Historic victory of the Greens in Baden-Württemberg

Reuters - A minister-president from the Green Party should, for the first time leading a German state, after the brilliant breakthrough Sunday the Green party in regional elections in Baden-Wuerttemberg, the CDU governed since 1953.

The Christian Democrats (CDU) remain the largest party in the Land, with 39% according to final results, a decrease of five percentage points to 44.2% of previous regional elections in 2006.

But with their allies in the FDP, they only account for 44.3% against a left SPD-Greens are ahead with 47.3%.

FDP Liberals saw their score reduced by half compared to 2006, from 10.7% to only 5.3%, which allows them to sit in parliament narrowly in Stuttgart.

These are the Greens are the big winners of this election day, with 24.2% because they have more than doubled their score from 2006 (11.7%) and they pass the SPD, which, with 23.1% , fell by two percentage points compared to 25.2% in 2006.

The leading candidate of the Greens, Winfried Kretschmann, was to become the first minister-president of a German state ecologist, a revolution in the history of Germany.

"We will initiate political change in this Land," said Kretschmann, aged 62. The head of the SPD list, Nils Schmid said that voters had given a clear mandate for the Social Democrats and Greens to lead the Baden-Wuerttemberg.SPD and Greens did, however, that will have a narrow majority, with one voice, the Landtag in Stuttgart.

This is nonetheless a stinging defeat for Chancellor Angela Merkel. This new electoral setback in the state's most prosperous countries place Angela Merkel in an awkward position. On 20 February, German conservatives had already lost the city-state of Hamburg. "It's a painful defeat," conceded the Federal Education Minister Annette Schavan.

In Germany, setbacks in regional elections may have national implications.In 2005, after losing the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Social Democrat Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder announced early parliamentary elections, and was then beaten.

CDU pays its mistakes

In another Land southwest of Germany, Rhineland-Palatinate, the Social Democrats, who lead the region for 17 years, have lost their absolute majority, but Sunday they will be able to form a coalition with allies comfortable environmentalists.

The SPD records a loss of nearly 10 points compared to previous regional, but with 35.7%, it is ahead of the CDU (35.2%).With the backing of the Greens, which rose sharply to 15.4%, they have a majority in the Diet of Mainz.

The Christian Democrats had made in Baden-Wurttemberg Land's richest Germany with 11 million inhabitants with cities such as Stuttgart, Mannheim, Karlsruhe and Heidelberg, one of their electoral stronghold.

But the hostility of the electorate to Atomic Energy critics and cons of the hesitancy Angela Merkel have been strong themes of the campaign in a region where the Greens had been on the rise for several months because they been leading the opposition to a proposed new main station in the heart of Stuttgart, the state capital.

A series of large demonstrations were held against the project last year in this city.

Most importantly, the CDU seems to be paying his mistakes on the nuclear issue. Saturday, more than 200,000 people marched in major cities across the country by demanding the permanent closure of all German nuclear power plants.After all
first extended the life span of 17 units of the country, the federal government decided the immediate closure of seven of the oldest in the wake of accidents in Japan at the Fukushima-Daiichi plant.

Beyond the nuclear policy reversals Angela Merkel on Libya or the debt crisis in the euro area have also turned these elections into a referendum on regional policy as Chancellor has been conducting a year and a half with Liberal Democrats.

Three other regional elections will be held this year in Germany on May 22 in the city-state of Bremen, September 4 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and September 18 in Berlin.

JORDAN: Violent illustrative opening skirmishes took place between protesters supporters of the regime

AFP - Young Jordanians continued Friday their camp on a place in Amman, despite an attack by a group of government supporters who made thirty wounded in the night, said a journalist from AFP.

Thirty members of "Young, 24 March," a bunch of different trends, including Islamists, were slightly injured in the attack and three of them were hospitalized, according to organizers.

Hundreds of youths had gathered Thursday on the spot "Jamal Abdel Nasser" where they had set up a camp to call the Jordanian regime to "reform" and "Judgement" corrupt leaders.

At nightfall, the police tried to disperse them, then cut the electrical current, which has about fifty supporters of power to attack by throwing stones. The police did not intervene, witnesses said.

Early Friday, dozens of loyalists have moved back to a few meters from the youth camp. At the sound of loud music and patriotic songs in honor of King Abdullah II, they were dancing in the middle of the avenue. No police presence was visible.

"They do everything to push us to leave.Yesterday (Thursday) we were attacked with stones, but we will not budge no matter what happens, "he told AFP Basraoui Saddam, a student of 21 years.

