." welcome to "france 24 here are the headlines this hour. voters go to the polls in iraq for the first general election since u.s. troops pulled out over two years ago. but the severe violence that hit the country this week continues. seven more people have been killed today as dozens of attacks target holing stations and voters. hundreds of pro-russian separatists take over government buildings in the ukrainian provincial capital of luong. despite new western sanctions on russia. an inmate in oklahoma dies of a heart attack minutes after a

botched attempt to execute him with a new death penalty cocktail. also coming up this hour, celebrations across madrid as madrid wins. it might be an all spanish 20 in may if chelsea loses in tonight's game. a tug-of-war over french engineering company al stump. it says -- alstom. it is giving them a month to decide over the $12 billion offer from general election. there is a rival offer from siemens.

a rack is voting in its first general election since u.s. troops -- iraq is voting in his first general election since u.s. troops left in 2011. the severe violence that hit the country this week continues. two women were among the dead as a bomb went off at a polling station in the north. nicholas rushworth has more. friday, and the explosion tore apart a campaign rally in the east of the city. attack was part of the waves of sectarian violence nationwide in the days before the vote. iraq is currently going through its worst unrest in years. security for this election is massive. we have tree lines of defense at each of the polling stations. the first is security forces and federal forces near the station, the second is troops patrolling

around the areas. the third is special action forces and security check facilities at the entrance to stations. >> the sunni shiite violence is approaching levels seen in 2006 at 2008 when tens of thousands of people died. the al qaeda inside islamic states is gaining strength and waging war on the edges of baghdad. it wants to bring down the iraqi capital. there is no vote in parts of the western province where security forces are fighting islamists and tribal militias. the battle there is for control of rama d and falluja. togethert stand rulingsreligious against infidels. >> he points to jihadist coming , andom neighboring syria

heavy-handed treatment of sunni minorities has contributed to the unrest. >> first of all, let's talk about the politics. in are the main contenders the election? >> as you know, new rearm a maliki has a lot of -- new rial malikihasn't -- noori al with the of challenges creeping sectarian forces and marginalization of sunnis and kurds. but despite all of these accusations, and he is still the favorite thomas and that is because his block has emerged as relatively stable by the standards of iraqi politics. last year, his blog, which is called state of law, became the largest blog in provincial elections. and before that, in the parliamentary elections, that

walk had -- that block had come second. key tos really been the his relative success. having said that, in 2010, the shiite vote was split between rival locks, and there is a chance that a similar scenario could unfold back in 2000 when in very spent months tricky negotiations. we will have to see if that scenario repeats itself, but coalition building is never simple in a rack -- in iraq. there is a lot of haggling in parliament with outreach to various communities, ethnic and religious groups, to try to build a grand coalition. >> any people are warning of the risks of us at terry and breakup -- of a sectarian breakup. majority.ites are the they are concentrated in the southeast. we can see them in yellow on our

chart. sunnis are north and west of baghdad and pale blue. the kurds we have in the north in red. no stranger tois extreme violence. we were talking earlier about the peaks of violence in 2006 and 2007, but at that point there was not a mixed regional factor, which is syria. this war is having a major impact on iraq today with jihadist groups coming in and trying to destabilize the situation. fromther big difference the last parliamentary election is that u.s. forces have withdrawn. architect along with sunni tribal chiefs along with resurgence against al qaeda in the west of the country. that policy is basically dead. there were a couple of new , really an opportunity

for much more open-ended instability. >> thank you for that. gunmen have stormed the forcingnt in libya, lawmakers to postpone a vote for a new prime minister to take on the lawlessness gripping the north african nation. the libyan parliament attacked again. this is what the assembly's hallway looks like after a group of gunmen stormed it tuesday after opening fire. >> we were taken by surprise. told us that the gunman trying to penetrate the building had shot at the windows. was allegedly to block the election of a new prime minister. the previous one resigned earlier this month am only five days into the job, after his family had been threatened. tuesday morning before the shooting, dnp's held the first 's held the first

vote. the final election was postponed until next week. made the first round, we our selections. we will support the candidate who gets at least 120 ballots. the libyan parliament has been attacked several times in recent months, including an early march shooting in which two lawmakers were injured. libyan leaders have been unable to rein in former rebel brigades . benghazi is one of the worst hit cities. tuesday a car exploded at the entrance of one of the special forces bases. hundreds of pro-russian separatists have taken over government buildings in the ukrainian provincial capital of luong, another major excavation -- excavation -- another major escalation of the violence.

