USA: Barack Obama wants to support revolutions in the Arab world

Barack Obama is extending his hand again the Muslim world. After the speech in Cairo in 2009, and that of Jakarta, in 2010, the President of the United States wanted to mark again the disconnect between the policies of his predecessor, George W. Bush, behind the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and his own.

But since his last message to the Muslim world, six months ago, the Arab spring reworked maps in North Africa and the Middle East.However, "although these countries are very far from our borders, we know that our fate depends on them," said the president of the United States in the introduction to his speech on U.S. policy towards the Arab world , delivered at the State Department (the equivalent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in France), in Washington.

It was also the first speech of this kind since the death of Osama bin Laden, May 1.This has allowed Barack Obama to condemn the violence and stressed that the Arab world now sees the extremism of Al-Qaeda "an impasse".

"Punishment does not work"

That's why "the United States must necessarily change our approach" vis-à-vis the Arab world, said the Nobel peace 2009. For Washington, this shift is primarily to consider the hours of leaders who repress the demonstrators are now counted."The strategies of repression will not work anymore," said Barack Obama as a warning to the Libyan regime, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain.

"We can not intervene everywhere ... Our experience in Iraq shows how difficult it is to impose a regime in a country. But if we had not acted in Libya, thousands of people have died.Today, Qaddafi has more control of the country, "the president said about the intervention of the international coalition which is involved in Washington since March 19 last.

Similarly, in Syria, "Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad is now facing a choice: He can lead the transition, or move away," warned Barack Obama in particular demanding an end to violence against demonstrators.Otherwise, Bashar Al-Assad - that Washington has unilaterally sanctioned Wednesday - and his regime "will be challenged from within, and will continue to be isolated outside," he said.

With regard to Yemen, Barack Obama called President Ali Abdullah Saleh to "respect its commitments regarding the transition." Coincidence or not, the ruling party said during the speech that the agreement between Saleh, in power for 32 years, and the opposition, would be signed Sunday.Initiatives in the Middle East "more urgent than ever" The tenant of the White House has even rebuked his traditional ally of the Arabian Peninsula, Bahrain, calling the government "to establish the necessary conditions for dialogue" and the opposition "to accept and participate in dialogue." When the army had suppressed the demonstrations against the government in early February, Washington had not responded. "In the coming months, the U.S. will exert maximum efforts to support reforms in North Africa and the Middle East, "insisted Barack Obama, who announced plans to help Egypt and Tunisia, where the head of state was chased by protesters.But "initiatives more urgent than ever" concern the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for which the diplomatic efforts for a resumption of peace negotiations are currently on the rise. In his speech, Barack Obama went further than before, setting the parameters of an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians, without going so far as to unveil a U.S. peace plan.
Washington now has goals for the borders of Israel and a future Palestinian state are based on those of 1967 and the latter to be demilitarized. "We'll agree on the duration of this period of transition, and the effectiveness of security arrangements should be demonstrated," he added.But if diplomatic efforts are progressing, the security issue it is far from settled. Barack Obama conceded that the presence of Hamas in the unity government of Palestinian territories "complicated negotiations." As for the Israelis, they would have approved construction of 620 homes in east Jerusalem on Thursday, says an NGO. Not sure it makes things easier ...

IVORY COAST: Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara was sworn in Abidjan

AFP - Alassane Ouattara was sworn in Friday as president of Côte d'Ivoire, after five months of crisis-related challenge to the presidential election Nov. 28 by the outgoing Head of State Laurent Gbagbo, who was arrested April 11, found a AFP.

Mr.Ouattara, 69, was sworn in, standing, right hand raised before the President of the Constitutional Council, Paul Yao N'Dré, the palace of the Presidency, in the administrative district of Plateau (center) in the presence of members of government, diplomats, representatives of the armed forces, political parties and civil society.

"Before the sovereign people of Côte d'Ivoire, I solemnly swear to honor and to respect and faithfully defend the Constitution, protect the rights and freedoms of citizens, to conscientiously fulfill my duties in the best interests Nation, "he said.

