Libya: The Libyan regime changes tactics in Misrata

Soldiers loyal to Muammar Gaddafi captured by insurgents in Misrata said Saturday that the army had received orders to withdraw from this port city in western Libya, besieged for nearly two months by government forces.

A rebel spokesman said the soldiers before fleeing, trapped corpses and buildings.

"We were told yesterday to withdraw," one soldier told Reuters, Khaled Dorman, transported with eleven others injured at the hospital in Misrata, 200 km east of Tripoli.

Another soldier, asked whether the government had lost control of Misrata, replied in the affirmative.

Contacted Misrata, Gemal Salem, spokesman of the insurgents, said by telephone that the forces of Muammar Gaddafi had left the city but stayed outside and be in position to bombard.

"Misrata is free, the Rebels have won.Some forces soldiers were killed Qaddafi and others are fleeing, "he said.

He added that the goal of insurgents Misrata was now come to the aid of other outbreaks of rebellion in Tripoli.

First attack drone "Predator"

The Libyan government admitted on Friday evening that the siege had been broken during the capture of the port by insurgents and that the airstrikes had contributed.

"The strategy of the Libyan army is to conduct surgery, but with air strikes, it does not work," said Vice-Foreign Minister Khalid Kaim.

"The situation will be alleviated in Misrata, tribes around Misrata and the rest of the inhabitants of Misrata take care of it, and the Libyan army," he told reporters in Tripoli.

Another spokesman for the rebels to Misrata, Abdelsalam, said that Gaddafi supporting tribes were a minority in the region.

"There are two small towns near Gaddafi Misrata. They represent less than one percent of the population in and around Misrata," he said.

"They know that when the Gaddafi regime fall, they fall with him," he added, saying that fear the government pays for them mercenaries posing as members of tribes.

Salem said that the rebels now raking Misrata and clear the streets.Before leaving, he said, forces Gaddafi trapped corpses, homes and cars.

"A man opened his refrigerator on his way home this morning after the departure of forces Gaddafi, and it exploded in his face. Same with the corpses. When the rebels are trying to raise a body, he explodes.Three people were killed because of this, and we deplore 15 wounded.

The Pentagon also announced that the U.S. had Libya on Saturday launched their first attack drone "Predator".

Conducted last month by the West under a UN mandate, the conventional air raids have not helped insurgents to take sufficient advantage and Admiral Mike Mullen, Chief of Staff Inter-American weapons, said Friday that the conflict threatens to enter a deadlock.

Strikes by HQ Gaddafi

On the night of Friday to Saturday, NATO conducted air strikes near Bab al Azizia, fortified headquarters of Gaddafi in Tripoli.

Moussa Ibrahim, spokesman for the government, said three people had been killed by a "powerful explosion" in a parking lot.

Reuters journalists have reported that the place was surrounded by walls and watchtowers occupied by soldiers. NATO strikes have left two large holes. The bombs have crossed the floor and a layer of reinforced concrete, reaching what appears to be an underground shelter.

Smoke was still one of the craters, with boxes of ammunition nearby.Ibrahim Moussa said that the place was no longer used and that the ammunition boxes were empty.

In addition, the agency Jana reported that the Libyan Prime Minister Al Baghdadi Al Mahmoudi, had Saturday with his Greek counterpart George Papandreou a telephone interview during which he reaffirmed Libya's commitment to UN resolutions.

He added that Libya was committed to the peace initiative of the African Union.

"The colonial aggression of the crusaders" - apparently referring to military operations against NATO forces Gaddafi - violate these resolutions, "said Mahmoud quoted by Jana.

"There was talk during the exchange of the role of Greece to stop these excesses," the agency said.

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.

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.

Liveblogging: Back on the events of Thursday in Libya and the Arab world

REUTERS - The cons-offensive Libyan forces to take over the city fell three weeks ago at the hands of insurgents hostile to the regime of Muammar Gaddafi continued Thursday as the West is still hesitating on how to support them.

The head of U.S. intelligence, James Clapper, has predicted that the forces Gaddafi, the better equipped than the rebels, would eventually prevail.Colonel Gaddafi is ready for a long struggle, he said, and nothing suggests that he relinquish power.

Saif al Islam Gaddafi's son, has confirmed that the time had come to launch a full military offensive against insurgents and negotiations with them were out of question.

France became the first Western power to recognize the National Council of Libya (NOC) in Benghazi proclaimed by the insurgents.London followed a similar line, calling the NOC a "valid interlocutor" with which he wished
"Working closely".

But EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, even if they have reaffirmed their desire to see Qaddafi from power, appeared divided on this issue.

The representative of European diplomacy, Catherine Ashton, said that one should not rush "of matter in the unilateral recognition of certain groups."

"From our perspective, any recognition should be conducted by the Arab League and discussed at the UN.This is not to be a unilateral decision, "said his spokesman.

Tanks, airplanes, ships bombard Ras Lanuf

Catherine Ashton, who attended a simultaneous meeting of defense ministers of NATO in the Belgian capital, also argues that any European initiative on
establishing a no-fly zone in Libya should be taken in close coordination with the UN and the Arab League.

The secretary general of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said any military operation, including the establishment of such a zone should meet three criteria: the need
demonstrable intervention, a clear mandate and support in the region.

The EU summit to be held Friday, still in Brussels, France would propose a strategic action plan to stop the murderous repression of the uprising in Libya, said one of the emissaries of the NLC received in the morning by the
President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Field, east of Tripoli, tanks, aircraft and ships bombed the Libyan insurgent positions in Ras Lanuf, which houses a major oil terminal, has reported
a rebel, citing several deaths.

The official TV announced that insurgents had been driven out of port and airport Es Sider, another oil terminal, 40 km west of Ras Lanuf.

Insurgents have also reported an airstrike on Mars el Brega, a third oil terminal, located 90 km east of Ras Lanuf, suggesting that the loyalists have not
only stopped the progression of anti-Gaddafi westward but regained ground towards their eastern strongholds.

Zaouïah surrounded on all sides

Even if the fighting around the oil terminals in the Gulf of Sirte rage, there is no indication that Gadhafi forces seeking to destroy their facilities.But oil prices nonetheless continue to soar.

The Libyan authorities repress the tanker ports because of the depletion of oil deposits due to supply disruptions because of fighting.

To the west, the loyalist forces encircled the town devastated Zaouiah, about fifty kilometers from the capital, where insurgents continue to resist despite the
deadly fighting in recent days.

"The government forces surround Zaouïah everywhere. We do not know who controls the center. It changes all the time.Battles are fought street by street, "reported an exile who has been in contact with a relative in
suburbs of the city.

The insurgents, carried far by the hope that they could enter their lead in Tripoli from their stronghold in Benghazi, now admit their difficulties in
holding their own against an opponent with a superior firepower.

The deadly weapons of Gaddafi

"Gadhafi could prevail. With planes, tanks, mortars and rockets. It would be nice that there is a no-fly zone," said an insurgent.

The U.S. Department of Defense said examine "a range" of military options, including such a zone.U.S. General Raymond Odierno said that in case of international consensus, the establishment of this zone would only take 48 hours.

But, noting, too, the need for a green light from the international community, Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has ruled out any unilateral action by Washington, which it says could have "unpredictable consequences".

She also expressed the concern of the United States to the possible possession of chemical weapons by the Gaddafi regime, and other "things dreaded" it might have in his arsenal.

In Geneva, the Committee inernational of the Red Cross said that Libya was plunging into a civil war with mounting casualties.

The outgoing coalition won the legislative

REUTERS - The center-right coalition to power in Estonia, Country came in January in the euro area after a harsh recession, has largely won parliamentary elections Sunday.

After counting 97% of votes, the Reform Party of Prime Minister Andrus Ansip wins 33 seats out of 101 in the new parliament and its partner, the Union Pro Patria and Res Republica, gets 23, ensuring the coalition an absolute majority, with five more seats in the outgoing assembly.

Analysts expect that the small Baltic country of 1.3 million people stick to the austerity policy that allowed him in January to become the 17th member state of the euro-zone government debt the lowest in the EU.

The Centre Party, main opposition, has been affected by allegations that he solicited funds in Russia, great neighbor that Estonians generally viewed with suspicion. The party officials have denied those rumors.

The Social Democrats, meanwhile, had joined the government after the 2007 elections but the alliance was broken.

The government Ansip was a minority for some time, but defections on smaller parties had come to give it 51 seats in parliament.

Estonia has been facing one of the worst recessions in the EU, with its economy shrank by 14% in 2009.Only its Baltic neighbors, the
Latvia and Lithuania, have experienced worse in the EU.

The country has implemented austerity measures to redress public finances and adopt the euro.

