French Presidential Election: Hollande Defeats Sarkozy, Socialist Returns to Power

France voted in a presidential run-off election on May 6 that could see Socialist challenger Francois Hollande defeat incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy by capitalizing on public anger over the government’s austerity policies.

The election outcome will impact efforts to fight France’s debt crisis, how long the nation’s troops stay in Afghanistan and how France exercises its military and diplomatic muscle around the world.

Sarkozy, punished for his failure to rein in record 10 per cent unemployment and for his brash personal style, is the 11th successive leader in the euro zone to be swept from power since the currency bloc's debt crisis began in 2009.

Jubilant left-wingers celebrated outside Socialist Party headquarters and in Paris' Bastille square, where revelers danced in 1981 when Francois Mitterrand became France's only other Socialist president.

Sarkozy Voted Out

Fifty-seven-year-old Hollande voted in his electoral fief of Tulle, in central France. Live television coverage showed politician shaking hands and chatting with voters on his way into the polling station. He will take office from May 16.

Leftists were overjoyed to have one of their own in power for the first time since Socialist Francois Mitterrand was president from 1981 to 1995.

Sarkozy is the latest victim of a wave of voter anger over spending cuts in Europe that has ousted governments and leaders in the past couple of years.

In Greece, a parliamentary vote on May 6 was seen as critical to the country’s prospects for pulling out of a deep financial crisis felt in world markets. A state election in Germany and local elections in Italy were seen as tests of support for the national governments’ policies.

In France, with 95 per cent of the vote counted, official results showed Hollande with 51.6 per cent of the vote compared with Sarkozy’s 48.4 per cent. The turnout was a strong 81 per cent.

Fall of Strauss-Kahn

Even a year ago, few would have expected to see Socialist candidate Hollande packing his bags for a move into the Elysee Palace.

Former IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was seen as all but certain to be the Socialist candidate in the election, until his stunning fall from grace in May after sexual assault charges in New York.

At the time Hollande, a backroom deal-maker who led the Socialists for 11 years, was perhaps best known as the former partner of the party's telegenic 2007 candidate, Segolene Royal.

But he surged ahead during a US-style primary to beat rival Martine Aubry, appealing to the centre-left with with vows to be a consensus-builder, despite his only experience being as a local official in his adopted Correze region.

He has held an opinion poll lead over Sarkozy from the moment of his nomination and -- notwithstanding a few late surges in support for the incumbent -- never fell behind.

A protege of modernizing former European Commission Chairman Jacques Delors, Hollande is of the generation groomed under the only previous Socialist president, Francois Mitterrand, who left office in 1995.

Next Important Step

Hollande's clear win should give the self-styled "Mr Normal" the authority to press German Chancellor Angela Merkel to accept a policy shift towards fostering growth in Europe to balance the austerity that has fueled anger across southern Europe. His margin also positions the Socialists strongly to win a left-wing majority in parliamentary elections next month, vital to implement his plans for a swift tax reform.

If it wins that two-round election on June 10 and 17, the Socialist Party would hold more levers of power than ever in its

43-year history, with the presidency, both houses of parliament, nearly all regions, and two-thirds of French towns in its hands. Even before the results were declared, cheering crowds gathered at Socialist headquarters to acclaim the party's first presidential victory since Mitterrand's re-election in 1988.

Many waved red flags and some carried roses, the party emblem. In Bastille Square, flashpoint of the 1789 French Revolution and the left's traditional rallying point for protests and celebration, activists began partying two hours before the polls closed.

Hollande has promised more government spending and higher taxes - including a 75-per cent income tax on the rich - and wants to re-negotiate a European treaty on trimming budgets to avoid more debt crises of the kind facing Greece.

Hollande’s Life and Career Graph

Born in 1954 in the northern city of Rouen, Hollande was the son of a doctor with far-right sympathies and of a social worker.

His father later moved the family to Neuilly-sur-Seine, the posh Paris suburb where Sarkozy was also raised.

He was educated at the elite Ecole National d'Administration, where in 1978 he met Royal and the couple started a three-decade relationship.

In 1981, after Mitterrand swept to power, Hollande challenged Jacques Chirac -- who later became French president -- in his parliamentary fiefdom in the rural region of Correze, but lost.

Chirac, who once mocked Hollande as "less well-known than Mitterrand's Labrador", retains affection for his old rival and even said he would vote for the Socialist, though he later passed off his remark as a joke.

Hollande eventually won the seat in 1988 and was reelected in 1997, 2002 and 2007.

In 1997 he took over the Socialist Party leadership, a post he held until 2008 when he was replaced by former Labor Minister Aubry, also the daughter of his former mentor Delors.

Some had pushed for Hollande to take on Sarkozy in the 2007 race but Royal had already emerged as the leading Socialist nominee. The couple, who by then had four children, split before the vote but news of the break-up did not emerge until after Royal's defeat.

