TERRORISM: Obama closing "a historic week" at Fort Campbell

AFP - Barack Obama closed on Friday "a historic week" for the United States with the decoration of the U.S. commando members who, by shooting down Osama bin Laden five days ago in Pakistan, "decapitated" al Qaeda.

Barack Obama and his Vice President Joe Biden visited earlier this afternoon on the military base of Fort Campbell (Kentucky, western central) to meet the assault force that led the operation against bin Laden .

The President has awarded them a "Presidential Citation, the highest award that can be given to a unit in recognition of their service and their extraordinary success," said an official on condition of anonymity.

"This week was historic for our nation," began a little later Barack Obama in a speech to soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division gathered at the base.

Mr.Obama said that eliminating bin Laden, the U.S. had "decapitated" al Qaeda and they would come to the end of the Islamist organization.

"We have beheaded Al-Qaeda and we will eventually overcome it," he promised the applause of the military.

"It was a chance for me to say on behalf of all Americans and all peoples throughout the world, good job. Good job!" He said. The men who led the raid against bin Laden are "professionals of the shadow of America ...they have trained for years, they are battle-hardened, they are prepared relentlessly for that mission. "

"When I ordered (to intervene, ie), they were ready. And these days, the whole world could see how much they were."

"Of those Americans who deserves credit for one of the largest military and intelligence operations in the history of our nation," he added.

No details were given on the exact composition of the squad but the president has met with members of the unit of helicopter pilots who participated in the raid and other special forces.

Vice President Biden simply stated the fact that members of the Navy Seals, Special Forces U.S. Navy, were involved.

But the White House refused to confirm his participation in the assault.

"Team 6" Navy SEALs (Team 6), presented by the media as the spearhead of the raid conducted against the residence of bin Laden in Pakistan, is the aristocracy of the SEALs - an acronym for Sea, Air, Land (sea, air, earth) also meaning seal - and its missions are considered so sensitive that their existence was never confirmed.

Osama Bin Laden was killed in the night from Sunday to Monday by a U.S. special forces operation against the residence where he was hiding in Abbottabad, a garrison city near Islamabad, Pakistan, ending a 10-year hunt .

Moreover, the Washington Post reports that the CIA since his "hideout" installed to monitor the residence of bin Laden, had observed that anyone leaving the residence should move away by car while riding for at least 90 minutes before use his cell phone to escape a possible electronic surveillance.

The U.S. plays were first picked up a phone call sent the emissary of bin Laden, who lived in the residence.The envoy said at the time the caller on the phone: "I'm back with people with whom I was before," reports the Washington Post.

Through this call, U.S. intelligence was able to identify the telephone number of the effluent. Then use "amount of human and technical resources," the CIA has finally located the residence of Abbottabad, where lived the outfall, and Bin Laden.

IMMIGRATION: The Tunisian migrants in the heart of a summit between France and Italy

AFP - President Nicolas Sarkozy met Tuesday in Rome, the prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to try to ease tensions arising between France and Italy on the issue of immigrants from Tunisia, Libya and the acquisition of French in the Peninsula.

Immigration and Review of the Treaty of Schengen free movement will be the most sensitive points of the summit, taking place in the bucolic setting of the Villa Madama, sixteenth century mansion surrounded by gardens on the banks of the Tiber.

France "does not suspend Schengen" but "review the safeguard clauses in special circumstances," he assured Henry Guaino, special adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy.

Italy supports a kind of "technical control" to determine how the treaty was adapted to current realities, "said chief diplomat Italian Franco Frattini

On 17 April, Paris had raised the ire of Rome in suspending the movement of trains from the Italian town of Ventimiglia to France, saying that a train with onboard demonstrators wanting accompany Tunisian immigrants posed a risk to public .

France was upset by Italy, which has decided to grant residence permits of six months to more than 20,000 Tunisians arrived on its shores since January so they can join "friends and family" in France and elsewhere in Europe.

