FRANCE: Gas shale: the Assembly vote against exploitation by hydraulic fracturing

French deputies adopted Wednesday by 287 votes against 186 the UMP bill prohibiting hydraulic fracturing technique for exploration and exploitation of gas and oil shale.

Groups UMP and New Centre (NC) voted for the text presented by Christian Jacob, the president of the UMP.The opposition, finding several provisions "ambiguous", voted against this bill that the Senate will look to turn on 1 June

The technique of hydraulic fracturing highly controversial because of its impact on the environment, is to liberate the carbides, inject large amounts of water mixed with sand and chemicals ajduvants.

The text, introduced by Christian Jacob, the president of the UMP, and as amended in committee, speaks only hydraulic fracturing and the repeal of the exploration permit who use them, which would pave the way for potentially using another technique.

The bill provides that the exclusive licensee of Research shall, within two months, state in a report to the administrative authority of the techniques used in their operations.

In case of non submission of the report or whether it is stated that the licensee uses hydraulic fracturing, the license granted by the Government will be repealed.

The Minister for Ecology Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, who brought the government's support of this text, acknowledged that the licenses granted they have "not been in good terms" and "things have been made upside down. "

"With this text, it is an opportunity to go further in the implementation of the precautionary principle," she said, by ensuring, in connection with article 2 of the bill, it "is indeed abrogate all research permits that have no raison d'etre after the ban" of hydraulic fracturing.

The Socialist Group, which had seemed at first to accept the version of the text developed by the Committee on Sustainable Development, has backtracked.

"It is a text that does not legally," said Pascal Terrasse (PS)."We do not trust you," he said in calling for total repeal of all operating permits granted.

Several hundred people, including all the heads of associations and environmental movements, protested Tuesday in the vicinity of the National Assembly to protest against the proposed law as "poor".

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.

Tens of thousands of Britons on the streets against austerity

AFP - Tens of thousands of Britons were demonstrating peacefully Saturday at midday in central London to protest against austerity, responding in mass to the appeal of unions.

"Participation is beyond anything we dreamed it's fantastic.. This is the biggest event in a generation in London," enthused the general secretary of Unite union, Len McCluskey.

"There is a palpable anger in this country and hundreds of thousands of people came here to say. According to police, there would be almost half a million people," he said.

No official estimate was available, however.Before the event, the Confederation of British trade unions, Trades Union Congress (TUC), predicted "more than 100,000 people, and certainly much more" and the media had forecast 250,000 to 300,000 people.

Unions hope the gathering will be the largest in London since the 2003 war against Iraq (one million) and the broader social movement for two decades.

About 4,500 police were mobilized for fear of spills, such as occurred during the student demonstrations this fall.The unions have also provided an important service order to preserve "family atmosphere" of this event, bringing people of all ages.

"Do not break Britain!", "Defend our public services!" Proclaimed the banners of the demonstrators. Many had come with family, strollers and vuvuzelas, the famous horns used by fans at the World Cup football in South Africa.

"I'm here because the government makes us pay to repair what did the bankers.It is currently building a society where the rich are even more weak and more needy, "said Gillian Siddons, a retiree of 60 years.

"We want to show the government what we think of his politics," added Jim Waters, 62.

The government decided to impose a course of unprecedented rigor in the UK, with cuts of more than 90 billion euros by 2015.

JAPAN: At the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei continues to fall

AFP - The Tokyo Stock Exchange Tuesday lived one of the worst days in its history, the Nikkei collapsing of 10.55% in a stampede of investors against a backdrop of worsening nuclear crisis in Japan.

At the close, the Nikkei 225 index of blue chips plunged by 1015.34 points to 8605.15 points, suffering, in percentage, the third largest drop since its inception more than a half century.

The broader Topix index of all securities in the first table, which covers businesses in a broader number of sectors, its share fell to 9.47%, losing 80.23 points to 766.73 points.

The activity reached a record high of 5.78 billion shares traded on the primary market, representing an activity nearly tripled compared to normal.

The Nikkei had dropped 6.18% Monday, three days after an earthquake and tsunami that devastated the north-eastern Japan, destroying or damaging infrastructure and production facilities.

On Tuesday, the index began the day sharply down and displayed in sharp decline of 6.45% in mid-session.

But it is a real wave of panic that rose on the market to resume 0330 GMT, after the government had admitted that the level of radioactivity measured at the Fukushima nuclear power was dangerous to health.

None has appeared spared.

Among the electronics giants, Panasonic collapsed 11.27% to 866 yen and Sony of 8.86% to 2,324 yen.

Automaker Toyota declined 7.40% to 3,065 yen, its rival Nissan fell 3.32% less than candid to 698 yen, as Honda was down 3.90% to 2,974 yen.

Construction firms, which had surged Monday with the prospects of major work needed to rebuild the devastated north-east by an earthquake and tsunami, fell heavily in their turn, like real estate.

AFGHANISTAN: NATO accused of killing 65 civilians in eastern DRC

Sixty-five civilians, including about forty children, were killed by NATO forces in mid-February in Kunar province, eastern Afghanistan, according to revised figures provided Sunday by a fact-finding mission appointed by President Hamid Karzai.

A total of 21 boys, 19 girls, 10 women and 15 adult men were killed in the series of operations conducted by NATO forces in Kunar province, said the mission in a statement quoted by the Afghan presidency.

Mr.Karzai ordered the government officials responsible for security to raise this issue with international forces, add services without more details.

In response, the spokesman for the NATO force in Afghanistan (ISAF), Lieutenant Colonel John Dorrian, said he was "deeply sorry" for "civilian casualties that could have resulted from this operation."

But he disputed the outcome of the fact-finding mission, saying only five to seven civilians may have been injured.Investigations into this matter were continuing, he added.

On Thursday, the inquiry commission announced that 62 civilians had been killed in these operations in the district of Ghaziabad.

On 20 February, President Karzai, saying relying on information from the Afghan intelligence service (NDS), has said that ISAF had killed "50 civilians" during several days of operations in Kunar.

The international force, consisting of about 132,000 soldiers to two-thirds American, is regularly accused by the authorities of killing civilians in its air operations and ground against insurgents, which she admits sometimes after investigation.

The death of these civilians builds resentment of the population against foreign forces, more than nine years after their arrival in the country.

Civilians bear the brunt of the Afghan conflict. At least 2,400 were killed in 2010 by the Afghan NGO (ARM Afghan Rights Monitor) and 3,200 were injured.

IVORY COAST: A demonstration pro-Ouattara violently dispersed in Abidjan

At least three youths were shot dead and several were wounded Saturday in Abidjan when security forces loyal to Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo out broke up a demonstration in support of Alassane Ouattara, witnesses said.

When the elements of the Defence Forces and Security (FDS) "arrived at the roundabout" of Mayor of Abobo (north, the stronghold of Mr. Ouattara), "they fired on the crowd, people 's is scattered, but they pursued people, "he told AFP capita.

"Three youths were shot dead" in the vicinity of the roundabout, he said, citing several wounded.This assessment was confirmed by two other witnesses.

The popular neighborhood of Abobo since January has been the scene of clashes which killed at least a dozen SDS.

The camp of Alassane Ouattara, Gbagbo accepted by much of the international community had called on Saturday in demonstrations in Abidjan and throughout the country, along the lines of the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, from Gbagbo to power.