PARIS: French President Francois Hollande admitted Tuesday he was going through a painful time in his private life but refused to say whether his relationship with his long-term girlfriend Valerie Trierweiler is over after the revelation of an affair.

Trierweiler, France’s de facto First Lady, has been in hospital since Friday with stress linked to last week’s revelation that he has been having a liason with Julie Gayet, a blonde actress 18 years his junior.

Hollande said that the issue of whether Trierweiler accompanies him on an official trip to Washington next month would be resolved before then. The couple are due to spend a night at the White House as guests of Barack and Michelle Obama.

Police in Campinas, which is about 100 km northwest of Brazil's biggest city, Sao Paulo, confirmed that the homicides took place, but wouldn't provide details on the cases.

About 30 people angrily protested over the killings, attacking commuter buses and burning at least three of them. There were no reported injuries in those cases.



Meanwhile, flash flooding triggered by heavy rain in the southern Brazilian town of Itaoca killed at least 10 people with another 10 reported missing, authorities said Tuesday.

A statement from Sao Paulo state's civil defense department said roughly 332 people, or about 10 percent of Itaoca's population, were left homeless by overflowing waters from the Palmital river.

Itaoca, located 343 km southwest of Sao Paulo, was still without power and drinking water, with 100 homes affected, officials said.

Some 50 homes were also damaged in the nearby town of Apiai, they added.

Sao Paulo Governor Geraldo Alckmin toured the area Monday and described the situation as "extremely serious."

Forecasters are predicting more rain in the area over the next few days.

The roads leading to Itaoca have been cut off and the community has no water or electrical service. Authorities have declared a state of calamity.

Late last year, floods and mudslides killed 41 people in the states of Espirito Santo and Minas Gerais.