IMF head 'arrested for sex assault'

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was reportedly arrested in New York yesterday by police investigating a sexual assault.

Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, the leader of France's Socialist Party and the potential main opponent to President Nicholas Sarkozy at next year's national election, was taken off an Air France flight moments before the plane left New York, The New York Times and New York Post newspapers reported. Police are investigating an incident involving maid at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan.

Mr Strauss-Kahn is married to New York-born journalist Anne Sinclair. He was France's Minister of Economy and Finance from 1997 to 1999.