TERRORISM: AQIM releases video of four French nationals held hostage in the Sahel

Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has released a video Tuesday of four messages containing French hostages in Niger, begging Nicolas Sarkozy to withdraw French troops from Afghanistan, as the U.S. central monitoring Islamist websites (SITE).

Video 3 minutes and 36 seconds shows successive pictures of Peter Legrand, Daniel Larribe, Thierry and Marc Furrer Dol with armed men behind them.

They come in succession the same text and pronounce a few words by: "We implore the President of the French Republic Nicolas Sarkozy to respond positively to the request of Al-Qaeda to withdraw French troops from Afghanistan. Because the French No have really no interest in the war in Afghanistan. "

The records date from 11, 12 or 13 April according to the claims of the hostages by appearing.

By last weekend, a source close to the current mediation had already repeated qu'Aqmi demanded the departure of French troops from Afghanistan in more than a ransom of 90 million euros made in March and rejected by the France.

In late September, two weeks after their abduction in the Sahel, Arlit (Niger), AQIM had posted a picture and an audio recording of the seven hostages - Areva employees and a subcontractor - including five French.

Since February 24, three of the hostages (one French, a Togolese and a Malagasy) have been released, which was interpreted by experts as an attempt to negotiate AQIM, which has pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden.

On several occasions, al-Qaeda has demanded the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan in exchange for the hostages' release.France has some 3,800 soldiers in the Afghan theater.

In November, in a recording broadcast on Qatar TV station Al-Jazeera, the head of AQIM, the Algerian Abdelmalek Droukdel, said: "(If you) want your citizens who are prisoners here are healthy and sound, then you should hurry up and withdraw your soldiers from Afghanistan according to a timetable that you make public. "

In an audio message, Osama bin Laden himself had warned in late October that France would not know security until it withdraws its troops from Afghanistan and would not put an end to its "injustice" to the against Muslims, citing in particular the law banning the full veil in public.On 21 January, in an audio message, the network leader had once linked the fate of French hostages to the withdrawal of French forces.

AQIM, which has stepped up kidnappings of Westerners in recent years, announced in July 2010 the implementation of humanitarian Germaneau Michel, whose body was never found.

Two young French, Antoine and Vincent Léocour Delory, abducted Jan. 7 in Niamey by kidnappers working for AQIM were killed the next day in Mali during a Franco-Nigerien military to free them.

NIGERIA: Three attacks threatens to disrupt the long-awaited legislative

AFP - Nigerians voted Saturday in connection with legislative and postponed twice already tainted by the deadly explosion of a bomb on Friday in a polling station at the beginning of a marathon before the presidential election on April 16.

Polling stations have opened in some areas as scheduled at 08:00 local time (0700 GMT) but in others, voting had not begun, noted journalists from AFP.

These elections take place in almost all districts of the country, had been postponed last Saturday April 4 and April 9, due to the absence of electoral materials and personnel in a large number of polling stations.The president was also postponed for a week to 16 April.

"I think today will be different. (Electoral Commission) is ready," said Fatai Awofolaju, an official election in Lagos.

In Lagos, the economic capital, Abuja, the administrative capital and Kano (North), the second city of the country, polls opened at 8:00 or shortly thereafter.In Bayelsa State which is from the President Goodluck Jonathan, they opened with 90 minutes delay.

A bombing and an armed attack put the ballot in danger

This election that is expected to test the ability of the country's most populous country with 160 million people to hold free elections, have already been disrupted by a bomb blast Friday at Suleija, some 45 km Abuja (center) in a polling station who was preparing the elections.

The initial assessment of 8 dead and 26 injured Saturday has risen to 11 killed and wounded and 38. The attack was not claimed. The vote in this constituency has been postponed.

Gunmen also attacked Friday in Shani, Borno state in north-east, a police station where election officials were responsible for the supervision of election materials, killing four people.

The previous elections in Nigeria were marred by fraud and violence.The NGO Human Rights Watch has already recorded 85 deaths in pre-election violence since November 2010.

President Goodluck Jonathan, presidential candidate, denounced a "heinous terrorist bombing" in Suleija and ordered increased security at the premises of the Electoral Commission throughout the country.

The borders were closed, traffic restrictions were imposed on vehicles and soldiers patrolled the strategic points.

The impact of the bombing was difficult to measure."What bomb?" We have no problem here, "commented Bode Oshowole Saturday, a printer 61, in a polling station in Lagos.

"They're trying to scare us but it does not," responded the head of another polling station. "Nigeria can not be turned into another Afghanistan or Iraq," said Nnamdi Ekweogu.

