Saturday, April 30, 2011

UNITED KINGDOM: A marriage without any fault and with a hint of modernity

The marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, was hailed Saturday as faultlessly brilliant and a strong sign of renewed commitment on the part of the monarchy.

"This marriage gives the signal for a change, a renewal as the monarchy has not seen since the death of Princess Diana," the Telegraph noted, for whom "everything went smoothly."

"Marriage shows a new generation, more relaxed and closer to us," wrote The Times.

The paper points out many small signs that a "new conception of the monarchy" is running.It evokes a marriage "more relaxed, more natural and intimate" than Charles and Diana in 1981.

Thus, Prince William slipped his stepfather with a smile "and when I think it would be a family affair", arriving at the altar.

Wink to popular tradition, the couple made an impromptu exit from Buckingham Palace in an open car, the traditional balloons trailing behind the bumper.

In the early morning, Harry, the younger brother of the groom had arranged a breakfast for the night owls of the feast of the day.As for the queen, she was a party in the evening for the weekend, leaving the palace to "young".

All signs of normality that allows everyone to identify with the royal couple, the BBC noted, away from the pump-century stilted marriage of Charles and Diana in 1981.

"The fact that Prince William has chosen a love marriage rather than an arranged marriage portends a different future for the monarchy, less bound by tradition, closer to people, and loyal to his mother in it," Diana says the Telegraph.

The "people's princess" remains extremely popular among the British, was present in everyone's mind Friday, the crowd massed on the course."Diana would have been proud," the Times noted Saturday.

And former private secretary to the princess saw the wedding a "reconciliation": Camilla, Charles's second wife, appeared on the balcony a few meters from Kate who was wearing the engagement ring to Diana.

"A great family event is an opportunity for this type of repair," commented Patrick Jephson.

In fact, the British, as polls showed little interest in the royal wedding, answered "present" with a million people in the street and more sitting in front of their TVs for the ceremony.

The "perfect day" on Friday gave the British people the opportunity to "rediscover a sense of national identity," said The Sun, the first draw of the country.

A success that is timely, following a series of marital failures that undermined the image of the monarchy. Of four children of the queen, only Edward was still married to his first wife Sophie Rhys-Jones, even if they do not live together. Both Andrew and Anne especially Charles were divorced in an unprecedented media commotion.

Saturday morning, while the cleaners were clearing the remains of the festival, speculation was rife about the destination of the honeymoon.

But one thing seemed clear: "William has called for peace," noted the BBC.After an official visit to Canada in early June, the young prince should take its place, the second in line of succession to the throne, whatever the public want to see replace Charles.

"After the show the curtain falls," wrote the Guardian, for whom the "place of royalty," but also "the economy, and above all the workings of our democracy just as problematic as before."

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

GAME VIDEO: Hold-up data over a giant 77 million users of Playstation Network

Sony is currently facing one of the most serious cases of computer security in recent years. One (or several) computer hacker had access to personal data of nearly 77 million subscribers to online gaming (Playstation Network) and online music (Qriocity) of the Japanese giant.

"A person could get your name, date of birth, address, email, password and ID," said Sony in a message posted on his blog Tuesday evening. The manufacturer of the Playstation game console adds that it is possible that the bank details of customers (billing addresses, credit card number) have also been compromised.A problem of such magnitude that Sony advises all users of its services to notify their bank and closely monitor the progress of their account.

The announcement was greeted by freshly fans of video games on Playstation. They were already, for a week without access to online services of their favorite console without knowing, until today, what was happening online. Sony has the vee the veil on this interruption in confirming that a computer intrusion had taken place between 17 and 19 April. This attack had pushed so close to all these services online.Having initially said that everything should return to normal within one or two days, the group now speaks more Japanese than a week at least to be able to resolve the problem.

A security server after drying?

"This information comes with six days of delay, Sony has absolutely no respect for these customers," protested a user on the blog of the Japanese manufacturer. Others threaten the electronics giant with legal action if their bank accounts would be emptied by hackers or the origin of the attack. United States, the case has even been taken up by politicians.The Democratic senator from Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, has sent to Sony executives a letter deploring the lack of open communication in this story. The Japanese group has, moreover, the FBI warned [the U.S. domestic intelligence service] days ago, according to The New York Times dated Wednesday.

