Nicolas Sarkozy took office as France’s 23rd president Wednesday and moved quickly to deliver on promises of change by assembling a diverse Cabinet that is likely to include a leader of the leftist opposition. Sarkozy, 52, succeeded Jacques Chirac during a ceremony at the Elysees Palace. Chirac, 74, who served two terms, greeted Sarkozy on a red carpet in the courtyard, then brought him inside for a 35-minute meeting during which Chirac turned over the top-secret codes to France’s nuclear arsenal.
Mexico: Gunmen kill police officers
Armed men abducted and killed four police officers on Wednesday about 20 miles south of the Arizona border, and police later killed eight of the gunmen after tracking them into the hills with a helicopter. During a gunbattle with 40 armed assailants – which continued for hours in the mountains south of Cananea, Sonora near the U.S. border – state police were able to free four other people abducted by the gang, including one police officer and three Cananea residents, the state prosecutors’ office said.
South Korea: Trains cross border
Trains traveled today on the first rail journey through the heavily armed border dividing the two Koreas in more than half a century, the latest symbol of historic reconciliation between the longtime foes. The trains crossed into the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone shortly after leaving on the test runs along two restored tracks on the west and east sides of the peninsula. The exchange comes despite unresolved tensions over the North’s nuclear weapons.
Japan: But do they take teens?
Japan’s first anonymous drop box for unwanted infants triggered a wave of anger and soul-searching Wednesday after it was learned that a toddler was left by his father on the service’s first day. The drop-off for infants, known as “Stork’s Cradle,” was begun May 10 by the Roman Catholic-run Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto to discourage abortions and the abandonment of children in unsafe public places. The same day, a boy believed to be 3 was found inside.
From Herald news services
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