Other friction: Libya, where the peak position of France upset Italy, the former colonial power which it has significant economic interests.

Again, following a winded departure from Italy, which has been reluctant to release his ally Muammar Gaddafi, the positions converge: both countries have officially recognized the Libyan rebellion and sent military advisers on the spot.

Finally, MM.Sarkozy and Berlusconi should address the "problem" of the thirst for acquisition of French groups in the peninsula: LVMH and Bulgari grabbed the dairy group Lactalis is party to storm the local giant Parmalat.

All these topics should be addressed during this summit-flash, which begins at 0900 GMT and will result in a joint press conference expected around 1030 GMT.

TECHNOLOGY: Samsung cons-attack and in turn drags Apple to court for plagiarism

Reuters - Samsung Electronics has filed several complaints against Apple accusing it of plagiarism in the design of the iPhone and iPad, making shot after shot for a similar procedure against him by the firm at the apple.

The California group was asked last week the opening of proceedings against its South Korean rival, whom he accuses of having "slavishly" copy successful models in its range of phones and tablets Galaxy.

In a statement, Samsung said Friday that the iPhone and iPad violating 10 patents owned by itself and requires its U.S. rival put an end to plagiarism and he compensates.

"Samsung strongly responds to the legal proceedings launched against us to protect our intellectual property and ensure the continuation of our innovation and our growth in the area of ​​mobile communication," can you read.

This escalation could jeopardize relations between the two companies, providing Samsung Group Cupertino, fleas and other LCDs.

Last year, Apple was the second South Korean client behind Japan's Sony with about 6,200 billion won of sales (3.9 billion euros), and looks set to become its first customer this year.

Ten complaints were filed before the justices South Korean, Japanese and German concerns a system for reducing energy consumption during data transmission or 3G technology to reduce errors during the transmission.

FRANCE: "Immersion, Piss Christ," a controversial art photography, vandalized in Avignon

A photographic work by American artist Andres Serrano depicting a crucifix dipped in urine, and has provoked strong protests from Catholic movements who considered blasphemous, was vandalized Sunday in the premises of the contemporary art collection Yvon Lambert in Avignon (Vaucluse).

The work entitled "Piss Christ Immersion", and another snapshot of the New York artist whose subtitle, "Sister Miriam Jane" were destroyed Sunday around 11:30, shortly after the museum opened, two visitors equipped with a "hammer and a blunt object, such ice pick or screwdriver.

Three guards who tried to intervene were threatened and beaten, while the assailants managed to escape the museum, said the leadership of the collection that has filed a complaint and said that the museum would reopen its doors on Tuesday morning with "works shown as they are destroyed."

Sunday evening, the Minister of Culture Frederic Mitterrand condemned an "attack on a fundamental principle, the presentation of these works squarely within the creative freedom and expression which is part of the law," while recognizing that "one of the two works could offend some audiences.

Conducted in 1987 by Serrano said to be a Christian, "Disposal Piss Christ" display as part of an exhibition entitled "I believe in miracles", celebrating ten years of the collection was the subject since early April of strong protests from many Catholic movements, especially fundamentalists.

The Civitas Institute, which presents on its website as "a work of regaining political and social re-Christianize France to" activist "establishment of the Social Kingship of Christ over the nations and peoples", launched a petition against the work.

The series editor, Eric Mézil, had already reported several hundred phone calls and emails "offensive" after the launch of the petition. Saturday, a demonstration involving some "800 ultra-conservatives and fundamentalist youth," according to management, was forced to close the museum.

The bishop of Avignon, Archbishop Jean-Pierre Cattenoz, had also demanded the withdrawal of the work, denouncing a cliche "abhorrent" that "violates the image of Christ on the cross, the heart of our Christian faith."

"I am persecuted by telephone. I received 30,000 emails, I am not exaggerating, 30,000 emails fundamentalists (...) This ignorance, such intolerance.It's the Middle Ages who returns to big-step ", has outraged Yvon Lambert, who lent his collection for twenty years to a future donation to the state, with deposit works in Avignon.

