9mm or .38-calibre bullets, officials said.

The origin of the letters is not clear, nor is the motive known.

The Associated Press reports that the letter speaks of a mysterious "Cell 34", mentions 1,000 combatants, and describes the recipients as the legislators of "liberty-crushing" and "fascist" laws.

The letter concludes with the statement: "This letter is the last. There will be a black out. Total silence."

Ukraine foreign minister sacked

Mr Ohryzko was one of two ministers appointed by Ukraine's president

Ukraine's parliament has voted to sack Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko for poor handling of government policy.

A total of 250 members in the 450-seat assembly backed a no confidence motion in Mr Ohryzko, including 49 from Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc.

He was criticised for his approach to a ruling last month by a UN court on a territorial dispute with Romania, and for his aggressive approach to Russia.

Mr Ohryzko's dismissal was the second departure of a minister this year.

Finance Minister Viktor Pynzenyk resigned last month after clashing with Ms Tymoshenko over the budget, including the size of the deficit.

Mr Ohryzko, a career diplomat, was one of two ministers appointed by the prime minister's ally-turned-rival, President Viktor Yushchenko.

Correspondents say the decision to sack the minister is likely to be contested in court as, according to some MPs, only the president has the power to do so. Opposition MPs dispute the assertion.

Last month's ruling by the International Court of Justice, which both parties agreed in advance would be binding, gave Romania about four-fifths of the area it had claimed from Ukraine in a long-running territorial dispute over a part of the Black Sea.

At stake were drilling rights in an area which Romania says may contain some 100bn cubic metres of gas and 10m tonnes of oil.

The ruling was welcomed as a victory for diplomacy by nearly all politicians and the media in Bucharest, but criticised by many in Kiev.

Armstrong confirms European races

Armstrong competed on home ground in the Tour of California last month

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will continue his comeback with a return to Europe this month.

The 37-year-old American will compete in the Milan-San Remo one-day race on 21 March, followed by the Tour of Castille and Leon from 23-27 March.

The Spanish race will allow Armstrong to focus on the time trial and two mountaintop finishes.

Armstrong returned to competitive cycling in January after retiring three-and-a-half years earlier.

He took part in the Tour Down Under in January, and the Tour of California in February.