The question is how such a misadventure Digital was possible. Sony does not fit, for now, not in the details of this computer attack. Silence does not prevent Internet users multiply hypotheses. The track most credible, as the U.S. expert Brian Krebs security, appears related to recent change of server centralization of information ax players in the Playstation network.Sony has actually done in late March, an update to the Playstation Network to open all users access to a new server hitherto reserved for a small minority of developers. However, the security of the server left it seems to be desired. Many Internet users were thus found that the server change made it possible to enter credit card numbers cans and perform as if nothing had happened, shop online. Is that on this occasion that hackers were able to easily recover data from all users of the PlayStation Network?

Saturday, April 23, 2011

SOUTHEAST ASIA: New fighting on the border between Thailand and Cambodia

AFP - fighting with heavy weapons broke out Saturday between Thai and Cambodian troops at the disputed border between the two countries in the aftermath of clashes that left six people dead, officials said the two sides.

"The new fighting started around 6:00 (23HOO GMT Friday) with gunfire and mortar shells" in the same place Friday around a disputed group of temples, said a spokesman for the Thai army in the region, Colonel Prawit Hookaew.

"We are negotiating to stop the fighting," he added.

Phnom Penh has confirmed new incidents.

"The fighting started at 6:15," said the spokesman of the Ministry of Defence Chhum Socheat, adding that the artillery was used.

No new casualties have yet been reported.

Friday, soldiers from the two neighbors had clashed for more than six hours, killing three of them in each camp and forcing thousands of villagers to be evacuated on the Thai side.

Phnom Penh and Bangkok had rejected another the responsibility for opening fire.

These were the first serious incident since early February when the fighting for four consecutive days had killed at least ten people, including seven Cambodian side.The United Nations had called for a cease-fire permanent.

These incidents took place a hundred miles farther east, near the Khmer temple of Preah Vihear.

These ruins of the eleventh century, whose classification by UNESCO in 2008 had rekindled tensions within the sovereignty of Cambodia by a ruling of the International Court of Justice in 1962.

But the Thais its main access control, and both countries claim an area of ​​4.6 km2 below the building that has not been delineated.

The border between the two countries has never been fully demarcated, in particular because of the presence of many mines left behind by decades of civil war in Cambodia.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

YEMEN: The Security Council is launching a "call for restraint" but fails on a statement

AFP - The Security Council of the UN, which met Tuesday for the first time on the situation in Yemen, failed to agree on a joint statement, some diplomats expressing their "concern" about the bloody repression of Yemeni regime.

A press statement was drafted by Germany and Lebanon, two members of the Security Council, but was eventually blocked by a minority, diplomats have said.

"There was a call for restraint and we heard some disturbing reports on Yemen," he told reporters Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the UN.

"The members of the Security Council had a discussion that was worth it," she said without further detail.

Since late January, the violent protest of the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh has more than 125 deaths among the protesters.

The ambassador added that the Council had expressed its support for the mediation of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), charged with finding a solution to the crisis in Yemen, where the president clings to power despite a strong challenge from the street .

"We expressed our concern about the deteriorating situation in Yemen and we called for restraint and dialogue," said Peter Wittig, German ambassador to the UN, led to the meeting.

However, he did not specify if it was the German position or that of the Security Council.

Before the meeting, he told reporters that negotiations were not "bogged down" and that "any further bloodshed would be avoided."

The foreign ministers of the GCC began Tuesday night in Abu Dhabi meeting with a delegation from the Yemeni regime on how to find a political solution to the crisis in their southern neighbor.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

JAPAN: The shutdown of the plant in Fukushima last between six and nine months

The operator of the nuclear accident in Fukushima (north-eastern Japan) said Sunday it would take about three months to begin to reduce the radioactivity and between six and nine months to cool the reactors.

