Francois Hollande becomes French presidentPARIS (Reuters) - Francois Hollande became French president on Tuesday in an official handover ceremony that makes him the country's first Socialist leader since Francois Mitterrand.
Outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy greeted Hollande on the steps of the Elysee presidential palace, and took him inside to transfer nuclear codes and other secret files ahead of a short swearing-in ceremony attended by around 400 guests.
France's outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) shakes hands with newly-elected President Francois Hollande on the steps of the Elysee Palace at the handover ceremony in Paris May 15, 2012. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen
Hollande was due to fly to Berlin later in the day for his first meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
(Reporting By Catherine Bremer; Editing by Paul Taylor)
Msians must stop all those unfair, unjust, unprofessional plays
PERKASA sokong tubuh Majlis Peguam baru8:10PM Mei 13 2012 Presiden Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Negara (PERKASA) Datuk Ibrahim Ali menyokong cadangan mewujudkan Majlis Peguam baru di negara ini memandangkan Majlis Peguam sedia ada dilihat "gagal memainkan peranannya secara profesional."
Beliau berkata majlis peguam sedia ada bukan sahaja tidak beretika dan berat sebelah malah tidak langsung menunjukkan sikap profesionalismenya ketika mendepani isu-isu semasa negara.
"Pandangan badan ini sentiasa memihak kepada (pembangkang). Ini tidak bererti saya meminta mereka menyokong kerajaan. Tetapi mereka kena bersifat profesional. Kalau dia sokong kerajaan semata-mata pun saya tidak setuju. Majlis Peguam perlu dilihat lebih profesional dan bebas," katanya.
Ibrahim bercakap kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan pelancaran Perkasa Pribumi Sabah, Gabungan Pantai Timur Sabah yang turut dihadiri Naib Presiden Perkasa yang juga Yang Dipertua Perkasa Sabah Datuk Dr Mohd Jeffry Osman di Tawau hari ini.
Menurut Ibrahim sikap tidak profesional Majlis Peguam berkenaan sudah lama berlaku dan terbaru Majlis Peguam berkenaan begitu terburu-buru mengeluarkan laporan berhubung perhimpunan Bersih 3.0 tanpa membuat siasatan rapi mengenai kejadian sebenar yang berlaku.
Sementara itu, PERKASA Sabah dalam perhimpunan hari ini meluluskan tujuh resolusi berkaitan demonstrasi jalanan Bersih 3.0 untuk diserahkan kepada kerajaan bagi tindakan segera.
Antara resolusi ialah meminta kerajaan segera menahan dan mendakwa Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yang didakwa telah memberi arahan kepada peserta Bersih 3.0 merempuh penghadang dan anggota polis sedangkan mahkamah sudah memerintahkan peserta tidak boleh memasuki Dataran Merdeka.
Resolusi berkenaan juga meminta kerajaan supaya segera menahan dan mendakwa Datuk Ambiga yang merupakan penganjur utama Bersih 3.0 kerana telah melanggar syarat-syarat berhimpunan iaitu gagal mengawal peserta Bersih 3.0 sehingga sebahagian mereka dikatakan melakukan keganasan terhadap anggota polis dan semasa perhimpunan.
Who's more credible - father or daughter?11:16AM May 11, 2012
VOXPOP 'It's the classic Mahathir denying the undeniable and defending the indefensible. He wasn't at the scene. Yet, he knows better than his daughter.'
Dr M refutes daughter's police violence claim
Cannon: Yes, the injured protesters were beaten up by the 'red shirts' of PAS or they beat themselves up to make the cops look bad, just like how former DPM Anwar Ibrahim injured himself while he was blindfolded and his hands tied behind his back when he was under police detention.
It's the classic Dr Mahathir Mohamad denying the undeniable and defending the indefensible.
He wasn't at the scene. Yet, he knows better than his daughter, Marina, and all the press reporters, Bar Council observers and eyewitnesses who were there, put together.
Truth and integrity mean nothing to the man. His is the politics of expedience.
If Umno is in a dire state, it's because the ethos of the party sucks. The reason is not hard to find. The party Mahathir founded and ruled for 22 years is devoid of values like truth and integrity.
The rule of Umno is the law of the jungle, a predatory regime where the strong prey on the weak. Mahathir and his Umno warlords are living in denial. They're vehemently opposed to change.
Kairos: Marina Mahathir was at the Bersih 3.0 rally. Her father, former premier Mahathir, was not anywhere near.
What Marina wrote was first hand. What her father wrote was second hand. He was merely theorising and speculating.
Marina saw it all happen before her eyes. What she wrote was what she witnessed. It was insight on site.
Who then do you think is more credible? The father or the daughter?
Yellow Bird: One point of contention (mentioned as well in Marina's article) and something that the police need to explain, is why tear gas and water cannons were fired at Lebuh Pasar when there was no breach of the barricades, and protestors happily sat around as they were meant to do.
Anonymous #18452573: One writes like a statesperson, truthful, intelligent, moderate and with love. And the other writes out of fantasy, delusional arrogance, lies, hate and racism.
No prizes for guessing who is who. I am proud that Marina has always stayed filial in spite of the vast difference between her and her father. That is the makings of a great person.
Abang Hamzah Abang Zainie: Dr M's comments were bias, unfounded and plainly incorrect. We are better off not to entertain his personal views, which should strictly remain his own blog.
If anybody was to believe there was no police brutality, he must be blind. If anybody was to infer communist elements in the organisation of Bersih, he must be suffering from hallucination.
And to pick the former IGP (inspector-general of police) to head the Independent Advisory Panel is simply against the rules of natural justice.
How can we allow an ex-IGP to deliberate over the conduct of police officers? It's like asking the grandfather to decide over the misdemeanor of his own grandson.
This country needs to rid itself of people with a perverted view of democracy, the rule of law, justice and what constitute free and fair elections.
Why the Election Commission refuses to accept Bersih demands is obviously crystal clear - continue with the cheating so that the current government will retain power.
Bob Teoh: The red-shirt PAS Amal unit is described by Mahathir as "trained hooligans". I was in the 2007 Bersih and I saw for myself how disciplined they were.
Again at Bersih 3.0, they not only provided security but also protection for all at the risk of their own lives. If not for Amal, many more would be injured.
The police, on the other hand, was no match given their excessive use of force. The evidence is all over YouTube. PAS should provide training to the police.
Anonymous_3f35: Mahathir's only objective is to ensure through fair means or foul (the latter really) the opposition does not take Putrajaya.
His ego is so big that he will not survive this humiliation and so he has to lie, fabricate, raise ethnic tensions and just about anything to achieve his objective.
Even if Malaysia burns, it does not matter to him. I have only pity for him that in his old age he has to be so fearful.
That is punishment enough for this man who have corrupted our nation and sent our country in a spiral down to a banana republic in every sense of the word.
Anak, Bangsa, Malaysia: Dr M wrote the book ‘A doctor in the house'. In fact it should be ‘A daughter in the house'.
France's outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) shakes hands with newly-elected President Francois Hollande on the steps of the Elysee Palace at the handover ceremony in Paris May 15, 2012. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen
Who's more credible - father or daughter?
Cannon: Yes, the injured protesters were beaten up by the 'red shirts' of PAS or they beat themselves up to make the cops look bad, just like how former DPM Anwar Ibrahim injured himself while he was blindfolded and his hands tied behind his back when he was under police detention.