This Is China's Response To The US Navy's Struggling Coastal Warship Program

The fact that China's been building up its military with speed and agility recently is nothing new, but Beijing is now going head-to-head with one of the U.S. Navy's most troubled programs.
The Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is meant to be part of the fleet being moved to the Pacific, and though a couple versions of the ship were put to sea four years ago, the program is still beset by problems and nowhere near combat ready.
Michael Fabey at Aviation Week acquired Navy documents that show the following components had issues on the LCS USS Freedom's recent voyage:

France's Hollande Delivers on Government Parity

French President François Hollande has made good on his campaign promise to deliver government parity with his recent appointments of ministers. However, most of the key posts were still given to men.
 Christiane Taubira, New France's Minister of Justice, Photo by Guillaume Paumier on Flickr, under Creative Commons 2.0New French President François Hollande made good on a campaign promise, reported BBC News, by appointing Wednesday as many women as men in the new French government: 17 of the 34 ministers are women.

EU's austerity agenda challenged

23 May 2012 Last updated at 10:42 GMT Francois Hollande says he wants all options discussed European Union leaders meeting in Brussels on Wednesday are expected to hear the new French president challenge the EU's German-led austerity drive.
Francois Hollande has said he wants the focus shifted to growth, and will raise the idea of shared-debt eurobonds as a way of heading off the eurozone crisis.
Germany is firmly opposed to eurobonds - but has accepted there is a need to stimulate growth.
The meeting comes amid concern that Greece may have to leave the euro.
Even though that prospect is not formally on the agenda, correspondents say it is sure to be discussed.
The informal dinner in Brussels on Wednesday evening will be chaired by the European Council President, Herman Van Rompuy.