Estonia remains one of the poorest countries of the Union, which she joined in 2004 as well as NATO. But its fiscal situation is sound. The European Commission predicts its total budget deficit of the public sector of 1.6% of GDP for 2011, which corresponds to the average of the euro area.

The state debt, projected at 9.5% of GDP this year will be by far the lowest in the euro zone where the average is in the field to 86.5% of GDP. The Government is committed to achieving a balanced budget by 2014.

FRANCE: Nicolas Sarkozy addresses the French tonight's fate still uncertain MAM

The fate of Michèle Alliot-Marie is sealed by the tenors of the majority, leaving the government should intervene Sunday in a reshuffle to the extent uncertain, prior to a statement broadcast by Nicolas Sarkozy on the international situation.

"For MMA, it's done. The President has taken its decision, she goes" Saturday assured a tenor of the majority, confirming information obtained yesterday by the AFP to two ministers.

According to several sources, the head of French diplomacy would be replaced by the Defence Minister, Alain Juppe.This will, in a minister to resign "Sunday Morning", just after his return in the night from a trip to Kuwait.

"The anonymous sources who claim to make decisions in place of Ms Alliot-Marie bind none but themselves," responded the entourage of the Minister to AFP.

When questioned, the Elysee declined to respond. But in late afternoon, Sarkozy, after meeting with three former hostages of the Sahel at the Elysee Palace, received at La Lanterne in Versailles, Prime Minister Francois Fillon. The interview lasted an hour and a half, according to Matignon.The secretary general of the Elysee, Claude Gueant, was also present.

While France has been strongly criticized in recent weeks for its diplomatic policy, Mr.Sarkozy will also attempt to regain control of the reserved area of the Head of State during a televised address Sunday at 8:00 p.m. on the international situation.

Regarding his team, the Head of State is considering various scenarios, according to several government sources.

Circumscribe the redesign to the replacement of MMA? Or take the opportunity to make more extensive changes and try to give new impetus to his government, just three months after the big reshuffle in November and a little over a year of presidential elections?

"Mystery ... The ball will roll on the wheel throughout the weekend," said a tenor of the majority.

"I work. I am 100% mobilized as Minister of Foreign Affairs.I do not comment on rumors in Paris, "said Kuwait Alliot-Marie.

"Regardless of what happens when I landed in Paris," she added, however, as resigned to his dismissal.

According to ministers, the situation became untenable and "we must stop it" because "Michele Alliot-Marie was unscrewed and leads everyone." "The sequence of the French presidency of the G20 is important and as Minister of Foreign Affairs, will be prominent at the side of the head of state. But in his post, the action does not erase image "tarnished by the case to twists on holiday in Tunisia, said one of them.

To replace Mr.Juppe of Defense, several names were circulating this weekend, including the boss of UMP senators, Gerard Longuet, but also former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, or the interior minister, Brice Hortefeux, which could then give way to Beauvau Claude Gueant.

The reshuffle could also see the arrival of two or three secretaries of state - including liberals and centrists - repeatedly announced and postponed.New Center hoped Saturday that the realignment "will allow a rebalancing policy.

As for the companion of MMA, the Minister of Relations with Parliament, Patrick Ollier, his fate seems outstanding and not necessarily tied to that of his companion.

Campaigning Sunday for his fief cantonal Rueil-Malmaison (Hauts-de-Seine), he merely said he would "when the situation" arises.

Four complaints against "Baby Doc" for crimes against humanity

Haitian journalist Michele Montas, a former spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and three others, filed suit Wednesday for crimes against humanity against former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier announced Montas told AFP.

"We have complaints of crimes against humanity before the government commissioner," Michele Montas said, adding that the case would be forwarded to a judge.

The other plaintiffs are two former political prisoners, Alix Fils-Aime and Claude Rosiers, imprisoned for 10 years during the dictatorship, and Nicole Magloire.

Michele Montas, whose late husband, journalist Jean Dominique, was intimidated and exiled under the Duvalier regime had itself been sent into exile after the destruction of Radio Haiti, where she worked, by the Duvalier family.

"We complained to false imprisonment, exile, destruction of private property, physical and moral torture, violation of civil and political rights," she listed, after meeting with the commissioner of the government (Attorney General) Augustus Aristides.

Others are preparing to file complaints against the former dictator income in Haiti Sunday after 25 years of exile in France and charged Tuesday for bribery, embezzlement and conspiracy, before being released on bail by Haitian justice.