Hollande is now in a relationship with political journalist Valerie Trierweiler.

Concerns that Hollande was too mild-mannered and academic to take on Sarkozy disappeared as the race went on and he emerged as a tough campaigner, his speeches sprinkled with dry humor. His performance during the campaign's only face-to-face debate -- when he fended off an increasingly aggressive Sarkozy accusing him of "lies" and "slander" -- was particularly lauded.

Global Measles Mortality: India Accounts for 47 Percent of Worldwide Deaths

Measles is a highly infectious and potentially dangerous illness which spreads very easily. Whether you stay in the United Kingdom or travel abroad it is crucial that individuals who may be at risk are fully immunized.

Reports of measles go back to at least 600 BC. In 1954, the virus causing the disease was isolated, and licensed vaccines to prevent the disease became available in 1963. Humans are the only known natural hosts of measles.

In the 1990s, experts thought they were close to eliminating measles for good. But now the World Health Organization (WHO) has put back its target date for getting rid of the disease to 2015. But even that seems unlikely.

The reason? A measles outbreak which is spreading across Europe, affecting France, Belgium, Germany and Romania - and now the United Kingdom.

According to the WHO, other significant outbreaks are taking place in Serbia, Spain, Macedonia and Turkey. Over the last few months, the Health Protection Agency has seen an increase in measles cases in children and young adults in England and Wales. Their figures show that between January and April, 275 laboratory-confirmed cases of measles were reported, compared to 33 cases for the same period the previous year.

Africa and India accounted for a combined total 79 per cent of all deaths from measles between 2000 and 2010. Anthony Lake - the executive director of the United Nations children's organization UNICEF, which is also part of the Measles and Rubella Initiative - said there were still 382 deaths from measles every day.

India Faces Alarming Situation

Delayed implementation of accelerated disease control in India has led the country to account for 47 per cent of estimated measles mortality in 2010. At 36 per cent, even the WHO African region accounted for lesser mortality than India. Although India achieved 26 per cent reduction in measles mortality between 2000 and 2010, its contribution to the percentage of global measles deaths increased from 16 per cent in 2000 to 26 per cent in 2010.

Except for the Southeast Asia WHO region, all the other WHO regions recorded a reduction in mortality by more than three-quarters during 2000-2010. Even in the case of WHO Southeast Asia region, except for India, the other countries in the region had reported a reduction.

Africa is a study in contrast. The mortality reduction during the same period, 2000-2010, was 85 per cent. The effect of this decline gets reflected in the continent's contribution to the global measles deaths — 63 per cent in 2000 to 36 per cent in 2010.

According to the Federal Health Ministry, India has introduced the second dose of measles vaccine in 2010. "India started giving a second dose of vaccine to children through routine immunization in 21 better performing states where coverage for measles vaccination was more than 80 per cent. In the remaining 14 high-risk states, we are carrying out the campaign in a phased manner. These 14 states also include second dose of measles vaccination under the routine immunization program, six months from completion of the campaign.”

New WHO Findings

The WHO study states that measles mortality has been reduced by more than three-quarters in all regions of the world except in south-east Asia. Anti-measles efforts had suffered from inadequate funding and lack of political commitment since 2008.

In 2007, investigators reported that the global goal to reduce measles deaths by 50 per cent by 2005, compared with 1999, had been achieved. Later, WHO member states decided on a more ambitious target of 90 per cent reduction between 2000 and 2010.

Situation in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, excluding India, had 79 per cent vaccine coverage in 2010. The global coverage for measles vaccination overall was 85 per cent. Over 1 billion doses of measles vaccine were delivered through supplementary mass vaccination campaigns in the past decade, and were the main driver behind the huge fall in mortality.

Measles eradication is biologically feasible and while no formal eradication goal has yet been set, progress on the mortality reduction goal will lead to consideration for an eradication goal.

Millennium Development Goals that aims to reduce child mortality by two-thirds by 2015 will be missed if measles outbreaks continue to spread. The challenges, however, include competing public health priorities, weak immunization systems, sustaining high routine vaccination coverage and plugging the $298 million funding gap for global anti-measles efforts. Measles virus is spread by airborne droplets through coughing and sneezing. It begins with fever and is followed by cough, running nose, conjunctivitis, and body rashes.

Global Efforts

Global efforts to cut the number of deaths from measles have fallen short of World Health Organization (WHO) targets.

An analysis published in the Lancet said deaths had fallen by 74 per cent between 2000 and 2010, but the target was 90 per cent.

Outbreaks in Africa and delays in vaccination programs in India have stalled progress. A new campaign to tackle the disease has been launched, which will combine measles and rubella jabs.

In 2000, there were 535,300 deaths from measles. This fell to 139,300 deaths in 2010.


Warning to Europe

European countries need to act now to tackle measles outbreaks, the WHO warns. The WHO report states that there were over 26,000 measles cases in 36 European countries from January to October 2011. Western European countries reported 83 percent of those cases, with 14,000 in France alone.

