The long march of the insurgents

Libya reveals Italy. And the Italians. Reflected in the mirror Libyan periodically rediscover some of the characters that make us recognizable to ourselves and the world. Unfortunately not the best. The first time was a hundred years ago, when the "Great Proletarian" turned to the conquest of Tripoli and Cyrenaica.

And the truck loads of food and ammunition and automatic weapons, machine guns and rocket launchers, which they leave behind are concrete signs of a leak, and not a strategic retreat, as claimed by the spokespersons of Tripoli. In a few hours, when they fled Ajdabiya, the city seemed impregnable at one hundred and sixty kilometers from Benghazi, loyalist troops were forced to leave precipitously from Cyrenaica in the revolt, which were about to regain control.

Censorship hides reality after earthquake in Burma

Those affected by the earthquake in Burma (Myanmar) on Thursday, need water and food, while there is a widespread view that the rescue of victims would be faster with appropriate means. However, the Burmese media, all controlled by the state, informing people of the situation under control and humanitarian assistance operations in progress.

Also, keep the same number on Saturday from 73 dead, 125 injured and 224 houses, 11 religious centers and nine government buildings collapsed. In Thailand there was another fatality, a woman who died while sleeping when a wall collapsed on top. The Office of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) estimates with information from UNICEF and other humanitarian organizations operating in the area that the number affected is around 110 000 500 (95 000 in Tachilek, nine thousand and six thousand Tarlay 500 to Mong Lin), while the Burmese authorities so far ignored this fact.

NATO agrees to take full control of operations in Libya

NATO agreed on Sunday to take complete control of military operations in Libya, said a diplomat and a UN official. "NATO has decided today (Sunday) to implement all aspects of UN resolution 1973 to protect civilians and civilian areas under threat of attacks by the regime (Moammar) Gadhafi," the NATO official after a meeting of the alliance to 28 members.

A diplomat from a NATO member state said the decision means that the agency now taken full control of all aspects of the operation, ending nearly a week of tough negotiations on the chain of command. "Everything is now under NATO," said the diplomat. Washington was anxious to hand over responsibility for air attacks on the alliance, whose staff has already developed the necessary operational plans.

Carter condemns embargo on Cuba and commitment to dialogue with Havana

The former U.S. president Jimmy Carter concludes today with a juicy three-day visit to Havana round results: able to meet with the top brass of the country, starting with Raul and Fidel Castro, to build bridges between the two countries, and received first hand information on economic reform process that is taking over the regime, which yesterday announced the granting of credits and loans to develop private enterprise on the island, and met with a dozen dissidents and former political prisoners, to support the human rights movement.

Transitional National Council for eight points after Gaddafi Libya

At the conference on the future of Libya being held in London, the National Transitional Council, created by the rebels in Libya, has released its eight-point manifesto, expressing his "vision for the reconstruction of a democratic Libyan state," which "responds to the wishes and aspirations of the people." In the note accompanying the text, called 'Vision for a Democratic Libya', reads: "Libya is at the crossroads of history.

Obama Doctrine: Why not Libya and Syria

The presidential speech on Monday night on Libya has laid the foundation for what many now call the "Obama doctrine".

• War Cycling Tour of Libya Suspended (17/03/2011)
• Case by case - I've got no doctrine, Obama says (29/03/2011)
• The Obama Doctrine's New Red Lines (29/03/2011)
• Where will it all end? (via Voting American) (27/03/2011)
• So what exactly is the Obama Doctrine? (29/03/2011)

Syria (geolocation)  Syria (wikipedia)  

"A partial melting Fukushima" New strong earthquake

TOKYO - high levels of radiation in Fukushima and a new strong earthquake. The news coming from Japan, fueling concern, especially as regards the nuclear power plant severely damaged by the earthquake and tsunami of 11 March. Despite the efforts of the technicians, the situation does not improve plant in Fukushima.

