One of seven children of three-time world champion Pele, Edinho was first detained in 2005 following a police swoop on a drug trafficking gang.

"There has been a major shift," said Bruce Jones, vice president and director for foreign policy at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington.

In the run-up to the last French election in 2012, Merkel, a conservative, refused to meet with Socialist Francois Hollande, the eventual winner.

Karabakh units said they continue controlling the situation on the contact line, ready to give adequate response to any provocation.

The motion approving the investigation by the Council of State, the government's legal adviser, coincides with a rising tide of Euroscepticism.

The president told the Conservative Political Action Conference that construction will start "very soon" and is "way, way, way ahead of schedule."

Fillon, one of the frontrunners in the presidential race, will be investigated for alleged embezzlement of public funds.

The talks, between senior North Korean foreign ministry envoy Choe Son Hui and former U.S. officials, were scheduled to take place on March 1 and 2.

Arish residents said militants circulated death lists online and on the streets, warning Christians to leave or die.