Saturday, April 2, 2011

Côte d'Ivoire: Battle in Abidjan, Gbagbo cornered

Abidjan, Special Envoy - He promised to "braise" Abidjan before leaving office. Laurent Gbagbo will not have had the opportunity, the courage or the means. The Apocalypse announced turned to bust. Supporters, civilians and military, past president of Côte d'Ivoire were routed in a few hours by the forces of its rival, Alassane Ouattara, during the last phase of a lightning offensive that ended with taking almost complete Abidjan Friday, April 1, in the morning.

Landslide leaves 13 dead in Vietnam

At least 13 people were killed and 22 others remain missing after fall on the side of a wall of sandstone in the quarry where they worked in Vietnam, officials said. Five people were injured in the incident, which occurred in the central province of Nghe An According to initial investigations, the heavy rains of recent days they removed the earth and caused the accident in the quarry of sandstone.

Obama Gives Green Light to CIA operations in Libya

Teams from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operate inside Libya gathering intelligence to facilitate military attacks, local media revealed. The work of the CIA said it will be crucial once the administration of President Barack Obama has decided to promote the idea of arming the rebels fighting against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Quoting official sources, the daily "The Washington Post and The New York Times" reported that the CIA covert operations were authorized weeks ago by Obama in a secret directive. Additionally, dozens of Army special forces and British spies M16 Agency have been operating in Libya to collect information used in air attacks against military installations.

Middle East: the events of Friday 1 April

Libya: Muammar Gaddafi has suffered a setback with the departure of his Foreign Minister, Musa Kusa, but on the ground, his forces managed to push back in the eastern rebel troops disorganized and bombard the town of Misrata. Loyalists have consolidated their positions south of Ajdabiya (160 km south of Benghazi) by U.S.

Admiral Mullen has said he expected a resumption of the offensive pro-Gaddafi towards Benghazi. The rebels say they are now ready for a cease-fire under certain conditions. Syria calls were launched to protest via the internet, while authorities announced Thursday, March 31 the first steps to calm an unprecedented challenge (commission on emergency law and the dead in Dera and Latakia).

Syria dozen people arrested for rioting

.- The Syrian security forces arrested dozens of people, officials said Saturday human rights groups, after thousands of protesters would join a public outcry that represents the biggest challenge the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights appointed 21 people they said were detained by Syrian security forces in the southern city of Dera, where the unrest first erupted two weeks ago, and Homs, north of the capital.

Anticipate long struggle for nuclear emergency in Japan

The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, warned that controlling nuclear emergency in Japan "will take more time than you think." From Kenya, where he met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Monn, Amano anticipated the long struggle against flaws in the Fukushima nuclear plant and reiterated that the situation at the nuclear plant remains "very serious."

Cede control of Abidjan airport to the Blue Helmets

Defence Forces and Security (FDS) of Laurent Gbagbo supporters relinquished control of the International Airport Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Abidjan to the Blue Helmets, said a policeman at the scene. The sources said a commander of the SDS ceded control of the Abidjan International Airport on the staff of the United Nations Mission in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) without giving further explanations.

Portfolio - Gbagbo's residence attacked

The forces of Alassane Ouattara, President of Côte d'Ivoire recognized by the international community, engaged in battle in Abidjan on Thursday night to Friday for possession of the last strongholds of his rival, Laurent Gbagbo, on the brink of defeat four months after a bloody post-election crisis.

Increase to 11 thousand 800 people dead in Japan quake

The death toll from the earthquake and tsunami of March 11 rose today to 11 000 800, while another 15 thousand 540 people remain missing, according to the latest tally of Japan's police. In Miyagi province, one of the most affected, there were seven thousand 192 dead and there is more than six thousand 300 missing, in the neighboring Iwate 456 was three thousand dead and 500 missing about four thousand, and 92 thousand people died Fukushima and more than four thousand 600 without trace.