"We estimate it will take approximately three months to ensure that the radiation level begins to drop," said Tsunehisa Katsumata, president of the board of directors of the company Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO).

"Having completed this first step, it will take three to six months before we can reduce radiation leaks at a very low level," he said at a news conference.

The company says this second stage will aim to achieve "cold shutdown" reactor (cold shutdown), thus allowing the intervention of technicians.

Located 250 km from Tokyo, Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (No. 1) was severely damaged by the magnitude 9 earthquake and the giant tsunami that devastated the north-eastern Japan on March 11.

TEPCO and the Japanese authorities have been trying to prevent this incident from escalating nuclear and cause massive radiation leaks.

Mr. Katsumata said the company hoped to "cool the reactors and storage pools of spent fuel so complete and stable."

The cessation of cooling circuits and backup generators is at the origin of the series of incidents that occurred on the site. The staff had to inject huge amounts of water to control the temperature of the fuel.

TEPCO said it would "give priority to prevent hydrogen explosion in Units 1, 2 and 3."The workers will inject nitrogen into the reactor to maintain the lower the ratio between hydrogen and oxygen," the company said in a statement.

A few days after the disaster of March 11, explosions occurred at Units 1 and 3, caused by an accumulation of hydrogen in the building housing the facility.

TEPCO will also strive for not releasing highly radioactive water.

"On the reactor 2, we begin to clean up highly radioactive water in June," said Mr.Katsumata.

The injection and dumping bulk water since March 11 has resulted in highly radioactive water leak in the engine rooms and in trenches adjacent to the facilities, some of which sank in the sea

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Barack Obama outlines his solutions to fight against the U.S. deficit

Barack Obama has set Wednesday as a target of reducing the budget deficit of U.S. 4,000 billion dollars over 12 years or less.

His plan would reduce the deficit to 2.5% of GDP in 2015 and 2% by the end of the decade, sources said parliamentarians who read the draft before the President of the United States does not pronounce his speech.

Barack Obama told the leaders Democrats and Republicans in Congress before making his speech.Vice President Joe Biden will meet in early May the leaders of both parties to develop a definitive program for reducing the budget deficit by the end of June.

The head of the White House also wanted to begin discussions with parliamentarians Republicans and Democrats on the issue of worsening deficits budétaires.

He explained that the budget savings would be realized by combining spending cuts and increased revenue through higher taxes.

The U.S. president wants to end special tax benefits that were granted to the wealthiest classes of the time of his predecessor George W.Bush.

"I refuse to renew them again," he said.

Antiplane Ryan

It plans to achieve $ 770 billion in savings on expenditure items not related to security and $ 480 billion in savings on Medicaid and Medicare programs.An additional savings of at least 1,000 billion could be reached on these two programs by 2033.

Barack Obama said that his budget plan is to reduce the debt service of $ 1,000 billion.

He added that the Pentagon budget will be reviewed in order to eliminate unnecessary and increase efficiency.

The fiscal deficit of the United States is likely to reach 1,650 billion this year and U.S. president to a device by which budget cuts would be automatically activated if the budget targets were not achieved by 2014.

The goal is that deficits do not exceed 2.8% of GDP on average during the second half of the decade.This device is not the first, the other presidents that have implemented in the past.

A week earlier, Paul Ryan, Chairman of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives put forward a draft budget devoted a goal of deficit reduction of 4.400 billion.

Obama wanted to present a project that contrasts markedly with the Ryan plan, in that it wants to combine tax cuts with a complete overhaul of the Medicare system.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

LIBYA: Diplomatic initiatives are multiplying as fighting trample

Diplomatic initiatives are multiplying to relieve the population and find a solution to the conflict in Libya, where fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi on Saturday in the trampling of the country.

While NATO and U.S. differ on the risk of stalemate situation on the ground, the African Union and the European Union have taken the initiative, a few days of a meeting of the Contact Group on Libya, April 13 in Doha (Qatar).