forces escorted out of their headquarters unarmed after a several hour siege on tuesday, they surrendered their buildings and gunmen.to separatist many policemen did not resist to tohorities in kiev -- authorities in kiev, they have betrayed the nation. >> hopelessness and sometimes her mental the trail to law -- and the trail -- >> this was the pro-russian's last victory. earlier demonstrators and dozens of gunmen stormed a religion of government headquarters, the prosecutor's office, and television studios. and neighboring donetsk. there allegedly there is a man in ukraine identified as a member of russian military intelligence. >> i am here as a result of my mission in crimea.

crimeamrades who came to have asked me if i could help create the crimean scenario in their hometowns. donetsk and do hence can. belong --aratists want a referendum granting more autonomy to ukraine's regions. met,eir demands are eastern regions could break away and join russia as did crimea. >> un-american convicted of murder has died of a heart attack more than 40 minutes after his -- an american convicted of murder has died of a heart attack within 40 minutes after a botched lethal injection. catherine clifford has the details. cried enactedket a that cried in agony on the execution chair. as it became clear how badly wrong the execution had gone,

they call a stop to the execution and pull the curtain, but he died minutes later of a heart attack. at 6:39 he is still listing his shoulders and head off the gurney, grimacing and appeared to be in distress. the execution started, and 6:39 is when they close the curtains on us. a 16-minute process to watch. >> and execution have been postponed for weeks. drugmakers are fused to continue selling education for use in executions. oklahoma and other states combined three drugs in a new lethal injection cocktail. critics argue that this could violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. liftedt week a court

and another inmate's stay of execution. >> it is ironic because the whole issue of the legal battle has been over the drugs themselves and whether or not they could be used in such an execution that it would cause a quick death that would be compatible with -- that would not be a form of cruel and unusual punishment. for his death to occur under these circumstances is certainly interesting, to say the least. >> following the boss -- the botched execution, charles warner was granted a two-week stay of execution. >> in france, the parliament has voted in a 50 billion euro savings plan that is meant to make sure friends meet its deficit reduction targets for europe. it was not an easy win for the new france prime minister. 41 members of his own socialist

party abstained from voting altogether. alex turnbull reports. >> a victory with a sour taste. mp's voted in favor of his cuts, but it was failed to be voted on in the national assembly. barack obama was working on raising the u.s. debt ceiling, he was forced to submit seven or eight different budget plans before getting congress' approval. that has not made him a weak president. >> all but three green mp's voted against the prime minister's austerity package. takingy it is about responsibility rather than following the party line. >> boundaries have become very blurry with a certain number of opposition members saying they are happy with the government's plant.

and they are voting for it. >> for leaders of the right wing unp party, it is another setback for the government. >> the manager charley -- the majority is crumbling. the division is what defines this majority. on the right are pointing out that the government lost its super majority in the national assembly. the socialist party is now facing a serious identity crisis. france, engineering company alstrom says it is aning it a month to accept offer from general electric worth $21 billion. the french government has other ideas. the government here regularly intervenes in corporate decision-making, and it is leading -- leaning toward arrival officer -- leaning toward arrival offer -- leaning toward a rival offer from siemens.

>> it was practically perfect. the american firm bid 12.30 5 'sllion euros for alstom business while the french group would concentrate on transport. but the deal is not done yet. -- has a monthgh to study it. alstom has decided to put in place a board of independent directors to review the proposed transaction before the end of may. siemens raised its bid wednesday morning, offering the french firm its train and metro building business in exchange for alstom's energy arms. the french government must approve the deal and has opposed the ge bid. up in the last few days it is unacceptable.

they have heard of -- our priority is employment, investment in our country, and our energy independence. we must reserve this. -- we must reserve this. >> alstom were to accept one, sell at 1.5%ve to the original purchase price. >> voters are going to the polls for the first general election since u.s. troops pulled out over two years ago. but violence that hit the country continues. at least seven people have been killed today as dozens of stationsarget polling and voters. hundreds of pro-russian separatists take over government buildings in the ukrainian

provincial capital of luong. another conflicts despite new western sanctions on russia. an inmate in the u.s. state of oklahoma dies of a heart attack minutes after a botched attempt to execute him with a new death penalty cocktail. we will take a look at what is grabbing headlines around the world. let's start with the election in iraq. >> that is right, gulf news says that stability is key as iraq goes to the polls, and it is very critical of prime minister maliki. bear in mind, gulf news is from the united arab emirates, so there is a sunni majority. they are critical of the prime minister, saying the election comes at the time when al maliki 's secretary policies have alienated the sunni minority in iraq, and this has led to a dramatic increase in violence.