Libyan rebels gain ground

Libyan rebels managed to gain ground on the "gadafistas, which have retreated 40 kilometers west of Brega, and remained in possession of this city, located 200 km west of Benghazi. The rebel spokesman Mohamed Mergirby said that "the forces of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gadhafi, is 40 miles west of Brega, which is under rebel control." Mergirby explained that the insurgents have changed military strategy between yesterday and today, and there are now members of the army fighting on the front line, while the second line are the volunteer militia.

Côte d'Ivoire: the events of Friday 1 April

The stock of the situation in mid-day: The fighting with heavy weapons raged in Abidjan, where the forces of Alassane Ouattara attempt to seize the last bastions of Laurent Gbagbo, including his residence located in the district Cocody (north), and the presidential palace, which emanated in the morning, a plume of smoke in the Plateau (center).

The outgoing president is "probably" the presidential palace, according to the ambassador of France in Cote d'Ivoire. The African Union has called on Gbagbo to "immediately surrender power" to his rival Alassane Ouattara. The French authorities also want the departure of Laurent Gbagbo as quickly as possible to stop the violence in Abidjan.

There are 27 people arrested for attack on UN in Afghanistan

.- Afghan Protesters angered by the burning of the Koran by a preacher in the United States invaded a UN compound on Friday, killing at least seven foreign workers in the deadliest attack against the body in the country. Thousands of protesters took to the streets after Friday prayers and headed the UN mission in the usually peaceful Mazar-i-Sharif, a city considered safe enough to be at the forefront of the key security transition.

Head of government of Côte d'Ivoire gives ultimatum to Gbagbo

A Laurent Gbagbo remaining two to three hours in power as leader of Ivory Coast, said on Thursday the prime minister Alassane Ouattara parallel. "Two or three hours and I think the game will end Gbagbo. This is over," said Guillaume Soro the country's official capital, which was taken on Wednesday by the pro-Ouattara.

Ouattara forces have gone quickly in Abidjan this week and heavy weapons fire echoed through the city center on Thursday afternoon.

Diplomatic setback for Gaddafi, the rebels retreating again

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has suffered a blow Thursday, March 31, with the departure of his Foreign Minister, Moussa Koussa. On the ground, his forces managed to push back in the east of the rebel forces in disarray. The battle for Brega is currently the field, clashes took place late morning around the oil terminal of Brega (800 km east of Tripoli).

Aircraft overflying the region where, earlier, five explosions were heard, witnesses said. On Wednesday, the international coalition had conducted an airstrike against loyalist forces west of Ajdabiya, greeted by rebels who demanded the resumption of strikes, stopped several days earlier.

Only 32 bodies recovered in search in Japan mass

.- The massive search operation for the thousands of missing in the earthquake and tsunamis today launched three weeks ago for 28 thousand troops in Japan and the United States has recovered only 32 bodies in the first three days of the mission, reported Japanese media. According to Defense Ministry data collected by the agency Kyodo Japanese Self-Defense Forces with U.S.

Marines recovered 28 bodies and four other Japanese coast guard in the provinces of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima. Involved in deploying hundreds of boats and helicopters in more remote areas of the east coast, many of them still submerged, the most devastated by successive tsunami waves that caused, according to latest official figures, 11.734 dead and 16.375 missing in 12 provinces .

Disclaimer key Libyan regime

The spokesman Moammar Gadhafi regime, Ibrahim Musa, confirmed on Thursday the resignation of Foreign Minister, Musa Kusa, and stated that he was allowed to leave the country for medical care in Tunisia. "Kusa asked to travel to Tunisia to undergo medical care and was given permission. Then we found out he decided to resign from office.

It's his personal decision, Libya does not depend on individuals," Ibrahim said during a news conference. Musa Kusa was was deputy foreign minister from 1992 to 1994, then it would take Libya's secret services during the next 15 years and is generally considered one of the most loyal to Gadhafi.