"That the people will retire his confidence and that I undergo the rigor of the law if I betray my oath," he added.

"This is the beginning of a new era of reconciliation and unity between all the girls, among all our dear son of Ivory Coast," promised Mr. Ouattara in a brief intervention, immediately after its swearing.

The ceremony took place after the proclamation of Alassane Ouattara as president by the Constitutional Council, ending the controversy over the presidential election.

Ouattara Chairman welcomed this proclamation: "This decision has thus removing any doubt about the outcome of the vote."

3 December 2010, Mr. Yao N'Dré near Laurent Gbagbo, had opened the most serious crisis in the country's history by proclaiming Mr.Gbagbo reelected with 51.45% of the votes at the polls on November 28.

The Council then had to invalidate the results of the independent electoral commission, certified by the UN, giving Mr. Ouattara winner with 54.1% of votes.

December 4, Côte d'Ivoire was thus left with two chairs.Laurent Gbagbo was sworn in during a ceremony with great pomp in the presidential palace, while Alassane Ouattara had done so through a letter to the Constitutional Council.

Laurent Gbagbo was eventually arrested by the pro-Ouattara in the presidential residence in Abidjan on April 11, after several days of bombing of the French Licorne force and the UN, ending four months of crisis and 15 days of war, that killed nearly 3,000 people, authorities said, and about one million displaced.

The inauguration of President Ouattara to be held May 21 in Yamoussoukro (center), the political capital of the country, attended by foreign heads of state.

Bin Laden, a hunt that lasted nearly ten years

AFP - The information collected and analyzed for years have finally formed a puzzle: the hunt for Bin Laden has sharply accelerated last summer when the U.S. services have come back to the residence he occupied the north of Islamabad, as the story of a U.S. official.

Since Sept. 11, the most wanted man in the world remained elusive.Until the night of Sunday to Monday, when U.S. commandos killed him in the building of a wealthy district of Abbottabad, about fifty kilometers from the Pakistani capital.

"From the moment we have identified bin Laden as a threat, the CIA has gathered evidence on people's inner circle, including his personal messengers," said a senior official of the Obama administration on condition of anonymity in a conference call.

One of these messengers of particular interest to U.S. intelligence.Members of Al Qaeda captured had given his "nom de guerre" and had described as a protege of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the attacks of Sept. 11, and a trusted assistant of Abu Faraj Al- Libbi, the number three al Qaeda captured in 2005.

"They also presented the man as one of the only messengers that bin Laden had confidence and showed that he could live with him and protects him. But for years, we could not the be identified by his real name or know his whereabouts, "said the senior official.

It was not until 2007 that his identity is discovered.But no question the senior official revealed. A few months ago, the Americans finally discover the area where the messenger was, with his brother in Pakistan.

"But we could not always know exactly where they lived." They took great care.

"The fact that they are so cautious has reinforced the feeling that we were on the right path," he says.

August 2010, turning the hunt for the leader of Al Qaeda

August 2010: the breakthrough. Their house is finally located, it is a "complex in Abbottabad" in a neighborhood populated by retired military.Barack Obama is informed.

"When we saw the complex where the brothers lived, we had a shock," said the senior official.

The complex occupies a large area. It is "eight times larger than other houses in the neighborhood." When it was built in 2005, he was at the end of a small dirt road.From other houses have been built around.

Satellites, drones, human intelligence? The senior does not detail how the observations were made, but every detail of this residence is duly appraised.

Security measures? "Extraordinary," he said.The walls rise up to 5.5 meters and is topped with barbed wire, access is possible only by "two secure portals.

Another incongruity, the occupants are burning their garbage when the neighbors have a collection service.

The apartment building also clashes in the environment with "little windows on the exterior" and its three floors topped walls of two meters to mount on the roof while protecting themselves from prying eyes.

No internet, phone.And how the two brothers could they have offered this Properties valued at one million dollars where they live with their families and a third family that is very similar to that of Bin Laden?

After studying the issue "all angles", the conclusion is obvious: there is a "strong likelihood" that it is the leader of Al Qaeda.