"Our gathering was peaceful, but this does not prevent us from being the target of attacks. The king agrees there such actions? We are citizens and we have the right to express ourselves", for his part Darwiche said Reda, also a student.

Another demonstration is planned Friday at the Islamists' call to demand reforms.

In Jordan, where demonstrations have been ongoing for three months, the oppposite Islamist and leftist movements and nationalist, did not call for regime change, but deep political reforms and end corruption.

LIBYA: Despite signs of division, the coalition continues offensive

The international coalition bombed Monday 3rd day of his speech in the city of Libya Sabha, a stronghold of the tribe of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, according to the plan, but on the ground the violence continued killing 40 dead in Misrata, the third largest city countries.

The coalition came into action on Saturday by bombing by air and sea military objectives under the UN resolution 1973 adopted on Thursday evening, which includes the use of force to protect civilians, but she showed Monday, however, signs of division.

Monday night, firing anti-aircraft defense followed explosions were also heard in Tripoli near the residence of the Libyan leader, according to an AFP journalist. The previous night, missiles destroyed a building in the residence-hall in the south of Tripoli.

Several senior officials have assured that the coalition does not seek to directly address Colonel Gaddafi.

"The U.S. position is that Gaddafi must go," said Monday the U.S. President Barack Obama.But "it to the Libyans to decide," said U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Within the coalition - which includes the side of the EU, France, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Greece and Spain - and dissenting voices are heard, especially regarding the command of this operation that several countries would like to see given to NATO.

"NATO will play a" new phase in the military in Libya, "saidObama, adding that this phase would begin within "days, not weeks."

The Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has claimed that "the command of NATO operations passes.

"We want (...) control using the mechanisms of NATO, so that all who wish to participate from outside can be coordinated properly," added the British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Norway has reported that its six F-16 sent Monday Mediterranean to participate in the operation erode their mission when the question of command has been clarified.

Despite the offensive and the new international cease-fire announced by Muammar Gaddafi on Sunday, the violence continued Monday on the ground, killing at least 40 dead and 300 wounded in Misrata, about 200 km east of Tripoli according to a spokesman for the rebels in the city and a medical source.

According to the spokesman, Qaddafi's forces entered the city and deployed snipers and three tanks, firing on protesters.

The spokesman said the Libyan regime for his part that the city had been "released three days ago" but the regime's forces continued to search for them "terrorist elements".

In the East, the Libyan government forces, who attacked Benghazi on Saturday morning, declined Monday to Ajdabiya, 160 km south.

South-west of Tripoli, the loyalist forces pounded the area for three days of Al-Jabal Al-Gharbi, especially cities and Zentena Yefren under rebel control, according to residents of the region evoking raids "very intensive.

According to the Libyan regime, since Saturday, the coalition has conducted raids on Tripoli, Zouari, Misrata (west), and Sirte aimed Sabha Monday, targeting in particular airports.

These attacks resulted in "numerous casualties' among civilians, including" civil airport "Sirte, Gaddafi's home town, 600 km east of Tripoli, said Moussa Ibrahim, spokesman for the Libyan government .

The French Minister of Foreign Affairs Alain Juppe described the operation of the weekend "success" because it prevented a "bloodbath".

"We have rescued civilians in Benghazi," the insurgent stronghold of a thousand miles east of Tripoli, he said.

The European Union has adopted tougher sanctions against the regime of Gadhafi and expressed readiness to provide humanitarian aid, unable to conceal deep divisions among its members.

The Arab League chief Amr Moussa, who had supported the establishment of a no-fly zone, said the bombing deviated from their goal, before changing your Monday and to say that his comments the previous day had been "misinterpreted".

Click below to replay the events of the day on Monday, March 21.

To follow the liveblogging from your smartphone, click here.

JAPAN: "It is quite possible that the rise of the yen continues"

France24.com: How do you explain the surge in the yen against the dollar?

Danielle Schweisguth: The markets anticipate that the Japanese will repatriate some of their money. These are mainly insurance companies, which will have enormous needs. These companies have placed their currencies around the world and will have to convert them into yen, which will increase demand and thus raising the price of local currency.

F24: The government has denounced speculation ...

DS: Yes, because for now, insurance companies are still assessing the cost of this disaster and have not begun to repatriate that money.So these are speculators who plan what will happen to buy yen in dollars, therefore raising the price of the Japanese currency against the greenback.

F24: Can we expect the yen continues to rise?