In Abidjan, "the whole world holds its breath"

From Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan residents attest to Le Monde. en climate of fear in the Ivorian economic capital encircled by the pro-Ouattara. "Everyone holds his breath," by Charles K. This morning of March 31, I went to work in Treichville with disconcerting ease, in contrast to the usual traffic jams repeatedly in the Ivorian economic capital.

Abidjan is a ghost town today, awaiting the release, or at least the end of this aberration that lasted for four months now. Rumors fly from all sides, the FRCI reportedly arrived in Abidjan last night, others say they are on the northern motorway to within 60 km and advocate a return to the house.

Radiation prevents recover bodies in nuclear plant

Nearly three weeks after a powerful earthquake and massive tsunami that damaged the northeastern coast of Japan, thousands of people still waiting on the whereabouts of their loved ones and yesterday had a painful response. Press report it suggests that the bodies of his family, located near the nuclear plant in Fukushima paralyzed, can not be recovered due to fear of radiation.

The authorities may not be able to recover some of the corpses, the victims of the earthquake of 9.0 magnitude and subsequent tsunami on 11 March, within the evacuation zone 20 miles around the plant stalled because high levels of radiation. Nobody knows exactly how many bodies have been recovered within the evacuation zone.

Gadhafi warns that the crisis could spiral out of control Libya

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi said Thursday that Western countries participating in the international coalition in Libya created a situation that could lose control, told state news agency JANA. "If they (the West) continue, the world will enter a crusade (...) have begun a serious thing, they can not control and will be out of control whatever the means of destruction available, "he said.

He said Western leaders had "decided to conduct a second cross between Muslims and Christians in the Mediterranean." The solution, Gadhafi, is that these leaders "resign immediately and that its people seek other alternatives."

Syria arrested 21 people following protests suppressed shot yesterday

Despite calls from the U.S. and the UN to cease the repression of public protests in Syria, Bashar Assad regime continues to carry out arrests of opponents. A human rights group has denounced today the arrest of 21 people in connection with the demonstrations that took to the streets yesterday to tens of thousands of people around the country, some of which security forces opened fire killing at least three dead (Other sources put the count up to 9 or 10).

Musa Kusa, a key informant for coalition

Member of the first circle of Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan foreign minister, Musa Kusa, who defected to escape to London, is making choices for the coalition could provide crucial information on the status of the plan and forces. He can not escape his past as William Hague, the British foreign minister, has already ensured that the UK does not offer him immunity against possible prosecution.

Gheriani Mustafa, spokesman for the Libyan rebels, said the former ally of Colonel Gaddafi had "a lot of blood on their hands" and should be judged. "We want to be judged by the Libyans," he explained, saying he wore a particular responsibility in the assassination of opposition figures in exile.

21 people arrested in Syria after fresh protests

.- The Syrian security forces today arrested 21 people in the cities of Homs Deraa and after the demonstrations against the regime that developed yesterday, denounced the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights. Four of those arrests took place in Deraa, in the south, while in the city of Homs, north of Damascus, were detained another 17, requires the organization in a statement posted on its website.

The Japanese government, ready to take control of the utility TEPCO

The Japanese Government is willing to put under their control to Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, through an injection of public funds, Mainichi newspaper reported Thursday. According to a senior government official, who did not identify, the Mainichi said that despite the extent the Executive does not intend to exceed 50% of control to prevent the measure from becoming a nationalization.

Gadhafi loyal to force the withdrawal of Libyan rebels

The coalition bombed for the first time in two days, the positions of the troops loyal to the Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who managed to reconquer the oil terminal at Ras Lanuf, forcing the rebels to retreat to the east. The coalition conducted an air strike forces west of Ajdabiya Gadhafi. A few kilometers from the city, a huge fireball several hundred feet rose into the sky, followed by a huge column of black smoke.