Friday at 8:20 (12:20 GMT) Barack Obama authorizes the transaction.It is still Sunday afternoon in Washington early Monday morning in Pakistan, when "a small American team" boarded helicopters for this "particularly dangerous operation," says another senior U.S. official.

The raid itself as "surgical" not to cause casualties among women and children who occupy the residence or the neighbors. Bin Laden, a son and two brothers, his messengers, are killed and a woman used as "human shield by a fighter." Another woman was wounded.The senior official said he could not go into details and does not specify whether the prisoners were made.

One of the helicopters to mechanical problems, he can not take off. The commandos and destroy the pile aboard another aircraft with the body of bin Laden.

The commandos will be 40 minutes remained on the ground, the hunt is over.

Syria: Repression bloody Deraa, the epicenter of protest

The crackdown by the Syrian regime hardens a little more. Monday, tanks and soldiers armed to the teeth have penetrated for the first time in Deraa, birthplace of the challenge set in the South, according to witnesses on the spot. A change of tactics by the regime which suggest that Bashar al-Assad is playing its trump card, "says Jean-Bernard Cadier, a specialist in international politics of France 24:" He can not turn back now. "

Contacted by France 24, a resident of the city has traced the events of the morning. "Just after the prayer, we heard gunshots. We tried to know where the shots came from. Here we have seen at least eight tanks military who took the road of the old city.They asked us to stop all form of protest. There is nobody to help us and they can shoot us! "

Panicked face this sudden military deployment, the population has increased calls for help with the means at hand. "People are using loudspeakers in mosques to ask for help. Electricity has been cut off, the telephone network as well," said Isabelle Dellerba, France 24 correspondent in Beirut. "Ambulances are struggling to reach victims. The wounded are lying on the ground in the streets, there are also dead."

Deraa, prime target of the regime in Damascus

Scenes of war are told by many people on the spot."Men are ambushed government forces in public buildings and shooting at houses," said one of them told Reuters. "They shoot in all directions and move behind the tanks, which protect them," related another. A witness contacted by AFP already reported five deaths.

Isabelle Dellerba, the current confrontation between the regime and the protesters should go crescendo. "Bashar al-Assad could decide to take a new direction by launching operations against punches home the most important challenge," she says.

And not only Deraa. Activist Syrian Human Rights, contacted by AFP reported heavy fighting in Douma, located on the outskirts of Damascus."On Monday, Syrian security forces and armed supporters of President Bashar al-Assad stormed the city Duma. They fired on civilians and arresting people."

Sign of the escalating security of the regime in Damascus, the government of Bashar al-Assad has ordered the closure of the border with Jordan.

As a reminder, these bloody confrontations abound for three days. The crackdown left at least 120 dead between Friday and Saturday, according to a list of names compiled by the Committee of the martyrs of the revolution 15-Mar.

Sunday at Jableh, near Latakia, thirteen people were also killed and several others injured by police, told AFP from an activist for human rights.This brings to 366 the number of victims since mid-March.

Yemen: President Ali Abdallah Saleh is increasingly isolated

Leaders of the Yemeni army announced Monday their rally to protest against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has assured the people that supported him despite calls for redoubled his departure.

In addition, the main tribal leader, Sheikh Sadek al-Ahmar, asked President Saleh, in power for 32 years to retire, adding its voice to those of traditional and religious leaders, whose role is critical in this poor country 24 million inhabitants.

Two regions commanders, General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, head of the north-east which includes the capital Sanaa, and General Mohammed Ali Mohsen, head of Eastern Military District, declared themselves in favor of the protesters.

Their defections were the first of this magnitude in the ranks of the army, and two other generals: Nasser Ali Chouaibi in south-east, and Faisal Rajab, in the south.

Despite these defections, President Saleh, 68, said the "majority of the people" supports it.

"The vast majority of people with Yemeni security, stability and constitutional legality.And those who call for chaos, violence, hatred and sabotage are a tiny minority, "assured the president to Sanaa.

Previously, General al-Ahmar, from the most influential tribe in the country, had accused Al-Jazeera the head of state to "repress peaceful protesters" and "push the country towards civil war".