The Observatory for the freedom of creation, from the League of Human Rights, denounced in a statement "these acts of vandalism" and reiterated: "That the public to judge the works, not self-appointed censors" .

The work, which was the subject of controversy in the U.S. media "extremists" at the time of its creation, had elicited no response in a retrospective in 2007 at Avignon, at no more than National Campaign to display the exhibition, which included the work.

Boasting approximately 350 works, the collection is allowed Lambert in the eighteenth century mansion owned by the city of Avignon. The municipality, region and state are subsidizing the arts center. The exhibition "I believe in miracles" opened Dec. 12, 2010 must be completed on May 8

BURKINA FASO: Mutiny on the presidential guard of disorder in Ouagadougou

AFP - The head of state of Burkina Faso Blaise Compaore left Ouagadougou facing a mutiny by soldiers of his presidential guard to his hometown, located about thirty miles north of the capital, officials said Friday, a military source .

President Compaore, in power for 24 years, who usually resides at the presidential palace in Ouagadougou which is a party mutiny, has left on the night of Thursday to Friday to visit Ziniaré, the city where he was born, the source said.

Dozens of soldiers from the presidential regiment divided two barracks in the capital, including one inside the walls of the residence of Mr.Compaore, mutinied on Thursday evening to protest against non-payment of premium housing that was promised to them.

They took to the streets, firing into the air, looted many shops in the city center and torched the home of General Diendiéré Gilbert, Chief of Staff of Blaise Compaore as well as that of two other officers , said a journalist from AFP.

Several people, civilians, have been "slightly injured" when looting the home of one of those officers, according to a military source.

The mutiny was then extended to three other barracks in Ouagadougou.

"Discussions were held with the rebels and they are trying to lay down their weapons," a military source said an AFP reporter who did hear gunfire in the morning near the three barracks.

Late March, soldiers angry protesting against the conviction and imprisonment of some of their comrades charged in sex cases and rape, had seized weapons in war garrisons in several cities, including Ouagadougou.

They had already fired in the air in the streets, looted shops and released some of their imprisoned comrades.

After these incidents, President Compaore had met all the components of its army, privates to generals, and announced the "end of the crisis" after these meetings.

JAPAN: TEPCO continues to reject radioactive water at sea and plunges to the Exchange

AFP - Shares of TEPCO, which owns the plant at risk of Fukushima, plunged to a historic high at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Tuesday because of the spill in the Pacific Ocean thousands of tons of radioactive water from the reactors Nuclear.

After 25 days of an uphill struggle to avoid an uncontrolled fusion fuels in rugged installations, the danger of a major disaster was still not excluded and environmental pollution worsened.

The title of TEPCO Electric Power (TEPCO) has unscrewed from 11.53% in mid-session, investors are increasingly doubting the ability of the utility to pay huge compensations that will be claimed.

The action dropped 51 yen Tuesday mid-day to fall to 391 yen.It even fell in the early morning to 376 yen, or prices lower than the lowest end of session for nearly 60 years.

"The compensation payments are likely to explode with the release of radioactive water," said a broker.

The course of TEPCO has loosened over 80% since March 11 closing in, weighed down by the cascade of explosions and leaks of contaminating stored in Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1).

The group also decided Tuesday to postpone to a date not announced its financial results for the fiscal year from April 2010 to 31 March, because the consequences of the disaster triggered by the devastating earthquake and tsunami in the northeastern Japan, told AFP spokesman.

Opposite the central operations of ocean dumping of 11,500 tonnes of radioactive water were continuing on Tuesday after starting the day at 19:00 (1000 GMT).

Expected to last for five days, these discharges 250 km north of the metropolitan Tokyo and its 35 million people, relate to a slightly contaminated water, assured Tepco.