From the Tute Bianche to Book bloc

A few weeks ago at the Courtauld Institute, based in the south of the magnificent Somerset House Strand, a seminar was dedicated to Italy of the nineties, the Book From the Tute Bianche bloc, led by Frederick Country and Daisy Jones, Francis Raparelli guests Montanelli and Marina, which has filled the time of the collective initiatives and debates Uniriot to Wisdom.

There has been talk of riots yesterday to explain what they are today, to see if the first had been right to exist, if only to 'back', and if new reasons and credentials now have to last. There is a small but not invisible to Anglo-Saxon students who, while ignoring the performance of Benigni, of Fazio, and the Scalfari Veltroni, or our comic-pagatissimi militants persist in wanting to learn what good we have done in our recent past.

Télézapping - Côte d'Ivoire: "We are no longer there to have fun, we are at war!"

White House urges Assad to take concrete reform measures

.- The White House today urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to adopt "measures and concrete steps" to fulfill their promises of reform, with demonstrations taking place in this country to demand political change and whose repression have dozens of people dead. In a statement, White House spokesman, Jay Carney, condemned violence against peaceful demonstrators and indicated that the Syrian government "has an important opportunity to respond to the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people." Al Asad has the responsibility to take prompt and concrete steps to fulfill their commitments and advance an agenda of significant reforms, "said the spokesman.

Japan rules out expanding the evacuation zone in Fukushima

Japan ruled out extending the time the evacuation zone 20 km in central Fukushima, despite high levels of radiation in remote areas, while international aid arrives to remedy the situation. The International Energy Agency (IAEA) has increased the pressure on the Japanese government to the point that the people of qualitative studies, 40 kilometers of the plant have been recorded radiation levels two times higher than the limits set by the agency and recommended evacuation.

Security Council approves sanctions on Ivory Coast

The Security Council today approved a series of sanctions against the regime of de facto president, Laurent Gbagbo, who was urged to leave office immediately. Approved unanimously, sanctions require a ceasefire, a freeze on assets of Gbagbo as well as restrictions on travel abroad for the de facto ruler, his wife and three of his closest collaborators.

The Security Council of United Nations (UN) "condemns in the strongest terms the increase in violence in the country, which could amount to crimes against humanity." The paper also found that the UN mission in Ivory Coast 'use all necessary means to fulfill its mandate to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.

Three members of Hams died in an attack by Israel

An attack by Israeli aircraft targeted a car traveling between the city of Khan Younes in the southern Gaza strip, and refugee camp of Deir al-Balah have ended this morning with the lives of three people and hurt someone else. If at first you only knew the death of three people by some witnesses as well as medical evidence, past a couple of hours the Palestinian movement Hamas announced that the three Palestinians killed in the attack were members of his organization.

Gaddafi and the Crusades selective

At the university we study the problem of state legitimacy: when it can be considered legitimate? Answer: when it is based on citizens' consent. Then, a tyrannical state is illegitimate? Depends: even a tyrant can have consensus, democracy is not the only possible form of government, certain that if deported, killed, imprisoned, if in fact ruled by terror, then his rule is illegitimate.

Even then I happened to think of Mussolini, Hitler and Franco, all dictators with a strong popular support, and Stalin, who deported and instead killed millions of people. My professor would consider the first three legitimate governments, and the last unlawful. Now there's Gaddafi international intervention, and I've made me some ideas.

"Japan's industrial structure will have to be redrawn"

Economist at the Centre for Future Studies and International Information (CEPII) and teacher of Japanese economy at the University Paris-Dauphine (Inalco), Evelyne Dourille-Feerdétaille the challenges of reconstruction in the Sendai area and impact what will have been the disaster of 11 March on the Japanese economic model.

Although the Sendai area represents only 7-8% of Japanese GDP, a lot of intermediate goods are produced. It has many steelmakers and steel mills, whose production is highly specialized on high-end sheet metal for car bodies, steel wire for tires, etc.. At the refinery level, there are shortages of gasoline but also kerosene.