In Sanaa, dozens of officers have announced their allegiance to a crowd of protesters who braved still on the University Square a ban on demonstrations to demand the departure of President Saleh.

In the morning, tanks were deployed in the center of the capital, especially around the presidential palace, the seat of the ruling General People's Congress (GPC), the Department of Defense and the Central Bank.

In Aden (south), the second largest city, General Chouaibi has supported the protest, along with 60 officers of the province of Hadramout and 50 officers from the Ministry of Interior. And the governor of the province, Ahmad Qaatabi, submitted his resignation.

These rallies to protest came as the tribal leader, Sheikh Sadek al-Ahmar, President Saleh has asked to "avoid bloodshed and to opt for a graceful exit."

His defection adds to those of regime officials who have propagated these days, forcing the president Saleh to sack the government on Sunday night, after the resignation of three ministers.

According to the official news agency Saba, M.Saleh has asked his cabinet to "caretaker until the establishment of a new government."

The ambassadors of Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Ali al-ahwal, and Kuwait, Sheikh Khaled Rajeh, also announced on Monday to join the protest movement against President Saleh.

Five ambassadors of Yemen in Europe have written to President Saleh to ask him to resign, according to the Yemeni ambassador in France, Khaled al-Akwa.

The departure of President Saleh is "indispensable" found on his side the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Alain Juppe.

The dispute has gained momentum after the death of 52 people killed in an attack Friday against protesters in Sanaa.The killings attributed to supporters of the regime marked the bloodiest day since the end of January in protest.

This massacre was sentenced Monday by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, visiting Cairo. "The Yemeni government has an obligation to protect civilians," Ban said, supporting a "comprehensive dialogue".

EGYPT: The system can hardly contain an outbreak of violence Tahrir Square

Egyptians armed with knives attacked Wednesday hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators gathered in Tahrir Square in Cairo, reported state television.

"Hundreds of men armed with knives entered (...) on Tahrir Square," said the presenter, while the images were of stone-throwing demonstrators and hundreds driven from this place that was the epicenter the dispute having ousted President Mubarak in February.

The clashes took place while the new government met the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which ruled the country since the departure of Mr.Mubarak, in order to propose a law criminalizing incitement to hatred, which could make them liable to the death penalty, said the TV station.

The country's military rulers are trying to restore order on several fronts in the aftermath of deadly clashes between Muslims and Coptic Christians in the poor neighborhood of Moqattam, in eastern Cairo, which have ten dead and 110 wounded, according Department of Health.

Egypt is undergoing a period of high insecurity after the police had disappeared from the streets as the protest movement against the regime was in full swing.

Wednesday, the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition movement in Egypt, accused of holding up the former Egyptian president Mubarak of inciting violence, a view widely shared by the population.

IRAQ: At least 10 policemen killed in a suicide bombing in Samarra

AFP - A suicide car bombing against police left 10 dead and 16 injured Monday morning in the Iraqi city of Samarra (center), announced a lieutenant-colonel of the police.

A policeman on guard outside the door, fired on the bomber but he managed to bring his white van filled with explosives into the compound of the Rapid Response Unit, arrived in the south two weeks ago to protect the ceremonies marking the death of an imam revered by Shiites, said the senior officer who wished to remain anonymous.

February 12, near the Sunni town located 110 km north of Baghdad, at least 30 people were killed and 28 wounded by a suicide bomber who detonated his explosive vest in a bus of Shiite pilgrims.

Samarra which houses the mausoleum are buried the 10th and 11th imams revered by Shia Twelver Ali al-Hadi (827-868) and Hassan al-Askari (847-874) in which the faithful commemorate the death Saturday.

The destruction of the Samarra shrine bombing in February 2006 had triggered violence between Shiites and Sunnis in which tens of thousands of people had been killed.

BELGIUM: Belgium beats the world record for the longest political crisis

AFP - With a wink or instead on a serious tone, the Belgian press has widely celebrated Thursday, with large front pages, the world record for the longest matched by political crisis the country increasingly torn between between Flemings and French.

