BBC News with Jerry Smit
The closing ceremony of the 2012 Paralympics is taking place in London. Based on the theme of the four seasons,
acrobats
and dancers have been performing to live music from the band Coldplay. In a spectacular 'festival of fire' at the Olympic Stadium, the organizers say the ceremony is an emotional farewell to what has been the most successful contest in the history of the Games. Angus Crawford reports.
Drummers and acrobats, flame-throwers and motorbikes – all performing to the sound of Coldplay; thousands of competitors seated on the infield – what a
close-up view
of an extraordinary closing ceremony. Dancers and musicians from Brazil will perform later to look ahead to the arrival of the Games in Rio in four years time.
France's Socialist President Francois Hollande has announced what he called a two-year recovery plan for the
ailing
French economy.Facing criticism from both left and right, and
hemorrhaging
support in the opinion polls, Mr Hollande said his government was lowering its growth forecast for the coming year and
tightening up
on spending.Hugh Schofield reports from Paris.
President Hollande has come under growing criticism in France that he's a ditherer. He used his interview to try to
refute
the charge. Two years is the timescale he set himself to, in his words, 'put France back on its feet'. He promised that reforms to the labor and social security systems would be agreed by the end of this year; and on the key question of the yawning budget deficit, he announced what he said was the biggest program of tax rises and spending cuts in half a century – a third will come in lower public spending, a third in corporate tax increases, and a third will by born by households, especially those at the top end of the income scale.