The federal government says it began the new fiscal year with a $500 million deficit as new tax cuts introduced in January and a slumping economy cut into revenues.

Friday was France's turn to greet Barack Obama who was to visit Paris just long enough for talks with French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called three byelections for early September, a move that could serve as a possible litmus test for a general election later in the year.

A London-to-Australia flight was forced to make an emergency landing Friday after a large hole was discovered in the Boeing 747-400's fuselage.

Athletes will be front-and-centre as the world focuses on Beijing for the Olympics but billions have already been spent behind the scenes to ensure potential security threats don't materialize.