Dysfunctions delay the vote in 10% of precincts

In a little over 10% of precincts where the ballots could not be printed in time, the legislation will be held April 26, the date of elections of governors and assemblies of the 36 states of the federation.The postponement affects 15 out of 109 senatorial districts and 48 constituencies which elect the 360 ​​members in the House of Representatives.

"Several countries in Africa have been able to hold successful elections, and if we fail, we can not claim a leadership role or to discipline anyone for failure," he said Thursday Jonathan to a delegation of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), based in Washington, which supports democratic institutions and practices worldwide.

The NGO in Nigeria has sent more than 50 observers from more than 23 countries, working with 1700 Nigerian observers.

BURMA: The new strong man of civilian authority remains under the control of the military junta

The Burmese junta is dead, long live the Burmese junta? Few people are indeed stupid. While the military has handed over the keys to power Wednesday in Thein Sein, outgoing Prime Minister and now President of Parliament. He heads the new civilian government, supposedly the result of "7 Steps to a disciplined democracy". A program decided by the military junta shortly after the adoption of the new constitution in 2008 and peaked with disputed elections in November 2010.

Parliament, which is derived largely composed of retired military.But according to that constitution, the Association for Development and Solidarity, headed by Than Shwe, the junta leader since 1992, which controls the main levers of the country.

"There is no cause for celebration, the military junta turns into a dictatorship just civil," says FRANCE 24 Anna Roberts, director of Burma Campaign UK charity. The ceremony is only a "communication operation," said Anne Roberts, for giving a facelift to a dictatorship that has lasted nearly 50 years.

In 1962 the military took power following a coup. General Ne Win becomes the strongman of the junta that installed at all levels of public life.Nationalization of the economy and mass media, persecution of minorities and widespread corruption mark his twenty years of reign. 300 000 Indians fled the country during this period.

An authoritarian regime, a corrupt country

It is also the one who invented the little facelift midterm. Indeed, in 1974, Ne Win decided to resign ... to head a new civilian government largely modeled on the single party in the former USSR.

Than Shwe, who succeeded Ne Win in 1992, so which to keep. "In fact, it's one of those examples where the new dictator is worse than its predecessor," said Anna Roberts.General Than Shwe, which reinstates a military regime, appears to be a kind of paranoid despot as some call crazy influenced by his advisors, astrologers and others, like Anna Roberts, take "a great manipulator."

One thing is for sure. Than Shwe years have exacerbated the regime's authoritarian tendencies. In the late 1990s, the International Monetary Fund has described the country bankrupt state. Burma, along with Somalia, most corrupt country in the world by Transparency International and the International Organization estimates that nearly 800,000 people are subjected to forced labor.

The power cuts also definitely the people.Than Shwe moved in 2005, the capital 300 kilometers from Rangoon, where he built a city called Naypyidaw ("seat of kings"). The master of the junta also refused to speak to the foreign press and not meet with officials from other countries only on rare occasions. This life in an ivory tower became public during the flooding caused by a deadly cyclone in 2008. Than Shwe not only makes no public appearances but he refuses even to international aid. Like North Korea, the country is now officially cut off from the world.

Boundless hatred

Politically, the military junta does not want to hear about democracy, except in its sauce.Than Shwe is known, according to a biography of journalist and human rights Benedict Rogers ("Than Shwe: Burma unmask the tyrant", Ed), devote a boundless hatred for Aung San Suu Kyi. The very name of the opponent and Nobel peace in 1991 would rage. Since 1990 and the cancellation of elections won by the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, the power harasses his most famous opponent. It is officially free in his movements since July 2010 after years under house arrest and prison.

In 2007, the junta has also faced another test of democracy. A series of events in September, led by monks, demand more freedom.The military then crush these uprisings.

It was after this move that the authority has begun the process that culminated on Wednesday, the transfer of power to civilian authorities. "They hope that this gesture will push the international community to lift some economic sanctions," said Anna Roberts.

JAPAN: The use of nuclear power challenged by the accident in Fukushima

While Japan is struggling to avoid a major nuclear accident, the anti-nuclear protest in Europe is growing and gaining political ground. Demonstrations against the atom have collected several thousand people this weekend in Germany, and a few hundred people in Paris and the United Kingdom. Monday, at a time when new explosions resounded in the Fukushima-Daiichi plant - the unit closest to the epicenter of the earthquake that devastated Japan March 11 and was severely damaged by the tsunami that s 'is followed - many governments do not hide their concern.

Worldwide, the problems occurred at the Fukushima plant caused a chain reaction. "The accident in Japan has changed the world.We must ask ourselves an industry that was previously considered safe, "has released a German radio Gunther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Energy, before calling for a summit devoted to European nuclear safety.