>> also focusing on the prime minister and the lyrical strategy. has chosen to adopt the image of a strongman to appeal to iraqis, according to the paper, especially shiites in the country. but it is far from certain that he will secure a third term, according to the international "new york times." he is facing a lot of challenges. list ofcing a long political rivals that are determined to unseat him. finally, shiite clerics seem to be turning against him. according to the international "new york times," he has his work cut out for him to get reelected. is a good chance of him staying in office. according to "the independent," it is because of the violence sunni insurgents. they are the ones saving him, as you can see in the title. happens, the result of

this election will not bring iraq and a comfort." you can see the title, "bombs and the ballot." it is a very weak outlook. ukraine,move onto where tensions continue to grow in the east. >> a german magazine points out this did not stop the former german chancellor from birthday withs vladimir putin. you see a photo of the two men hugging in st. petersburg. this is the editorial. this is in very bad taste, according to the magazine. ofis making a mockery berlin's foreign policy, which he should be defending publicly. shamespiegel says it is a that he did not try to talk some sense into vladimir putin behind the scenes. >> much focus has been on the new prime minister. >> yesterday the lower house of parliament give the green light

to his 50 billion euro saving plan, but it was a close call for the prime minister. you can see that he is waltzing on a thin line, a little pun. is facing that valls a crumbling majority in parliament, opposition from the far left, the green party, and now the socialist rebellion. 's have decided to abstain from the vote and have vowed to keep a watchful eye on what the government does next. >> other papers are talking about the socialist rebel group. >> a business paper says a real movement was born, and his group will hunker down and present a real challenge to the president and the prime minister. this could be definitely tricky for them in deed. the front a look at page, it talks about how confidence has been shaken, a youth is to a very pouty looking

-- and you can see a very pouty looking valls. >> let's move over to the united states, where there has been much furor over the racist comments made by the owner of the nba.clippers in >> it is all over the u.s. press today. from "the christian science monitor," but it is all over the press. how the nba, in a surprise move, has banned donald sterling for life and fined him $2.5 million for racist comments. this comes after a recording was he told aer girlfriend not to bring black people to clippers games. the role that technology played in all this, we live in an era where a combination of social media and smartphones have made the wall between private and .ublic life start to crumble

there are lots of reasons to be upset about this, but "the daily beast" says or is the cause for celebration. it says, thanks for exposing the racist side of the rich and powerful. >> this could have been a securable magazine. >> it is "in slate." the national food safety conference -- conference has been stricken by food poisoning. a true story. it happened in baltimore, and you can read about it in "slate." >> thank you for watching "france 24." time now for sports. the final of the champions league for the first time in 12 years after a ruthless display a champions.e the spanish quickly ahead thanks to a brace from rameau's -- from ray most -- from ramos.

>> it is a great night. great to be in the finals. to resort to the them expected, but we were always confident we can win the game. -- we had to resort to the unexpected, but we were always confident that we could win the game. >> that was a perfect evening. we had not won against munich like this for a long time. it was a little bit of our pet peeve, so to speak, so to win like this is amazing, and we are into the final. the harshest is behind us, but there is another step to go. go -- atletico madrid, the first leg imagery and failed to break down -- the first leg in madrid failed to break down

chelsea's defense. >> any advice? >> no, just to go out and enjoy this kind of match. he knows what he has to do. >> it has been our goal to reach the final. >> they have a four-point lead at the top of their league, topping off their seat with a championship final. it will not be easy. >> all of my players are excited and keen to impress. the confidence is there. being already in the semifinals of the champions league is a massive statement. we will have to put in an enormous effort to get a positive result. the chelsea boss has now

fourth peak of the last seven seasons. after his time in charge at real measure is, he knows as well as everyone. -- at real madrid, he knows as well as anyone. felt a relationship with respect with mr. field and the club itself, and obviously with fans. that is not important, but i have respect for what they are be in theuse to championship final is not for every club. -- i amthe possibility not saying we are going to win, but to have the possibility of againstin the league

barcelona, real madrid, is something that deserves my respect. >> a dislocated shoulder on