DS: That's entirely possible. When everyone has an update on the money to pay insurers and organize the reconstruction, the actual movement of money will start, thus putting further pressure on the yen.

F24: Who suffers the most from this surge in the yen?

DS: This is in theory a bad news for Japanese companies whose business is export oriented. The yen is more expensive, more products would be difficult to sell abroad.In practice, Japanese companies should get out. Indeed, the soaring yen is not new: the course had already appreciated the yen against the dollar last year, and a similar phenomenon occurred after the Kobe earthquake in 1995. These firms have adapted by investing heavily in innovation and positioning themselves in niche markets - where there is little competition, which reduces the importance of the yen.

F24: What can the authorities to counter this surge?

DS: The levers are now in the hands of the Central Bank, which can handle them in two ways. First, it can flood the market by issuing yen, which should lower the value of money.That's what she started, but for now, this has not prevented speculation. The other lever, the central bank could now operate, is to directly intervene by selling yen and buying, as any player in the market in order to counterbalance the speculation.

COTE D'IVOIRE: At least eight dead in the assault of the pro-Gbagbo on Abobo

At least eight people were killed in fighting Saturday in the neighborhood of Abobo, Abidjan, between soldiers loyal to Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and rebels coming out in favor of his rival Alassane Ouattara, a noted journalist of AFP and capita.

Four bodies, riddled with bullets and partially undressed, lay on a road in the popular district of Abobo, a stronghold of supporters of Mr. Ouattara, was found Sunday a journalist from AFP.The victims appeared older than twenty years.

These bodies were seen in the area Dokui Plateau, near the road from the zoo.

A resident encountered on site by the AFP journalist said he saw four other bodies in another neighborhood of Abobo in the area Sodeci, at the southern entrance of Abobo.

The toll could be much higher. Earlier in the morning, next to the church of Sainte-Monique Abobo, a body covered with a large black bag was visible.

A resident also reported the witness encountered by AFP he had seen "in a shallow" Abobo two other bodies.But it was not possible to verify this information immediately.

Ouattara camp on Saturday denounced the "indiscriminate killing" of "innocent civilians", describing the military Operatio, the first major forces led by pro-Gbagbo since the beginning of the post-election crisis in late November, to " attack of despair. "

A large deployment of security forces pro-Gbagbo was seen Sunday morning at the southern entrance of Abobo.

No firing of heavy weapons, however, has been reported in the night and Sunday morning.Life was returning gradually, businesses had reopened, minibuses traveling, people went to church.

Most populous district of Abidjan, in the city with some 1.5 million inhabitants, Abobo became the epicenter of the post-election crisis that has claimed nearly 400 lives in the country according to the UN.

This sharp deterioration of the situation came after the Thursday summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa confirmed that the political deadlock: if the AU has confirmed that she recognized Mr. Ouattara as the elected president, the Gbagbo camp has categorically rejected this position.

USA: Illinois becomes the sixteenth U.S. state to abolish the death penalty

Illinois has abolished the death penalty Wednesday, becoming the 16th U.S. state to abandon the ultimate punishment, said the office of Pat Quinn, the Democratic governor of this state in the north of the United States, a stronghold of President Barack Obama.

The abolition was passed by parliament in Illinois in January, but the mystery remained unsolved as to its ratification by Pat Quinn, newly elected governor, who had already voted in favor of the death penalty.

"Our system of capital punishment is inherently riddled with errors," said the governor according to a transcript of the text of his remarks to reporters in Chicago.

For this reason, he added, "I decided to commute to life imprisonment without the possibility of leaving the sentences of all current death row" today. Fifteen people are waiting in death row in Illinois.

Illinois has a turbulent recent history on this subject which culminated in 2003 by the commutation of all death sentences to life imprisonment by Republican Governor George Ryan after three-year moratorium.

The debate erupted in 1999 when students at Northwestern University were able to prove the innocence of a death row inmate in Illinois.

"We can not tolerate the execution of innocents, because it jeopardizes the legitimacy of the government" of Illinois, said Mr. Quinn."Since 1977, Illinois has released 20 people from death row, seven have been cleared since the 2000 moratorium, a record that should disturb us," he said.

"To say that is unacceptable is not enough to express regret and shame we should feel, as a society, for these miscarriages of justice," he estimated the governor who, in addition, the death penalty n has no "chilling effect".

Illinois had not played since 1999 executing.