The government in Tokyo said that the high radioactivity of the water in reactor No. 2 of the plant may be due "to the partial melting of the fuel rods." A phenomenon that the chief of staff, Yukio Edan, defines "temporary". But TEPCO engineers have now found a "surge" level of radioactivity outside the reactor 2 has millisievert topping a height of 1,000 per hour.

It raises the level of radioactive iodine in Fukushima

.- A rate of radioactive iodine 150 thousand times the legal standard was measured in seawater samples taken at only 30 meters from the reactors 5 and 6 of the troubled nuclear plant in Fukushima, announced the Nuclear Security Agency. Samples measured so far south of the plant, the output of units 1 to 4, the most damaged, where the rate of iodine-131 was on Sunday at a level of almost two thousand times higher than normal.

Rebels recovered two key oil facilities in Libya

Libyan rebels on Sunday recovered two major oil complexes and moved to the west of the country, taking advantage of international air attacks tipped the balance in his favor against the forces of Moammar Gadhafi. The seaside resorts of Ras Lanuf and Brega were responsible for much of the 1.5 million barrels of crude exported Libya.

Exports have almost stopped since the uprising began on 15 February and was inspired by the overthrow of governments in Tunisia and Egypt. The finance chief of the rebels said that Qatar agreed to sell oil to the opposition, but so far no one knows how to work the deal, even if there is oil, and foreign workers who know the process fled the country when they started armed clashes.

Elections in Canada, since 2004 nobody wins

"Come to Canada to see the government fall." The old adage that in the twentieth century was true in Italy seems to be updated. The country of the maple leaf, in fact, a member of the G7 and the second largest country in the world after Russia, has just opened his fourth campaign for the vote early confederation, which will be held on May 2.

The problem since 2004, is always the same: nobody wins. Or rather, the party comes first (since 2004 when it fell to the Liberals and the Conservatives twice) fails to achieve "quota 155" seats, that is the majority of the House of Commons, which is the only elective chamber Parliament in Ottawa.

Objects found in the rubble of the earthquake

Photo blackened, handwritten letter: eighteen days after the disaster, the survivors of the earthquake and tsunami are always looking for personal effects that can bring them back to their "former life".

• Start - Paris, France (29/03/2011)
• Previous Post (05/02/2011)
• Tourists, Hanson (24/03/2011)
• Lladró Atelier: Metropolis at Maison et Objet designboom (31/01/2011)
• Newly Found Ancestors - March 2nd (02/03/2011)

The rebels to Sirte: "Ready to export crude oil" at the command of NATO operations

TRIPOLI - With immediate effect, NATO is formally in charge and has already appointed the Canadian General Charles Bouchard, leader of NATO military operations in Libya. After the agreement of the Twenty-eight line takes shape. A 'no fly zone plus' and the naval arms embargo. Concerning the participation of the ground will be seen below, although the important "is to defend civilians" and the advance of troops on the ground might be too dangerous for citizens.

Raise tsunami warning in Japan after earthquake of 6.5 degrees

.- Japan's Meteorological Agency lifted the tsunami alert issued after the earthquake of 6.5 magnitude on the Richter scale occurred at offshore Miyagi province in the northeast. According to Japan Meteorological Agency, the quake occurred at 7.24 local time (22.24 GMT on Sunday) and the epicenter was located at shallow depth below the seabed off the coast of Miyagi province, hardest hit by the 9 degrees of March 11.

United States cut short role in Libya

.- The United States will reduce its military role in the no-fly zone in Libya next or the next few weeks, as other nations begin to focus on how to facilitate the departure of Moammar Gadhafi's country, senior officials in Washington said Sunday. In television interviews, the secretaries of State and Defense of United States raised the possibility that the Gaddafi regime could secede.

The officials added that during a conference held Tuesday in London to discuss political strategies to end the mandate of 41 years of Gadhafi in the oil-exporting nation in northern Africa. United States and other countries began to bomb Libya on March 19, seeking to impose an air exclusion zone and prevent Gadhafi forces continue to attack rebels and civilians in the east, the last Arab nation living uprisings against regimes authoritarian.