The country has indeed spent Thursday mark 249 days without being able to form a real government since the parliamentary elections of 13 June 2010. Is the time it took to Iraqis, holders of record so far, to reach last year to a power-sharing agreement between Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites.

"Finally the world champions!" Headline of the daily reference in Flanders, De Standaard, which he resolutely chose the party of humor.Its front page is covered by a photo showing Belgian soccer fans cheering after a victory.

For once, everyday Dutch and French are attuned to their front pages.

"Record broken!" Say in chorus the French newspapers Le Soir and L'Echo. He adds that "it is not finished" and published a tally of 249 days reminiscent of a prison cell wall, with series of sticks marked with chalk on black background.

"Fortunately, we have our cheekbones to laugh. Yellow.But amidst this endless political gridlock, you'd better choose the derision that depression, "said one of the chroniclers of the Evening.

More serious, the newspaper La Capitale refers to the "world record that shames us", while De Morgen title "the sorrow of Belgium", in reference to the novel "The Sorrow of Belgium" Flemish disappeared from the famous novelist Hugo Claus .

For La Libre Belgique, "the situation can not continue forever because the markets, we know, not only the current void and want a real government prepares structural reforms."

Flemish and French fail to agree on a common vision for the future.The first, spurred by their main party, independence training, require very extensive regional autonomy. The second fear a loss for their community and eventually splitting the country.

FOOTBALL: "Ronaldo has voluntarily placed his health after his performance"

In his book "Doping in football, the law of silence" (Editions Jean-Claude Gawsewitch), Jean-Pierre Mondenard explains that multiple injuries are mainly caused by Ronaldo taken doping products, especially early in his career. This sports doctor said the actions of a player who scored the game forever, the first day of retirement of the "Fenomeno". Maintenance.

France24.com: In your book, you advance the idea of a causal link between multiple injuries and Ronaldo enhancing drugs - including anabolic steroids - he would have eaten. The player pays he now mistakes of yesterday?

Jean-Pierre Mondenard: This is not the man that I criticize in my book, but the system that allowed him to continue playing football while his body could not keep up.I have examples of players known to the readers better identify the phenomenon, but it is this system which, on one side, advocates zero tolerance and the other, who cares, I condemn .

If Ronaldo is special because, at age 17, when arrived at PSV Eindhoven, he was already a star. At the time, a Brazilian doctor suspected of having the player on steroids to gain weight. But if his muscles have grown in thickness, the resistance of the tendons, it does not increase.However, it was an explosive player who made the difference in the first three meters, a type of displacement in which the tendons are very busy ...

In addition, young players regularly suffer from Osgood Schlatter's disease [wear area of the patellar tendon attaches to the upper end of tibia, Ed]. In the case of Ronaldo, it is possible that taking the anabolic has increased, which led the player to undergo three operations of the patellar tendon.

You insist on the fact that it is the medical profession who pushed Ronaldo to take medication to ease his pain. You give the example of including the 1998 World Cup where he was seized with convulsions before playing the final.A doctor would have done infiltration, just minutes before the match. Is this symptomatic of football?

J.-PM: No doubt. Even the referees are taking doping agents to take over games ... There is also a drift in the medical profession in the sporting world. For a product to be considered doping, it must meet three criteria. First, the substance used to increase the performance of one who takes it. Second, it is dangerous to health and, thirdly, it is contrary to medical ethics.Thus, an injection to cure his problems for Ronaldo tendon few minutes before a game is decidedly unethical: only the rest can cure this problem. Like most young football players that I meet, Ronaldo has voluntarily placed his health after his performance. They always end up regretting it.

Ronaldo said he suffered for several years with hypothyroidism, a disorder of the thyroid. How do you explain it?

J.-PM: It is standard for athletes to use thyroid hormone to lose weight. Ronaldo, who was nicknamed "the big," he surely had to use such products which do not appear on the list of doping products and is very common in gyms.Taking any hormone destabilizes the hormonal system. It is therefore possible that taking too many hormones during a period, Ronaldo had led her thyroid gland to stop secreting the one that stabilizes the weight.