Iran: Trial resumes for hikers in Tehran

The trial of two Americans detained in Iran in 2009 and accused of spying for Tehran would resume Wednesday, said Tuesday the U.S. State Department, which has demanded their release.

"Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer is almost two years in prison and it is time for them to find their families," said the spokesman of the State Department Mark Toner.

"We learned from our Swiss partner that Iranian authorities have confirmed the date of May 11 for the trial resumed," he said.

Switzerland looks after U.S. interests because the United States and Iran had diplomatic relations n'entretiennent.

Shane Bauer, Josh and Sarah Fattal Shourd were arrested July 31, 2009 near the border with Iraq. They say they were hiking in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan and they have crossed the border inadvertently.

Sarah Shourd was released in September against a deposit of $ 500,000. On Monday, the lawyer for the three Americans said that Tehran would likely Shourd did not resume his trial.

Under Iran's Islamic law, espionage can be punishable by death.

FOOTBALL: The French federation accused of racial discrimination by a journalistic investigation

Are there too many blacks and Arabs in the French football? That, in essence, the debate which would have appealed to the French Football Federation (FFF) in recent months, according to a survey published Thursday by the site Mediapart.

In the article, the three authors of the survey denounced the holding of hearings in camera on the subject since the end of 2010. These discussions have led to some troubling conclusions, according to Mediapart."For the highest level of French football, the case is heard: there are too many blacks, too many Arabs and not enough white on the land," have said several leaders of French football.

"Several leaders of the National Technical Directorate (DTN) of the French Football Federation (FFF), the coach of the Blues himself, Laurent Blanc, approved in the greatest secrecy, early 2011, the principle of discriminatory quotas informal in training centers and schools of football country, "develops this investigation.

"The 30% figure has even been suggested, January 18, 2011, by the technical director [Francis Blaquart] at a meeting of the DTN. 'But he did not let it be said, has been careful to said Mr.Blaquart "insists Mediapart, who claims to have obtained this information from several reliable sources.

"According to sources inside the FFF, outraged by the process, instructions have been given this direction in recent weeks in various centers responsible for training, including the French National Institute (INF) at Clairefontaine," continues the section.

FFF demented Mediapart ready to publish the evidence

Faced with Brulot published on the website, the FFF was quick to react.Philippe Tournon, Head of Press Service of the France team, told FRANCE 24 that Laurent Blanc was "deeply attached to freedom and [...] resistant to any form of discrimination" and that "[declined] formally being associated in any way to these stories of quotas. "

The Head of Press Office of the France team nevertheless acknowledged the holding of debates on dual nationality for some players trained by the French centers, while attacking an amalgam.

Fernand Duchossoy, president of the FFF, which has also denounced this amalgam, confirmed to AFP that a debate on a related topic was the agenda: "There is an observation, but it is not reflection. This one has plenty of players with dual nationality among youth and then some do not want to go for France. It is a choice, we must assume. "

Despite denials from the rain, the site Mediapart reaffirmed his serenity about the statements reported in its investigation. One of its authors, Fabrice Arfi, explained Thursday night broadcast on RMC: "We are very serene face of denials. We hold the evidence of what we say.And if the denials are too insistent, of course, we shall have to publish the evidence. "

"French football is racist"

The publication of the first part of this investigation has caused an earthquake in the world of French sport. Sports Minister Jouanno Chantal, who "[took] note" of the denial of the Federation, called on relevant authorities to "do it very quickly shed light on [these] allegations."

If the major players in French football still refusing to comment on the remarks relayed by Mediapart, some have followed suit of Internet media to denounce a more general situation.On RMC, Pape Diouf has rebounded on the publication of the article to castigate the state of French football, "French football is a reflection of its society. It is racist and excludes says the former chairman of the Olympique de Marseille. [...] I do not say that [these allegations] are true, but in any case, they fully reflect the reality of time and timing. "

The newspaper The team gathered for its part, the testimony of another symbol of diversity footballing Allen, the former central defender Lilian Thuram for France, who expressed his excitement to sports daily " I am so shocked that I do not know what to say. It is a world falling apart.But I do not want to be in the emotion to respond. I expect to have more elements. So I want to talk to people Mediapart. If this story is true, it does not stop there. "

The Federal Council, held on Friday, said the investigation Mediapart its agenda. The national technical director Francis Blaquart, one of the leaders openly referred to the article, will hold a press briefing following the meeting.