Chavez received in Argentina Rodolfo Walsh Prize

BUENOS AIRES, Mar. 30 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been in Argentina Rodolfo Walsh Prize - awarded by the Faculty of Journalism at the University of La Plata - to "strengthen Latin American unity, to defend human rights and be consistent with the truth and democratic values. " "I get dressed in the costume of the greatest humility in receiving this prestigious award, I do not feel for me but for the people of Venezuela, for the people of Simon Bolivar, Chavez said during his speech at the event.

Syria, he resigned the government of Yemen, Saleh challenge the opposition

Yemen, Syria protests against the government. After almost two weeks of protests and clashes between protesters and security forces, would now get an early political change in Syria. They arrived at 14.30 the resignation en bloc of the government of Mohammed Naji al-Ottar, in office since 2003. But the wait is above all to the speech of President Bashar al-Assad by tomorrow expected to announce a series of openings, starting with the lifting of the state of emergency in force for 48 years and the reform of the law on political parties and the means of 'information.

When the Simpsons talk about nuclear power, Germany's deprogrammed

Given the situation in Japan, the German television channel ProSieben has decided not to broadcast any episode suggestive of close or far a nuclear accident.

• Europe Censors Simpson Nuke Gags (28/03/2011)
• Sarkozy confuses Allemagne, Alsace (20/01/2011)
• The Simpsons Nike Dunk High Tops Custom (via animeshoes) (23/03/2011)
• Simpsons Did It of the Day (25/02/2011)
• March 16, 2011 - Nadi, Fiji (18/03/2011)

Peter Frampton: Frampton Comes Alive II (rottentomatoes)  The Simpsons - Full Episodes and Clips streaming online for free (hulu)  The Simpsons (homepage)  The Simpsons (lastfm)  The Simpsons (musicbrainz)  The Simpsons (wikipedia)  The Simpsons (imdb)  

Merkel's debacle, the green triumph collapse CDU in Baden-Wuerttemberg

BERLIN - and two heavy defeat Angela Merkel and his deputy, Guido Westerwelle in Germany. The Chancellor of the CDU lost resoundingly to power in Baden-Wuerttemberg where rich ruler since the founding of the Federal Republic. And the opposition is in Rhineland-Palatinate. In Baden-Wurttemberg, a symbol of the center-technocratic, efficient and prosperity of "model Germany", probably the next governor will be the local leader of the Greens, Winfried Kretschmann.

Earthquake of 6.5 degrees again shakes northeastern Japan

.- An earthquake of 6.5 magnitude on the Richter scale with its epicenter off the coast of Miyagi province, shook the northeastern Japanese new and caused it to issue a tsunami alert. According to Japan Meteorological Agency, the quake occurred at 07:24 local time (22:24 GMT Sunday) and the epicenter was located at shallow depth below the seabed off the coast of Miyagi province, most affected by the earthquake of 9 degrees of March 11.

Rebels recovered cities using NATO

The Rebels recovered the cities of Ajdabiya and Brega, who had been taken by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, and will serve to defend Benghazi, his base of operations. Those of yesterday are the first major victories of the insurgents since the Atlantic Tratadpo Organization (NATO) began bombing to force Gadhafi, on 19 March.

Forces had retaken Ajdabiya Gadhafi last week during its offensive against the rebellion, which dominated the east for a month, and were preparing to attack Benghazi, but the military intervention of the international coalition halted their advance. Chamsiddin Abdulmolá, spokesman for the insurgents said they proposed to give fighters loyal to the regime on several occasions, but they refused and were attacked.

Venezuela Chavez receives .- Argentina Rodolfo Walsh Award for "defending" human rights and "strengthen the unity"

BUENOS AIRES, Mar. 30 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was in Argentina on Tuesday Rodolfo Walsh Prize - awarded by the Faculty of Journalism at the University of La Plata - to "strengthen Latin American unity, to defend human rights and be consistent with truth and democratic values. " "I get dressed in the costume of the greatest humility in receiving this prestigious award, I do not feel for me but for the people of Venezuela, for the people of Simon Bolivar, Chavez said during his speech at the event.