The evacuation of this water in the ocean where the radionuclides are expected to concentrate, according to TEPCO, is imperative in order to free up storage tanks intended to be filled with highly radioactive water.

The fishing was prohibited within a radius of 20 km around the plant, corresponding to the exclusion zone on earth.

All power supply system of six reactors in Fukushima broke down March 11, stopping the pumps for cooling the nuclear fuel that was allowed to warm dangerously.

Technicians are now scrambling to repair this equipment is locked in a vicious circle: it is vital to cool the reactor fuel and spent fuel stored in tanks, but they use more water, more radioactive groundwater rise.And unless they inject water, the temperature increases in the reactors.

The "wash out" caused massive flooding in buildings and underground service tunnels, which are invaded by thousands of tons of radioactive water, which retards the progress of work to rehabilitate the electricity network.

Even if disposal of polluted water seems to have eclipsed the cooling, it was continuing Tuesday, thanks to huge concrete pumps sent from abroad.

Technicians also continued to try to plug a leak of highly contaminated water that has accumulated in a pit near the shore technical and empties directly into the ocean.

They try to understand where the water infiltrates, presumably coming from the reactor building 2.

"TEPCO will conduct drilling to follow the flow of water and inject water glass (sodium silicate)" to close access to the tank cracked, said Tuesday Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman of the Security Agency Japanese nuclear.

More than three weeks after the tragedy, the results are still provisional police amounted to 12,321 confirmed dead and 15,347 missing.

TUNISIA: Hospitalized in Jeddah, the former deposed President Ben Ali would be "in a coma"

AFP - Former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, 74, who fled his country on 14 January under pressure from the street after 23 years of unchallenged power, is "comatose" for two days in a Jeddah hospital following a stroke, said Thursday AFP close to his family.

"He went into a coma two days ago. He is in hospital in Jeddah," said this source contacted by telephone by the AFP in a Gulf country. "He had a stroke (cerebrovascular accident), it is in a serious condition," she added.

"If he dies, a dictator is gone and I say good riddance. You turn the page, we have other things to do in this country," Adel responded, teacher of 50 years."If her death is confirmed, however, that I say this without divine punishment fell immediately," said a student of 25 years, Amin, interviewed in downtown Tunis. "I object to his burial in our country," he added.

Asked about the hospitalization of Ben Ali, spokesman for the Tunisian government, Taieb Baccouch, has not been able to confirm.He said that "his health will be discussed on Friday by the Cabinet."

The ousted president, who suffers from prostate cancer, and his family fled to Saudi Arabia on January 14 after nearly a month of unprecedented popular protest quelled in blood with dozens of deaths.

The Tunisian newspaper The Daily had published an article Thursday titled "Ben Ali suffered a stroke," citing the blog of a French journalist Nicolas Beau, expert from Tunisia, where he stated that Ben Ali is in serious condition and that for safety reasons, it "would be treated under the identity of a Saudi Emir.

Touafik Ben Brik, the Tunisian dissident journalist who has experienced the jails of the regime of Ben Ali for his critical articles, told AFP he felt "almost in mourning:" I could not forget it is still in us, it's part of our past and it will live long in us. "

One of the most famous Tunisian opposition, the Communist Hama Hammami, said that "it is the fate of all dictators in the world."

Tunisian lawyer for Yadh Ben Achour, president of the national commission of political, hospitalization Ben Ali proves that "there is justice on earth."

Ben Ali has ruled the country by building his regime on a balance between iron fist based on a policy now disgraced and prosperity, which eventually failed, causing his fall.

Father of six children, three from his first marriage, it appeared the last time often accompanied by his wife Leila Trabelsi.According to observers, he seemed fragile and under the influence of her husband's family accused of grip on the economy.

The revolt against the government began in Sidi Bouzid (West Central) after the suicide in mid-December Bouazizi Mohammed, an unemployed youth of 26 years unable to perform as a peddler by police and became the symbol of the frustration of young people in this country where unemployment is nearly 30% of young people.