From this weekend, a group of African leaders, the South African President Jacob Zuma and his counterparts of the Congo, Mali, Mauritania and Uganda, is expected in Libya.Stated goal of this "panel" of mediators of the African Union (AU) met Sunday with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and leaders of the insurgency in their stronghold of Benghazi (east) on Sunday and Monday to try to obtain a cease-fire.

On Tuesday, EU foreign ministers have meanwhile planned to meet with a representative of the National Transitional Council (CNT), a first for the EU as a whole. France, Qatar and Italy have already officially recognized representative body of the insurgents.

The EU is also preparing to launch a military-humanitarian mission to help the besieged people of Misrata, bombed last month and a half by the forces of Gaddafi.Germany has already expressed its readiness to participate in this mission, which has yet to be accepted by the UN.

Thursday is Turkey, the only Muslim country in NATO, which had proposed a "roadmap" for Libya which has included establishing an immediate cease-fire and the creation of "humanitarian space safe ".

One of the common concerns of these missions is to send humanitarian assistance to the Libyan people, especially Misrata where several boats carrying food and medical aid arrived in recent days.

According to a spokesman for the rebels in the third largest city, located some 210 km east of Tripoli, four people were killed, including two children, and ten injured Friday by shells and rockets fired at houses . Besides the gunfire, snipers were positioned on rooftops and target civilians, including children, by insurgents.

A Misrata, as in the east held by the insurgents, the alliance has been criticized, accused of failing to "fulfill its mission to protect civilians," said a spokesman for the rebels.But he acknowledged that "NATO planes destroyed completely barracks and battalions Gaddafi around the city."

At the other end of the country's front line stood still on Saturday as is the case for ten days at the site of Brega Petroleum (East) and the city of Ajdabiya under rebel control, about 80 km to the east.

In the morning, journalists were allowed to move closer towards the front Brega, for the first time since Wednesday. They were stopped en route by leaders of the insurgency, who refused to specify where the front."Military Secret", they explain.

No exchange of gunfire was audible in the sector, according to an AFP journalist.

On the only road connecting the two towns, the rebels were preparing to go into the trenches, charging Grad rockets and other ammunition in the back of pickup equipped with multiple rocket launchers and heavy machine guns.

Two army soldiers captured in front of Gaddafi were brought in cars. All around, fighters triumphant shout "Allah Akhbar" (God is greatest) when taking pictures of soldiers with their mobile phones.One of loyalist prisoners seems healthy, the other seems seriously injured.

The French writer Bernard-Henri Levy is expected to share in the day from Saturday to Benghazi (east), the stronghold of the rebellion which he defends the cause for a visit "independent."

During the weeklong stay, the writer could also go to Brega and Ajdabiya.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

OLYMPIC GAMES: Six new disciplines in Sochi-2014

AFP - The IOC Executive Board has agreed in London on Wednesday to include six new events at the Olympics in Sochi in 2014: women's ski jumping, skiing halfpipe men and women, the figure skating team, the mixed relay in biathlon and team relay luge.

The other five candidate events, ski and snowboard slopestyle, both men and women, and the alpine ski event team will be decided later which should take place late May or early June, after further studies Feasibility sites in Sochi, said the IOC sports director Christophe Dubi.

The six new tests should represent an additional contingent of 150 athletes.

"The introduction of these new tests will be appreciated by athletes and spectators," said Jacques Rogge, IOC President. "These are exciting sport, which perfectly complement the existing program and increase the number of women participating in the Olympics."

Sunday, April 3, 2011

YEMEN: The security forces opened fire on protesters in Taiz

AFP - A protestor was killed Sunday by police firing on protesters demanding the departure of the Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Taiz, south of Sana'a, eyewitnesses said.

The young man was mortally wounded in the chest as he tore a portrait of the Head of State, the witnesses said.

Police opened fire and threw tear gas to disperse demonstrators who tried to march on the governor's seat in this city, told AFP several of them.

"At least 250 people were injured by gunfire or poisoned by tear-gassed by the police," said one witness.

Thousands of protesters camped since mid-February in the center of Taiz, Sana'a and demanding as in Aden (south) the fall of the regime of President Saleh, in power for 32 years.