France

France is preparing for the presidency of right-wing Nicolas Sarkozy, elected by 53% of the votes against socialist candidate Segolene Royal’s 47% in the second round of French presidential elections.
Sarkozy’s agenda includes boosting the economy by creating jobs, liberalising employment laws, being tough on crime and controlling immigration. He officially takes over from Jacques Chirac on 16 May
Sarkozy’s victory has proven divisive in French society, with the future president once describing youths in marginalised areas as ‘scum’. There were clashes with protesters in Paris and some other cities after the result was announced. In Paris, several hundred rioters in the Place de la Bastille threw bottles and stones at police, shouting “Sarko-fascist”. Two police officers were injured in Nantes, where thousands of demonstrators turned to violence. Arrests were made in half-a-dozen cities.

Darfur

Amnesty International has accused China and Russia of continuing to supply arms to Sudan which are then used in Darfur by the government-backed Janjaweed militia, breaching a UN arms embargo. The four-year conflict in Darfur has seen more than 200,000 deaths, and the Janjaweed militia are accused of displacing and killing tens of thousands of people.
The Amnesty report backs UN findings, leaked this month, that Sudan is flying weapons into Darfur in breach of UN Security Council resolutions. It includes photographic evidence of the Sudanese air force using military aircraft in Darfur.
But the Sudanese ambassador to the UN, Abdel Mahmood Abdel Haleem, said the allegations were a lie.

Colombia

Colombian authorities have uncovered the mass graves of more than 100 people believed to have been killed during the country’s long-running civil conflict. The government was told of the graves after a peace deal with the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC), which is responsible for many massacres.
The 105 people discovered in 65 mass graves late on Friday 4 May near La Hormiga, the largest so far found, are believed to have been killed during the war.
This small town near the border with Ecuador was an AUC stronghold dominating an area known for its coca crops, the raw material for cocaine, through which the group is believed to have financed itself.

Germany

A former leader of the Baader-Meinhhof group also known as the Red Army Faction, Christian Klar, has had his plea for clemency turned down by Germany’s president Horst Koehler.
The Red Army Faction, formed in 1970 was a militant left-wing group with little or no popular support. Its highly unpopular campaign against the West German state, led in 1977 to a crisis known as the “German Autumn”. It was responsible for 34 deaths during its almost 30-year existence.
Klar was sentenced to a minimum of 24 years in prison for his involvement in nine murders. He was jailed in 1983 and is eligible for parole in 2009. He is one of only three gang members who remain in prison.