French PM Fillon defends Merah 'intelligence failures'

French PM Francois Fillon has said there were no grounds for arresting militant Islamist gunman Mohamed Merah before he shot dead seven people.

Security services have been criticised since it emerged that Merah had been under surveillance for months.

Fillon said there was no single element to suggest a threat.

But presidential candidate Francois Hollande said there were flaws in the surveillance of Merah, who died in a police assault on Thursday in Toulouse.

But speaking on French radio, Fillon said the DCRI, France's domestic intelligence service, "had done their job perfectly".

"They did enough surveillance to see that there was no evidence to suggest he was a dangerous man," he told RTL on Friday.

Mohamed Merah had claimed to have al-Qaeda training.

"We do not have the right in this country to permanently monitor someone when they have committed no crime, without the decision of a judge. We live in a state of law.

"Belonging to a Salafist organisation is not an offence in and of itself," Fillon added. "We cannot mix up religious fundamentalism with terrorism, even if we know there are elements that unite them." Hundreds of people gathered at a rally in Toulouse on Friday in a show of unity, and to pay homage to the victims of the shootings.

Merah, 23, carried out three separate attacks, killing three soldiers and four people at a Jewish school.

It was known he had travelled to Afghanistan and Pakistan and had been placed on the US no fly list banning him from boarding any aircraft to America.

Hollande said there had been a "flaws" in the surveillance of Merah, and after the killings there were "questions which must be asked". "Our laws have been strengthened against this threat, and it can be said that this arsenal is flawed," the Socialist candidate added. But he said he would wait for the results of the official inquiry into the affair before making any further criticisms.

Official campaigning in next month's presidential election is resuming after being put on hold following the shooting at the Jewish school on Monday. Opinion polls this week suggest little change in the fortunes of the main candidates, with Sarkozy and Mr Hollande roughly equal in first round voting intentions, while Hollande is still far ahead in the second.

Obama names surprise World Bank candidate Jim Yong Kim

President Obama has nominated Korean born US academic Jim Yong Kim to be the next president of the World Bank. The nomination of the Dartmouth College president and development expert is a surprise as he was not mentioned as a contender over the past weeks.

A US citizen has led the Bank since it was founded in 1944, but developing nations say it is time for change.

The World Bank confirmed that there are three candidates - with the other two coming from Nigeria and Colombia. After the deadline for nominations to replace the current president, Robert Zoellick, passed, the World Bank that Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Jose Antonio Ocampo, a former Colombian finance minister, have made the shortlist along with Dr. Kim.

But with the US holding the most votes at the World Bank, which has 187 members, the vote on the next president should be a formality.

President Barack Obama stressed Dr. Kim's international experience in his statement announcing the nomination.

"It is time for a development professional to lead the world's largest development agency," he said.

"Jim has truly global experience. His personal story exemplifies the great diversity of our country... and his experience makes him ideally suited to forge partnerships all around the world."

Born 1959 in Seoul, South Korea, Co-founded Partners in Health, providing health programmes for the poor, while student at Harvard University in 1987.

Named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World, 2006

Appointed president of Dartmouth College, New Hampshire in 2009

"This is one of the most critical institutions fighting poverty and providing assistance to developing countries in the world today," Dr Kim said in a letter to students at his university. "After much reflection, I have accepted this nomination to national and global service."

Dr Kim, 52, had not been among the names rumoured to be under consideration by President Obama, which included former White House adviser Larry Summers, Pepsi head Indra Nooyi, and UN ambassador Susan Rice.

Dr. Kim is a leading figure in global health. As well as his work at the WHO, he co-founded the health organisation Partners in Health in 1987.

Born in Seoul, he moved with his family to the US at the age of five. Paul Farmer, a friend of Dr. Kim's and the chair of the Department of Global Health at Harvard University, praised the nomination.