The Syrian president does not yield to popular pressure and reporting a large "foreign conspiracy"

The Syrians, and the rest of the world, you know what to expect: Bashar Assad does not think reform of the dictatorship he inherited from his father and encouraged to hear protests, he said, for "conspiring with an Israeli plan." The Syrian president has delivered a speech today both continuous and challenging, interrupted by his own laughter and the poems of devotion that he directed the deputies.

TEPCO: tests of nationalization

"The nationalization of TEPCO is a possible option," said Koichiro Gemba today, Japanese Minister of National Strategy. This was reported by the Kyodo news agency. "The government could acquire a majority stake of the company that operates the plant in Fukushima and appoint new managers," wrote the Yomiuri, the most popular Japanese newspaper, citing government sources.

The output of Koichiro Gemba was promptly contradicted by other official sources. A Japanese government spokesman said that "no government organization would be thinking of a nationalization." TEPCO has confirmed that it is not aware of any such plan. The alarm, however, continues to be high and, as reported today by the German financial newspaper Handelsblatt, behind the rumors about a possible government control of TEPCO, there would be concerns for "damages to the victims of nuclear catastrophe, which could become very high and impossible to pay for the company that operates the reactors.

Japan's human and material toll of the disaster

While a large-scale nuclear contamination continues to threaten Japan, the country must also assist thousands of refugees and victims of the earthquake. The provisional figures of human and material balance gives the magnitude of the disaster in progress. 10,804 dead and 16,244 missing the last official date of Sunday, March 27, when the Japanese police reported 10,804 confirmed deaths and 16,244 missing after the earthquake and tsunami.

Assad government awaited speech to the nation, "would repeal the emergency laws"

DAMASCUS - After the first violent clashes in recent days and the protests in Daraa and Latakia in the past, the situation in Syria seems to veer toward a relative calm. The squares of the city today are peaceful, but the sensation is like a fire burning under the ashes. The 12 victims of yesterday in Latakia and likely more than 150 throughout the week are very open wounds among democracy activists in Syria.

The Syrian government gives in to protests

The Syrian president relented. Due to the protests that have killed at least 60 dead in several cities, Bashar al-Assad yesterday accepted the resignation of his Government. The leader with 11 years in office also said it would announce the repeal of emergency law is in force in the country for almost half a century, when the Baath Party took power in a coup in 1963, that would allow opposition parties have more freedoms.

Japanese nuclear plant despised tsunami risk

.- In planning their protection against a tsunami, the directors of the now damaged Japanese nuclear plant dismissed scientific evidence that a giant wave could damage their facilities, according to an Associated Press investigation. The complacency shown by the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) was derived from a series of overly optimistic assumptions which concluded that the Earth could not release the amount of force that sparked two weeks ago that put the complex of six reactors Fukushima Dai-ichi to the brink of multiple mergers.

Demonstration by Gbagbo in Ivory Coast

.- The supporters of the outgoing president of the Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, was demonstrated on Saturday near the presidential palace in Abidjan, in a time when growing international pressure to abandon the ruling power in a country that fears a new civil war. Convened by Charles Blé Goudé, head of the "patriots" by Gbagbo, thousands of people, mostly young, were in favor of the outgoing president.

Unasur .- Chavez and Fernandez de Kirchner stressed the importance of UNASUR to "resolve conflicts" in the region

BUENOS AIRES, 29 Mar. The presidents of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, and Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, on Tuesday underlined the importance of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to "resolve conflicts" in the region "in peace and without violence "after a meeting in Buenos Aires in which signed several economic and social agreements.

Chavez arrived in Argentina on Monday as part of a tour that will take place this week in the region that will also include Uruguay, Bolivia and Colombia, where he will hold meetings with the leaders of those countries considered key players in the political and economic strategy of the Bolivarian government.