A general trend of declining death sentences and executions in the U.S., the elected officials of several states in recent years wondering about the possibility of abolishing the death penalty, which is still in force in 34 states on 50, particularly because of its exponential cost compared to life.

In 2009, the governor of New Mexico (southwest) signed the law abolishing the death penalty in his state. Two years ago, it was New Jersey (east). The death penalty was declared unconstitutional by the courts in the State of New York (northeast) in 2004.

Abolitionists closely scrutinize these abolitions point in the expectation that 26 states prohibit the death penalty.They can then ask the Supreme Court to abolish everywhere, on behalf of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution which prohibits "unusual punishment", that is to say a majority disapproved of States.

The United States has executed 46 people including a woman in 2010, against 98 in 1999.

ATHLETICS: IAAF European Athletics Indoor, ask the program ...

Saturday, March 5

On the occasion of the second day of European Championships Indoor Athletics, the two major French stars, Myriam Soumare and Christophe Lemaitre, started the competition off to a wheel. The two sprinters have easily won their qualifying semi-final 60 meters.In great shape, Lemaitre has the fastest time in the series 6''59.

It will also keep an eye on Teddy Tamgho, which is aligned to the finals in the long jump and triple jump, which is the world record holder. Renaud will also Lavillenie his title at the final of the pole vault.

The finals of the day:

* 2:20 p.m. - Shot Put (Women)
14:30 - High Jump (Men)
15:45 - Pole Vault (Men)
16:25 - Long Jump (Men)
16:50 - 3000 m (Men)
17:15 - 1500m (Women)
17:30 - 400 m (Women)
17:45 - 400 m (Men)

GMT +1 *

Read the full program on the site of the European Championship Paris-Bercy.

FRANCE: Alain Juppe found the Quai d'Orsay, sixteen years after

New head of French diplomacy, Alain Juppe, formally took office on Tuesday during a handover with Michèle Alliot-Marie, who made him an indispensable stimulus to government action internationally as on the domestic scene.

On this occasion, Mr. Juppe has drawn in broad strokes his highest priorities, particularly those relating to changes in the Arab world. It must, he believes so, launch the Union for the Mediterranean, the large project from start to mandate Nicolas Sarkozy.

"We will have to rebuild the Union for the Mediterranean. It was a prescient initiative," he said about this forum for cooperation between the EU and the Maghreb and the Middle East."What is happening today in the southern Mediterranean is completely changing. We need to think about it," he added.

At 65, Alain Juppe became the centerpiece of the government while Mr.Sarkozy seeks to give a hand to a little over a year of presidential elections, according to the vagaries of diplomacy unable to gauge the wind of liberty through the Arab world.

At a time when Paris took the lead in the forums of G20 and G8, diplomacy has become a domestic policy issue.

"Providential man" or "savior", the press has broadly welcomed Tuesday with kindness and relief the arrival of Alain Juppe at the Quai d'Orsay, hoping that France's voice is heard again after weeks of strong criticism on the proximity of Paris with authoritarian regimes.

Already No. 2 in the government, Mr.Juppe spent Tuesday morning over the reins of the Ministry of Defence in Gerard Longuet, former leader of UMP senators.

An hour later, he moved to the Quai d'Orsay, following a handover with Michèle Alliot-Marie, who resigned under pressure Sunday, when she was only three months for Foreign Affairs.

The minister finally falling after statements denounced as scandalous by the opposition, especially for suggesting the "expertise" of the French police in the middle of the Tunisian regime repression of the uprising in January, and for his ties revealed by Press with a businessman close to the ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Alain Juppe found a ministry where he has already noticed a shift from 1993 to 1995 before becoming Prime Minister Jacques Chirac.

The new Minister also referred in his first speech, the strengthening of partnerships with emerging countries, European defense and Africa: "(...) We must anticipate the development of Africa in the twenty-first century. This would be a mistake for us to relax our strategic presence on this continent with so many ties which have been constructed throughout history "

Mr.Juppe will also restore confidence APRIS diplomats who expressed in anonymous forums their concerns about the "amateur" or "fear of change" manifested in the French diplomacy.

According to a Harris Interactive poll released Tuesday, 55% of French make it "somewhat confident" as the new chief diplomat.

At 14 months of the presidential election, Mr. Juppe made figure of recourse to the right while Mr. Sarkozy is still struggling in the polls.

In accepting the Quai d'Orsay, he demanded a free hand over to the Elysee and intends to keep his freedom of speech, particularly on social issues such as the debate on the place of Islam, which it has multiplied warnings.