Austria, it has required that tests be conducted on the European nuclear power plants to assess their resistance in case of earthquake. In the process, Germany has announced it does not ultimately lengthen the life of his own, going against a controversial decision it had taken last year.Switzerland, meanwhile, has suspended plans to renew its facilities, while India has ordered the audit of all its atomic plants.

The United Kingdom, which was considering him an important stimulus for its nuclear industry now seems to want to take time to reflect before embarking on such a project while in the United States, legislators have called for a moratorium on atomic energy.

A serious setback for the global nuclear industry

Finally in France, the second largest producer of nuclear energy worldwide, the government has reacted more lukewarm, excluding question his energy policy.The Environment Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, had nice talk "very serious nuclear accident" and "high risk of catastrophe", she also advised to "avoid falling into the runaway at European Union ". Sunday night on RTL, Henri Guaino, special advisor to Nicolas Sarkozy, has even gone so far as to say that the accident at the Fukushima plant "should instead promote the French nuclear industry, which is characterized" by its concern security ".

Yet the Japanese crisis represents a serious setback for the global nuclear industry.Monday morning, concern has spread to stock markets, as evidenced in Paris, the fall in prices - 8% and 4% respectively - the French group Areva, the world's nuclear and EDF, the first nuclear electrician world. A fall that, officially, does not worry unduly Areva: "This is the law of the market, these reactions to hot", indicated in the day Monday a spokesman for the group. It is true that after the disasters at Three Mile Island in 1979 and Chernobyl in 1986, the global nuclear industry had finally overcome.

"A before and after Fukushima"

Within the French nuclear group, however, the atmosphere is not as serene sought to suggest."For the moment we are waiting," said a company employee who wishes to remain anonymous. It is a crossroads for nuclear. If the reactors [the central Fukushima] take, it help to demonstrate the robustness of the facilities and to demonstrate that risks are taken into account. But if it goes wrong, there may be an impact on the prospects for nuclear development and its commercial opportunities. Be that as it may, the psychological impact on people will be striking and is likely to revive debate on the acceptability of nuclear power. "

For anti-nuclear organizations and the European Green parties anyway, the debate is (re) started and the battle is just beginning."There will be a before and after Fukushima, as there was a before and after Chernobyl," said Xavier Rabilloud example, spokesman for the network Sortir du nucléaire. For him, the "requests for verification of nuclear states are made by a clear admission that the safety in nuclear power is an illusion and that no one can keep the population from nuclear accidents.

ALGERIA: The Algerians will march to "change the system"

Follow the day's events in Algeria and Egypt on liveblogging from FRANCE 24.

AFP - Major security forces were deployed in Algeria in anticipation of events "to change the system" Saturday at 11:00 am (1000 GMT), the call of the National Coordination for Democracy and Change (CNDC) and could be encouraged by the departure of President Hosni Mubarak.

Several marches and rallies are planned across the country, but in Algiers, police, came in number-between 25,000 and 30,000 according to the press, were visible as early as Friday.

Police roadblocks set up at entrances to the capital since suicide bombings in April and December 2007, claimed by Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), were also strengthened.

A demonstration organized apparently it at the last minute to salute the fall of President Hosni Mubarak, before the head of the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD opposition) Friday in Algiers was stopped by a cordon of police activists who pushed in and made a dozen arrests.

The march of Algiers has not been authorized under a ban in force since 2001. The demonstrators nevertheless go to the Place de la Concorde (better known under its former name Place May 1st) at 11:00 to get to Martyrs' Square at the foot of the Casbah and the entrance of Bab el Oued , traditional theater of revolt.

In Oran, 430 km from Algiers, Wilaya denied permission to demonstrate. But the NCCD maintains its watchword, and calls for a gathering place November 1st in front of City Hall Thursday she was distributing leaflets still in this great city in western Algeria.

Other cities also intend to answer the call which, on the east coast, Boumerdes, Bejaia, then south-east of Algiers, Tizi Ouzou, the main town of Kabylie, and west, Tipaza, among others.

Finally, in the main town in eastern Algeria, Annaba, leaflets calling on citizens to participate in the march were intercepted by police in recent days. A police source described them as "demoralizing" and a threat to the safety of goods and people.

The CNDC was created on January 21 by opposition parties, civil society and autonomous unions in the wake of riots earlier this year that have killed 5 people and injured over 800.

TUNISIA: Concerns about the security situation in the country

The emergence of youth gangs armed prowlers in Tunis and the burning of a synagogue in Gabes reinforce fears of a descent into violence or destabilization attempts in Tunisia.

More than two weeks after the flight of President Zine Ben Ali under pressure from the street, January 14, the army had to intervene on Tuesday for gunmen to flee, as Tunisians suspected of working for the old power.

Large protests have continued in recent days in the country, the reshuffle made on Thursday by Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi who calmed the public.But acts of sabotage or intimidation were reported.