Ouattara forces arrive in the capital of Ivory Coast and is close to major ports

Violent clashes in Ivory Coast in recent days are rapidly changing political and military balances in the field, at the expense of a growing number of victims among the civilian population. Fighters loyal to President-elect, Alassane Ouattara, have gained ground with two big offensive from bases in the north.

In the last few hours have come to the capital, Yamoussoukro, and are located within 200 kilometers of the main ports of the country: San Pedro, where they exit from most of the exports of cocoa, and Abidjan, the former capital and the most populous city with more than 4 million people.

Brazil .- TAM could acquire a 31% stake Trip

MADRID, 30 Mar. Brazilian airline TAM may acquire 31% stake in his opponent Trip, as shown in a letter of intent, without binding effect, in which both companies are committed to finding ways for the development of a strategic alliance through codeshare routes. According to the document after conclusion of definitive agreements, TAM would eventually acquire 31% of its capital Trip, 25% of the shares entitled to vote and the remainder in preferred stock, according to a company statement.

Syria, Yemen and Bahrain, which is still spoken in the Arab world

The high voltage returns to Syria, where army tanks surrounded the town of Dara, theater for two weeks of anti-regime protests. According to rumors, later denied, the security forces had fired on the crowd. The Syrian people expected the speech to the nation that Bashar al-Assad should be taken by Wednesday.

The President has also appealed to Parliament to voice of Prime Minister Mohammed Habash, during a night sitting asked to report early in the classroom to explain the reforms announced on television from his super Councillor Bouthaina Shaaban. Among the measures promised, stand the withdrawal of the state of emergency in force for 48 years, as demanded in a loud voice from the square, and the reform of the law on political parties and the media.

Côte d'Ivoire: the great offensive of the armed forces of President Ouattara

Ls pro-Ouattara troops went on the attack on three sweeping the country from east to west, four months to the day after the presidential election.

• Harold Pollack: The Urgent Situation in Cote d'Ivoire (29/03/2011)
• President Obama's Message to the People of Cote D'Ivoire (26/03/2011)
• CAF moves Libya, Cote'd Ivoire games (24/03/2011)
• feizhou - feizhou, Cote D'Ivoire (24/03/2011)
• Blackout of humanitarian crisis in Cote d'Ivoire (27/03/2011)

Côte d'Ivoire (geolocation)  Côte d'Ivoire (wikipedia)  

The Pope at the Fosse Ardeatine "This very serious offense against God"

ROME - "What happened here is March 24, 1944 is a very serious offense against God, because it is the deliberate violence of man by man." Welcomed by Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni and the President of the National Association of Italian families of the martyrs who died for the freedom of his country Rosina Stamen, Benedict XVI has arrived at the Fosse Ardeatine to celebrate the 67th anniversary dell'eccidio.

Yemeni president blamed for violence

Protesters blamed the Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Tuesday by the shedding of blood, which raised U.S. fears that the chaos ends up benefiting the militants, even when carried out indirect negotiations to resolve the crisis. A series of explosions at an arms factory on Monday killed at least 140 dead in a southern town where the Islamists seemed to have driven government forces, a reminder of the instability that Western allies fear Saleh in the impoverished Arab state .

Japan is threatened by the Fukushima nuclear

.- Japan warned on Sunday that the danger of a nuclear catastrophe is far from being discarded in the plant in Fukushima, where there were leaks more radioactive than the day before. A very high radioactivity was measured on Sunday in a layer of water that escaped from the reactor two troubled nuclear plant in Fukushima (northeast), so we proceeded to stop pumping operations and evacuate staff, announced the news agency Jiji.

In Libya, the rebels and regain Ajdabiya Brega

.- The rebels recaptured the strategic cities Saturday Ajdabiya and Brega, in eastern Libya, his first major victory since the start of the international military intervention against the forces of Muammar Gadhafi regime a week ago. The heaviest fighting is now concentrated in Misrata, 200 km east of Tripoli, where French fighters came to the aid of the rebels, asedidados by forces loyal to Gadhafi that bombed the city, and destroyed "at least" seven Libyan military aircraft .