LIBYA: At the UN, French diplomacy against the Libyan equation

The approval by the Security Council of UN resolution 1973, Thursday, marks something of a return to the forefront of French diplomacy. On the antenna of FRANCE 24, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe reiterated that "France [works] to convince his partners" for "days, if not weeks."

The insistence of France vis-à-vis the international community has borne fruit.After the decision of the Security Council of UN, Libya announced Friday its intention to immediately comply with UN orders by putting "an end to all military operations" and observing "an immediate cease- fire ".

If this latest development is confirmed on the ground, it could be a proven success for French diplomacy.However, the positions of Paris supported for this procedure is complex to decipher.

Since the official recognition of the Libyan National Transitional Council (CNT) as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people (March 10), Paris has stepped up calls for military intervention.

Particularly, this position contrasts sharply with the attitude of French diplomacy at recent Arab uprisings - in Tunisia and Egypt.The Quai d'Orsay was then multiplied the blunders, from the point of discrediting the entire French diplomacy and deface Paris's position on these issues.

A position to assume

Reached by France24.com Eugene Rogan, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oxford, said that Paris had no other choice but to "continue its efforts" to address the problem Jamahiriya: "France has taken a very surprising recognizing a government instead of a state.It seems that from the time when President Sarkozy has legitimized the CNT, unpredictably, [...] France could not afford to be the only major countries not to recognize the regime of Gaddafi ".

Repeated calls from the Quai d'Orsay for an international consensus had finally paid off. But the question of whether early recognition of the CNT was part of an overall strategy to put pressure on the international community continue to arise.

For Eugene Rogan, it is likely that France was forced to assume its partners a hasty decision, "President Sarkozy is very unpredictable and can be very spontaneous.When he recognized the CNT, it seems he did not consult its partners in Europe and America. "

Nevertheless, "it is very difficult to know for what purpose France decided to recognize the CNT. "Maybe she had received assurances on the award of contracts in exchange for his support. If this is a tenable hypothesis, there is nothing to verify it. I do not see any other explanation, "he develops.

However, the image of French diplomacy ultra responsive, which would cleverly controlled his skid, is not unanimously shared.According to Jean Dufourcq, a researcher at the Ecole Militaire in Paris and former director of the Research Centre of the College of Defence of NATO, "France shares the idea that it must intervene when a population suffered an attack of its leader, especially if the process takes place in an area directly concerning. "

This strategic aspect, which aims to protect the Mediterranean against a threat of destabilization, is a major factor to decrypt the French position on the issue of Libya, said Jean Dufourcq, whose reasoning supports the thesis of a controlled strategy from the beginning by Paris. "Behind the scenes, it is likely that the project was on the table for a month.Since the establishment of a military process requires a lot of work beforehand. "

The hexagonal frontline diplomacy

Rest in obtaining approval of an intervention in Libya, France was left to the initiative of a major operation. For now, the Quai d'Orsay has limited interventions. The government spokesman Baroin confirmed Friday morning that military strikes would occur "within hours" and that the French military "will participate".

For Jean Dufourcq, this vagueness is part of Paris by a certain continuity: "We have just concluded the political stage of this operation. Now open the military aspect, namely the establishment of the process, says he said.If France did not rule on a specific schedule is that the UN is in a logic of 'surprise military'. If the humanitarian need is unquestionable, the strategy calls for hitting at the right time. "

As a prelude to the Council vote, Alain Juppe had evoked a quick response, saying it was "a matter of days, [...] may be a matter of hours." Since no information has filtered out about it.

Respect of staff and military means that each country involved could make available to the coalition, they have still not been disclosed.

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.

"Baby Doc" under four complaints for crimes against humanity

Haitian journalist Michele Montas and three other activists Haitian human rights complaint filed on Wednesday, with the Haitian justice for crimes against humanity against Jean-Claude Duvalier, aka "Baby Doc", the ex- Haitian dictator who made a surprise return to Port-au-Prince last Sunday.