The riots had gradually taken a political turn, had spread throughout the country and had won the capital affecting the bourgeois elites.The army played a vital role by refusing to fire on demonstrators at the height of the controversy.

Since his departure, the assets of the deposed president were frozen in several countries, many family members were arrested and international arrest warrant was issued against him and his wife.

Since then, a transitional government led by former Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi and comprising members of the former opposition, promised to devote pluralism and democracy. The first free elections - presidential and legislative-are planned in 6 months.An amnesty law is foreseen and the legalization of former opposition parties banned.

The new authorities, who continue to face social instability and a strong political protest, fear a "conspiracy" of the former regime loyalists.

EGYPT: Hundreds of protesters are resisting Tahrir Square

The Egyptian army began Sunday to dismantle the institutions of the regime of Hosni Mubarak after the ousted president has ceded power Friday night. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has announced the dissolution of the People's Assembly and Shura Council, both Houses of Parliament, and the suspension of the Constitution.Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the Council, also said he would preside over the destiny of the country to organize the next parliamentary and presidential elections, that Mubarak had planned before his departure in six months.

Decisions that consider Cairenes whole "positive," according to Melissa Bell, special correspondent for FRANCE 24 in Egypt. But the political transition will be difficult.

Thousands of Egyptians gathered in Tahrir Square on Sunday night (instead of "Liberation", in French), Cairo, refused to leave the scene to "maintain pressure on the new government," said Melissa Bell."They told us to collect our belongings quickly or they would fall over," said Sunday, a protester at the microphone from our correspondents. "The army wants to suppress the revolution for failing to meet the demands of the demonstrators, they make us ... just promises," confided another. Some scuffles broke out elsewhere between soldiers and dozens of demonstrators. But all the protesters were asked to leave the square, the symbol of revolution, on Monday under the threat of the army that threatens to arrest them if they insist on staying.

Traffic has resumed for the first time in twenty days, around Tahrir Square. The soldiers removed all their dams, but maintain a significant presence.A return to normal as the organizers wanted the protest movement, even if they continue to call for holding events every Friday.Nagib Ahmed, spokesman of the "supervisory board of the revolution", explained on Sunday afternoon, the protesters "will come each week to celebrate our victory but also to ask the highest military authorities to respect its commitments."

Egypt in the post-Mubarak faithful to its international obligations

According to the Special Envoy of FRANCE 24, "the population as a whole, but trusted the military remains vigilant, because the army has still not responded to two of their demands: the release of political prisoners and the lifting of state of emergency."

For his part, Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik, said his first priority was to "restore security and facilitate the daily lives of the people." He also assured that the former president was still in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, bordering the Red Sea, denying rumors of a move abroad.

Sunday always, nearly 1 000 police officers have also filed past the Interior Ministry to demand higher wages, better working conditions and the sentencing to death of their former minister, Habib el-Adli, revoked under pressure Street at the end of January.Accused of corruption and despised by much of the population, the police wanted to gather "for their honor." "We are not traitors," have we heard in the processions. They assured that they had received orders to brutally suppress the protests that began on January 25.

Side of international relations, Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi said the country remained committed by its international treaties and obligations. A message intended to allay the concerns of the United States and Israel about the future of the peace accords Israeli-Egyptian, who make Cairo a key partner for peace efforts in the region.

FOOTBALL: The Egyptian Football Federation postponed games at the weekend

The Egyptian Football Federation (EFA) announced it would suspend the championship games of the weekend because of anti-government protests taking place across the country for several days.

On the website of the federation, to which access is denied since this morning, no official reason has been mentioned. The statement said only that the games provided on Friday and Saturday were postponed to a later date.

In Tunisia, where the regime of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown, the national championship has been suspended since January 9. The friendly match, to be held on February 9 between Algeria and Tunisia, in Tunis, however, was maintained.No decision has yet been taken on the friendly, laid the same day in Cairo between Egypt and the United States.