The spokesman of the Jewish community in Tunisia, one of the largest in North Africa, condemned the arson of a synagogue at Gabes in the south, on the night of Monday to Tuesday.

"I think those who have committed are seeking to create divisions between Jews and Muslims from Tunisia who live in peace for decades," said Peres Trabelsi.

Tunisian Jewish community is rarely the target of attacks. The last claimed by Al Qaeda, was in 2002 against the synagogue in Djerba Island.She had killed 21 people, including several German tourists.

Another indication of a deteriorating security, the military has had to fire warning shots to disperse gangs of armed youths who attacked two schools of Carthage, affluent suburb north-east of the capital , terrorizing students.

Monday already, young people with knives and clubs had spread fear through the streets of Kasserine, in the center of the country, burning buildings and harassing people, reports the news agency TAP.

Self-defense committees

Saturday in downtown Tunis, bands of youths had dispersed a gathering of women in Tunisia.They were hunted down on Avenue Habib Bourguiba by merchants organized in self-defense committees, also armed with knives and sticks.

Some traders believe that these bands are formed by former supporters of RCD, a former all-powerful party of President Ben Ali, or by young people paid to create chaos.

"We're here to try to reassure the public. We will protect," said a soldier in an armored vehicle positioned in front of a school in the capital.
Ben Ali, Minister of the Interior before taking power in 1987, had a vast network of police and informants who had not been dismantled since the "jasmine revolution".

Diplomatic sources, it is estimated that his presidential guard has been dispersed or eliminated, but a small number of his armed followers is probably still present in the country.

According to the head of a UN mission sent to the country, 147 people died and 510 others were injured in the uprising in Tunisia.

Bacre Waly Ndiaye said during a news conference that 72 more people died during riots that occurred in Tunisian prisons during these events, which began Dec. 17.

"The primary sector is to reform the security forces, who must work for the people, not against him," said the official Senegalese. "The security system must be central to the reform process. It is necessary to limit the role of the state police."

The interim government has promised to investigate the deaths and injuries occurred during the revolution and the eight members of the UN mission to provide assistance and advice.

The transition cabinet has also promised to recover assets of the family Ben Ali in Tunisia and abroad.

The EU froze the assets in Eastern Europe, former president and family.France has seized on Tuesday at Le Bourget airport a private plane belonging to the family of the deposed head of state.

Egypt: Hosni Mubarak dismissed the government under pressure from the street

At a brief speech broadcast on the night of Friday to Saturday by the Egyptian national television, President Hosni Mubarak announced the sacking of the government of Ahmed Nazif and announced the formation of a new cabinet on Saturday.

While the day was chaotic for power, the Head of State also dropped ballast and promised "further measures" to democracy, without giving further details.Hosni Mubarak has finally reaffirmed its determination to ensure the stability of the country, noting that the boundary between democracy and chaos was thin and that the difficulties should not be solved by violence.

Deadliest day in the Egyptian streets

The statements by Egyptian President intervene after a day of demonstrations - violently repressed - unprecedented in the country. The latest assessment shows that at least twenty dead in the different cities of Egypt, on Friday.Five people were killed and hundreds injured in Cairo to Suez, clashes with police left 13 dead and 75 wounded when six people and Alexandria regrets Mansoura two.

"The streets are delivered to the protesters. (...) It all civil society that manifests here in Cairo," says Karim Hakiki, a FRANCE 24 special correspondents in the Egyptian capital. On Friday, the fourth day of protests, hundreds of thousands of people were in the streets. The police used tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets to try to disperse the protesters.

Protesters set fire to the headquarters of the National Democratic Party (NDP in power).Earlier in the day, two police stations in the capital were torched. In the evening, demonstrators and security forces continued to clash in the main streets of Cairo transformed into a battlefield, despite the introduction of a curfew in the evening. Young or old, protesters demanding the departure of President Hosni Mubarak.

The army in the streets of Cairo

The authority has appealed to the army to support police, overwhelmed by the protesters. Yigal Saadoun, also special envoy FRANCE 24 in Cairo, confirms "having seen the units in the Egyptian army at a short distance from Tahrir Square, where the movement began.""We saw military armored vehicles enter Cairo," he added.

The curfew was imposed in three major cities of Egypt: Cairo, Alexandria and Suez.

The opponent Mohamed ElBaradei, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), took part in demonstrations. He said he was prepared to ensure the political transition in the event of departure of Hosni Mubarak. Since Thursday, it was forbidden to leave Cairo.Some sources report that it would be under house arrest.

Internet and telephone connections were still cut on Friday evening, while the international community, including the European Union and the United States, called Cairo to show "restraint" and respect the rights of Egyptians.

Find below the liveblogging by FRANCE24.com insisted Friday.