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Approaching the French courts is an intriguing case of alleged exploitation to the tune of $1.5 billion.

Liliane Bettencourt aged 87 and heir to the L’Oreal is France’s wealthiest woman. Befriended by the photographer Francois-Marie Banier, 62 she has bestowed around a $1.5 billion worth of gifts upon him, including paintings by Picasso and Matisse.

Liliane’s daughter, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers has waged a two year legal campaign including a failed attempt to have her mother put under court-ordered supervision. The latest trial charges him for exploitation and is set to commence on April 16 in order to “Show that Francois-Marie Banier abused  fragile woman," said Olivier Metzner, lawyer for Bettencourt Meyers. Banier faces up to three years in jail if found guilty.

The Nanterre criminal court also ordered Liliane Bettencourt to undergo a medical examination before March 10 to discern her mental state. For her part Liliane Bettencourt has made only one public pronouncement on the whole affair declaring the whole thing “very unpleasant and upsetting”. She declared "My daughter is going to have to accept that I'm a free woman”.

Does this high-society family feud tickle your fancy? Want more from our correspondents in France?

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Fashion week is in full swing in Monteal and correspondent Brandy Yanchyk has alerted us to Quebec Designer Mariouch Gagne and her take on ethical fashion. Mariouche was born in the First Nations village of Loretteville and now is an internationally known fashion designer based in Montreal.

Mariouche makes her clothes out of recycled fur and silk. Whilst taking her master's degree in design management at Milan’s Domus Academy, Mariouche won second prize in a contest where she used her mother's old fur coat to dress up a reversible ski outfit she

created. Since that success she has never looked back and has sold her creations

to over 18 countries and makes half of her revenue on international sales. She

has her own store in downtown Montreal and says she has recycled over 50,000

coats and turned them into new creations. It has also been estimated that close

to half a million animals’ lives have been saved from these designs.

If you'd like Brandy to chase this story further, interview Mariouch or look into her working process or anything else. Let us know, here at GFM!

The longest running flower show in the world (since 1829) is upon us - 2010 Philadelphia International Flower Show.

Their press dept explained, 'This year's theme being "Passport to the World". On the visual side, world renowned floral and landscape designers will display exhibits that reflect gardens and landscapes of India, Brazil, South Africa, New Zealand, Singapore, the Netherlands, and many other nations.'

'There will also be plenty of opportunities to gather sound, from expert interviews, to live animal demonstrations, care of the Philadelphia Zoo, to performances by the popular Brazilian band Minas. There will also be Bollywood dancing with Slumdog Millionare choreographer, Rujuta Vaidya and her troupe'.

'The president of PHS, Jane Pepper, a Scotland native, will also be retiring after this year's show. So a special garden exhibit called "Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club" is being devoted to her and her favorite music'.

'The Philadelphia Flower Show runs from Feb.28-March 7 with a special press conference on February 3 at World Cafe Live, in Philadelphia and a press preview on Feb. 27'.

If you're a horticulture crazy or just want an insight into this niche world then send us your angles and lets generate some buzz for this story. Push it, post it, blog the link and lets see if we can drum up enough interest to get this story comissioned.

April 11th is scheduled to see Presidential and parliamentary elections take place in Sudan. With the recent peace accord signed between President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and the country's most powerful rebel group, The Justice Equality Movement (JEM).

The agreement sees the rebel group offered a place in government but the peace process is by no means finalised and the ceasefire has been given a March 15th deadline to work towards. Will there be enough time to resolve this bitterest of conflicts and herald a free and democratic election in time for April?

What are the most significant obstacles to the pushing through of peace in the country?

The Qatari government has been brokering these talks and pledged $1 billion to rebuild the country. Is this enough? What do our correspondents in the region think? Whilst no mystics, their expertise and experience of the conflict qualifies them to offer their insights as to what will and what may happen. Any questions or avenues you'd like them to follow - let us know at Global For Me and lets make your story happen!

A friend of GFM, James, has suggested a story idea that would lead a correspondent take closer look at a peculiar stratum of American society.

The Militias which are cropping up in certain parts of the United States are often dismissed as kooks and kranks but their existence is the result of their disenfranchisement from the direction they believe their country is taking. They are extreme nationalists and their internet presence is rising in popularity as it seems that their sentiment is one that increasing numbers of Americans are coming to sympathise with. Alternative media resources are an integral part of the momentum of these groups - is it misinformation that this is enabling? How extreme are thesegroups?

Will these militias grow any further? What do they believe the solution isto the current woes of the USA? Who are they and in what number? What do they want and how do they plan to getit?

Here at Global for me we have a network of correspondents ready to investigate further.

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Associated: http://ithp.org/articles/civilwar.html