Libya .- Chávez and Fernández de Kirchner criticized the "colonialism" imposed by U.S. and NATO forces in Libya

BUENOS AIRES, 29 Mar. The presidents of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, and Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, have lashed out on Tuesday the "colonialism" that supposedly have imposed the United States and NATO in Libyan territory by "bombing" of civilians. Chavez arrived in Argentina on Monday as part of a tour that will take place this week in the region that will also include Uruguay, Bolivia and Colombia, where he will hold meetings with the leaders of those countries considered key players in the political and economic strategy of the Bolivarian government.

Dozens killed in Iraq in an assault on a government building

At least 58 people were killed during a bloody assault on the provincial government headquarters of Saladin, in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, hometown of former President Saddam Hussein. The six attackers, wearing military uniforms and used a car bomb and explosive belts, held hostage to various restructuring.

Security forces regained control of the building after several hours. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest since the beginning of the year, but its modus operandi bears the stamp of Al Qaeda. The assault began early in the morning with a suicide bombing at the entrance to the seat of government.

Brazil .- Brazil focuses its tourism strategy to attract travelers in the face Spanish Easter

MADRID, 30 Mar. Brazil has focused its strategy to attract Spanish tourists ahead of the Easter holiday by promoting its beaches, ecotourism and cultural offerings, as reported by the Brazilian Institute of Tourism, Embratur. Among the most popular Brazilian destinations are the Spanish Foz do Iguaçu (Paraná), Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro), Salvador (Bahia), Sao Paulo (Sao Paulo) and Natal (Rio Grande do Norte).

Germany, the vote buries the future of nuclear energy

In the end the polls proved correct, even the exit polls, there had been no overvaluation of the Greens, as sometimes happened. In Baden-Württemberg, for the first time in German history, the Minister-President, Prime Minister of the Land will be a member of the party Grünen, in alliance with the SPD.

In Rheinland-Pfalz Social Democrat Prime Minister Beck resist, despite losing his party ten points, but still govern in alliance with the Greens in 2006 were not even able to overcome the barrier of 5% and this time the big fall in the regional parliament with more than 15. But when it comes to historic turning point in Germany for Baden-Württemberg, historic Democratic stronghold where two new songs are made simultaneously: the opposition CDU and a Green prime minister.

Côte d'Ivoire: ouattara progress, the Gbagbo camp called a "cease-fire"

On the second day of a major offensive in the camp of Alassane Ouattara - Chairman recognized by the international community - the other side, that of Laurent Gbagbo, has called Tuesday, March 29 to a "cease-fire immediately" in Cote d Ivory, speaking through his spokesman, Ahoua Don Mello. "We have adopted a strategy of retreat.

We hope the dialogue will open shortly, it is useless to go to battle to increase the number of victims," assured Mr. Don Mello. But four months after the start of the post-election crisis, Alassane Ouattara and his allies said Tuesday that "all peaceful means to bring Lawrence Gabgbo to concede defeat are exhausted." Ouattara forces advanced Tuesday to the south and the economic capital, Abidjan, controlled by the president.

What will remain behind after the Arab riots dictators, leaders grow small

Who will rule the country after the fall of the Crescent autocrats? Weather very difficult: the winter of discontent Arabic is a wave that sweeps away long-established structures and certainties. But, here as elsewhere, the reading must begin with the continuity of power structures and forces that will be more able to adapt to the mighty wind of the transition.

Will play a key role in the military environment, however, the real unifying factor in society very different from Algeria to Egypt. In Syria, more than the Baath drained of executive functions as it has in Iraq, has a membership to the new asabiya, the solidarity that forge relationships based on ancient but also new relationships.

U.S. calls for concrete reforms to Syrian President

Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to undertake the reforms demanded by their citizens in the wave of protests that began on day 18, resigned today after the government of Prime Minister Mohamed Naji Otri. "It depends on the Syrian government, its leaders, starting with President Bashar al-Assad, to prove they can meet the needs of its own people," Clinton said at a news conference at the end of the international conference on the future of Libya held in London.