Foreign News and Analysis Since April 2005 -- formerly China Confidential -- What's Really Happening in the WorldForeign Confidential ™
Sunday, May 06, 2012
Radical Right and Far Left Gain in Greece
French Voters Say So Long, Sarko!
France Elects First Socialist President Since 1995
Francois Hollande (l.) beat incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in the French runoff presidential election Sunday, becoming France's first Socialist president of France since François Mitterrand left office in 1995.
With about half the vote counted, preliminary results released by the Interior Ministry shortly after the last polling stations closed at 8 PM local time showed Hollande had won about 51 percent of the vote and Sarkozy, of the center-right Union for a Popular Movement, had won about 49 percent.
Some observers contend that nothing much is likely to change in France. Au contraire. Foreign Confidential™ correspondents in France and Germany predict that Hollande's victory will constitute a formidable challenge to the German-dominated policy of extreme economic austerity in the euro zone, which is suffering from record unemployment and recession.
Though few Americans are likely to agree at this stage of their political process, the French elections could also boost President Obama's chances for reelection by further discrediting the idea that depressions and recessions are appropriate times to cut--or gut--government spending in order to address long-term fiscal problems. From Paris, France to Peoria, Illinois, voters are mainly focused on one word: jobs.
Copyright © 2012 Foreign Confidential™New Severe Solar Storm Warning
Space Weather Expert Says Earth Could be Hit by Natural EMP Attack
Amina Khan reports: "A stream of highly charged particles from the sun is headed straight toward Earth, threatening to plunge cities around the world into darkness and bring the global economy screeching to a halt."
Click here to read about the threat of a severe solar storm that could amount to a natural electromagnetic pulse(EMP) attack, a catastrophe that could affect entire continents and take months to recover from with major loss of life and property damage.
A manmade EMP attack--detonation of a nuclear warhead at high altitude--could be even more catastrophic, causing a modern society's complete collapse and, in America's case, the annihilation of 90% of the population. Click here to read about North Korea's first explicit threat to launch an EMP attack on the United States; and here, to read about Iran's apparent threat to strike the U.S. homeland with an EMP weapon.
Experts have warned for years about the risks associated with not protecting power grids against natural and manmade EMP assaults. Click here to download and read a copy of the 2004 Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack.
Copyright © 2012 Foreign Confidential™Crucial Elections in France and Greece
Voters Angry Over Austerity
The political fallout from Europe's economic crisis will be seen Sunday in France and Greece. Elections are underway in both countries, where angry voters seem determined to roll back austerity measures that have backfired terribly, making their lives more miserable with no end in sight.
In France, citizens are casting their ballots in a presidential runoff election, with preliminary results expected this evening.
Opinion polls indicate President Nicolas Sarkozy has narrowed the gap behind his Socialist rival. But Francois Hollande is expected to win. Sarkozy has faced mounting criticism for the way he has managed the French economy during his five years in office. Hollande is a veteran politician who headed the Socialist Party for several years. But he has never held a top government position.
Voters are going to the polls in Greece in the first general election since the start of the country's debt crisis. They are expected to punish the two main parties--the socialist PASOK party and the conservative New Democracy party--which are widely blamed for the worsening economic situation. Greece has one of Europe's fastest shrinking economies.
In just two years, Greece has received two huge international bailouts to keep from defaulting on its financial obligations. But in order to secure the aid from the European Union and International Monetary Fund, the government had to bow to demands to impose sharp spending cuts and tax oterincreases, which have generated widespread protests.
The two main parties are expected to lose votes Sunday to a field of smaller parties opposed to the austerity measures, bringing fears of new political instability.
If no party wins enough votes to form a government, building a new coalition could prove difficult and create even more problems for the nation's financial standing and its latest bailout. Many Greeks want the terms of the bailout to be renegotiated.Pyongyang Vows to Push Nuclear, Rocket Development
North Korea on Sunday vowed to press ahead with its nuclear and so-called space rocket--that is, ballistic missile--programs.
The statement comes as Pyongyang completes preparations for its third overt nuclear test--the Kimist regime is suspected of conducting several covert tests--a provocation that is likely to occur before the end of May.
Foreign Confidential™ first reported on March 26 that the North was preparing to again test an atomic device.
A North Korean nuclear test on Monday, May 28 would overshadow the U.S. Memorial Day. The North conducted its second nuclear test on Memorial Day in 2009.
Copyright © 2012 Foreign Confidential™
Monday, 7 May 2012
Chaos and shocking gains for neo-Nazis--what austerity has wrought in Greece. Click here for the story.
The outcome of the contest was a humiliating defeat for the brash and increasingly unpopular Sarkozy. Shortly after the polls closed, he called his challenger to concede defeat.
A delegation from Iran, which has supported the North's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, will observe the test. Iranian scientists, technicians, and military and intelligence officers have observed the North's previous nuclear and missile tests.
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