"I considered his comeback as a slap, Michele Montas told France24.com, reached by telephone in the Haitian capital.Many Haitians have been affected by the regime of Jean-Claude Duvalier ... He thought he could return to Haiti and get away with it! "

Michele Montas was a journalist at Radio Haiti-Inter in the first ten years of the dictatorship of Jean-Claude Duvalier (1971-1986). She and her husband - Jean Dominique, a prominent Haitian journalist murdered in 2000 - had to flee the country in November 1980 when they adopted a tone very critical of the government.They could not return until 1986, after the departure of Duvalier's son.

Asked about the "crime against humanity" which is the subject complaint, Ms. Montas said that "in the late 1980s, there were widespread raids activists in human rights and journalists. people were tortured, they took everything that moved. And Radio Haiti was destroyed. " Jean-Claude Duvalier became famous for the many atrocities that were committed under his regime, thousands of opponents are arbitrarily detained and tortured.Some were even murdered.

Tuesday night, "Baby Doc" has already been indicted by a Haitian court for criminal conspiracy, embezzlement and corruption in public administration.

Claude Rosiers, 11 years in prison Duvalier

Asked about the complaint by the special correspondent for FRANCE 24 in Port-au-Prince, Alexandra Fox, a lawyer Jean-Claude Duvalier has denounced "a fanciful action.Earlier, another adviser to the former dictator had explained that it would remain "forever" in Haiti, where he wanted to "play politics".

Furthermore Michele Montas, three other prominent Haitians have filed complaints against "Baby Doc" for crimes against humanity: the president of the National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (NCDDR), Alix Fils-Aime, the former political prisoner Claude roses, and feminist activist Nicole Magloire.

Under the title "The Triangle of Death" (2003), Claude Rosiers has published an account of his ten years in the jails of Francois and Jean-Claude Duvalier, between 1966 and 1977, when he was a Party activist People's National Liberation (PPLN), a Marxist party.

The four complaints will be heard by Judge John Carver, who is shortly to convene the complainants and especially examine the documentary evidence of the charges against Jean-Claude Duvalier.

"Widespread and systematic violations of fundamental rights"

Since the return of the former dictator in Haiti, many voices were raised to demand his arrest, including Amnesty International, the National Network of Human rights (RNDDH-Haiti), or the rights of the Ecumenical Centre Rights (ECHR) of Haiti.

Yesterday, Haitian France24 Observers demanded that "he be tried for his crimes."

In a statement released Wednesday morning, Amnesty International calls on what is brought to justice "a leader whose security services [were] engaged in widespread and systematic violations of fundamental rights" and the Haitian authorities to "investigate Jean-Claude Duvalier and other persons who may have been responsible for such crimes, some of which amount to crimes against humanity. "

France24.com joined Wednesday by Amnesty International says the International Criminal Court (ICC) can not be seized of the case Duvalier, the facts alleged against him being prior to its creation in 1998.

Former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide prepared to return home

Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide said on Wednesday ready to return home, three days after Jean-Claude Duvalier, aka "Baby Doc", has ended his exile, returning to Port-au-Prince to everyone's surprise.

Aristide, a former priest in exile in South Africa since 2004, has long claimed that he was ousted under pressure from the United States and France.

"Since my arrival forced on the African continent there are six and a half years, the Haitian people have stopped asking my return to Haiti," Aristide wrote in a statement sent to AFP.

"In my case, I'm ready.Again, I'm ready to go today, tomorrow, anytime, "he says.

This statement comes as the spokesman Jean-Claude Duvalier, Henri-Robert Sterlin said that the former dictator hoped to regain power.

Haiti is mired in a political crisis arising from the disputed first round of presidential elections on 28 November.

Aristide was the first Haitian president to be elected democratically.He was ousted in a revolt.

The purpose of his return, he assures, "is clear: to help serve my brothers and sisters in Haiti as a private citizen in the field of education."

"This return is also required for medical reasons: I have been strongly advised not to spend the next winter (Southern, ed), South Africa, for in six years I was operated eye six times," said yet Jean-Bertrand Aristide, 57.

On Tuesday, a lawyer based in the U.S. in contact with him indicated that the former president had asked to renew his Haitian passport, but that request was refused by the Haitian authorities.

"Aristide has the right to return to Haiti, but was forbidden," said Brian Concannon.