In England and Wales, there were just under 1,000 confirmed measles cases in that period - compared with just 374 in the whole of 2010. Altogether, measles outbreaks in Europe have caused nine deaths, including six in France, and 7,288 hospitalizations.

France has now launched a nationwide campaign to raise awareness about the need for MMR vaccination.

France can simply not afford to have deaths, painful and costly hospitalizations, disruptions to work and school from a completely vaccine-preventable disease.

Ninety per cent of European cases were amongst adolescents and adults who had not been vaccinated or people where it was not known if they had been vaccinated or not. And measles from Europe has been linked to outbreaks in several other countries including Brazil, Canada and Australia.


Points To Remember

* A highly infectious viral illness

* Causes a fever, coughing and distinctive red-brown spots on the skin

* Contracted by breathing in tiny droplets created when an infected person coughs or sneezes

* Possible complications include pneumonia, ear and eye infections, and croup

* Serious complications include inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), which can be fatal

* Infection during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, premature labor or low birth weights

India Successfully Test-Fires Agni V Missile: Country Joins Elite Club of Nations

India successfully test-fired country’s long-range surface-to-surface Inter-Continental Ballisitic Missile (ICBM) -- Agni-V -- from the launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast on April 19. The missile can carry a pay-load of 1 ton and is capable of reaching deep into Asia and Europe. It is a move that would bring the emerging power into a small club of nations with intercontinental defense capabilities.
Only the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – China, Russia, France, the United States, and the United Kingdom – along with Israel, are believed to have such long distance missiles.
Most Advanced Version
The Agni V, a three-stage, all solid fuel powered missile with multiple independent targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV), is designed to be the most advanced version of the indigenously built Agni series. It is powered by solid rocket propellants and can be transported by road. India has tested several missiles in the past few years as part of its program, which started in the 1960s.
With a planned range of 5,000 km (3,100 miles), the Agni V will traverse 2,000 km more than any Indian missile has ever done. The present launch will see the missile first power its way to a vertical height of 500 km in the atmosphere before following a ballistic trajectory that will see it splash down in the Indian Ocean way beyond Indonesia.
A commercial jetliner would take over six hours to traverse such a distance. But Agni V, traveling at 24 times the speed of sound and 30 times faster than a commercial jet, will traverse that distance in just 18 to 20 minutes. In doing so, it will become not just the longest range ballistic missile in India's strategic armory but also its fastest. Most importantly, Agni V would put most of China's major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, within Indian missile range.
Building Long-Range ICBMs
The test of Agni V would give India the capability of building long-range ICBMs or missiles that can reach targets of 8,000 km or more.
With a warhead weight of 1,500 kg (1.5 ton) Agni V will ultimately be capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads giving it deadly strike capability.
Agni V would be a significant step up from the range of Agni missiles that India currently has in its armory. The latest missile will have higher payload capability, a specialized booster and a new set of road-mobile launchers. The smaller versions of the missiles like Agni-II and Agni-III are rail-mobile which poses limitations in transportation especially when keeping these hidden from overhead satellites and prying human eyes.
Agni I goes to 700 km and Agni II, 2000 km. Both these are primarily meant to target Pakistan, giving India a capability to strike its neighbor from any part of the country.
Agni III and Agni IV are missiles in the 3,000 km class meant for China and other regional neighbors. The distance though is a limitation as these classes of missiles would be unable to strike many of China's strategic cities or locations. So the need for Agni V.
Avinash Chander, DRDO's Chief Controller R&D (Missiles and Strategic Systems), said, "There are many firsts we are incorporating in Agni V, these include two all new composite motors that would propel the missile to distances bordering ICBM capabilities."
At 17 meters in height, Agni V is almost 5 stories tall and has a diameter of two meters - similar to that of the giant main sewage pipelines that are laid in most Indian cities. Agni V is short and squat as compared to India's space rockets.
Almost three years in the making, Agni V is a three-stage rocket that, has one of the most highly developed guidance systems that the DRDO has ever built to enable it to strike targets at great distance with stunning accuracy.
While the first stage motor is similar to the one used in Agni III, the second and third stage motors are brand new and built of light composite materials that are being flight tested for the first time. It reduces weight and gives the missile greater punch.
Although the first launch would be from a static harness at the Island, Agni V would have tremendous road mobility once it is fully developed. These include a canister launch which means that it gives India "stop and launch" capability from any part of the country. Once India successfully test Agni V, the country would have broken the barrier of long range ballistic missile systems.
Facts About Missile
* With a range of 5,000 km, Agni V will traverse 2,000 km more than any other Indian missile
* Traveling at 24 times the speed of sound, Agni V will traverse 5,000 km in just 20 minutes
* If successful, it will give India the capability of striking all major Chinese cities, including Shanghai
* The technology being used in Agni V will ultimately give India the capability to build ICBMs.