Municipal: Berlusconi's party losing ground in its stronghold of Milan

The Italian right is adverse to tie in Milan, the economic capital of the country and traditional stronghold of Silvio Berlusconi, left, who won the first round 48% of the vote in municipal elections, according to final results.

The candidate of the People of Freedom (PDL, right) Mr.Berlusconi, the outgoing mayor Letizia Moratti, with 41.6%, was accelerated by the candidate of the left, the lawyer Giuliano Pisapia, with 48%, contrary to the predictions of pollsters.

The left has won the first round Bologna and Turin, two cities traditionally "red".

In Turin (north), the leftist candidate Piero Fassino won with 56.66% of the vote against 27.3% for his rival on the right, and Bologna (center) Virginio Merola has obtained an absolute majority (50, 5%) against 30.3% in the right-wing candidate.

During the municipal elections, which represents the last big test for Silvio Berlusconi before the legislative elections of spring 2013, the turnout was 71.07% against 72.85% the previous local elections.

In contrast, in Naples, controlled by the far left and where voting takes place against a backdrop of yet another garbage crisis, the LDP candidate Gianni Lettieri was a tie in favor (40.5%), well ahead of his challenger Luigi De Magistris (26%), according to nearly complete results.

Nearly 13 million Italians were called to elect mayors on 8100 1310 Italian municipalities, but only 11 cities were affected more than 100,000 people, including Milan, Naples, Turin and Bologna.

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?

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.

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.

JAPAN: The north-east of the country hit by a massive tsunami, the Pacific on alert

AFP - A powerful earthquake - a magnitude 8.9 - struck Friday northeastern Japan, a major triggering a tsunami several yards on the Pacific coast which has so far killed four people and a dozen missing.

Waves of 10 feet swept the coasts of the prefecture of Sendai, reported the media, which broadcast pictures of flooded houses and cars under water in coastal cities.

The provisional results, according to media reports, is four dead and many wounded and eight missing in a landslide.

But according to the images of television, the toll expected to rise and the Department of Defense has dispatched ships for relief.

A tsunami warning was also issued on almost all coasts of the Pacific by the U.S. Centers for tsunami evacuation order was triggered Mariana Islands.

The quake, measuring 8.9 according to the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS) who had previously estimated at 7.9 and 8.8, occurred at 24.4 km depth to 2:46 p.m. ( 5:46 GMT) and a hundred miles off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture.

"We have been shaken so violently that he had to cling to not fall," testified an official of the municipality of Kurihara, hardest hit in this prefecture.

"We could not get away from the building because the tremors did not stop to succeed," she told AFP by telephone.

Nuclear power plants in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures were automatically adopted, said its operator, the company Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), which serves the capital.

The Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, has ensured that no radioactive leak was found.

Networks of fixed and mobile telecommunications were heavily disrupted, noted AFP.

In Tokyo, located some 380 km away, the skyscrapers built on special earthquake resistant structures, have pitched very long after the earthquake that lasted for more than two minutes.

A roof collapsed Friday on a building in central Tokyo where 600 students participated in a graduation ceremony, leaving many injured, according to firefighters and the media.

In offices and homes, objects fell from shelves, elevators have been stopped automatically, while millions of people rushed into the streets.

Ten fires were reported in the capital, and there were several casualties in the media.

In the Tokyo area, a refinery was on fire Iichihara, according to images broadcast on Japanese television.

Narita International Airport, located about fifty kilometers east of Tokyo, has suspended the traffic and decided to evacuate the buildings.

The rail and road transport were also disrupted in large parts of the archipelago.

Shinkansen express trains were stopped across the northeast and the motorways of the Tokyo area closed a few minutes after the earthquake.

According to Jiji Press, the parking lot of the Disney Resort, located on the eastern outskirts of the capital, was under the waters of the nearby ocean.

In Tokyo, four million homes were without power, according to media reports.

"I was in the office, on the tenth floor of my building. The walls began to tremble, then all the furniture. I never knew that here I was scared!" Said Horikane Saki, an employee Office of Ginza down with his colleagues a few minutes after the quake.

Thousands of residents and employees of this district of shops and business were still massed in the streets over an hour and a half after the earthquake, fearing aftershocks.

EGYPT: The mobilization anti-Mubarak shows no signs of slowing

The protest against President Hosni Mubarak has stepped up Tuesday with a parade of hundreds of thousands of people in Cairo and the provinces, the most important events since the beginning of the movement on January 25.

In Cairo, Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the revolt, was crowded.Mobilization showed no sign of abating despite the chilly nights, fatigue and spartan living conditions on the roundabout has become a village of tents removed.

The crowd was a triumphant reception at cybermilitant and part of Google Wael Ghonim, released Monday after 12 days "blindfolded" in the hands of the much feared state security services.

"I like to call it the revolution Facebook but after seeing people here, I would say that the revolution of the Egyptian people.It's great, "said the younger man, surrounded by thousands of demonstrators.

Become a symbol of protest, Wael Ghonim confirmed in an interview on Dream 2 TV station that he was the administrator of the Facebook page "We are all Khaled Said", named after a young man beaten to death by police, a move that played a key role in launching the movement.

"I'm not a hero, you are the hero is you who have stayed here on the spot," he told the demonstrators.

"The people want to topple the regime" could be read on banners."We are the people we are the power," some chanted.

According to an AFP photographer Tahrir Square, the number of demonstrators exceeded that of previous rallies. According to witnesses in Alexandria, he was the same in the big city of northern Egypt.

"None of our requests has been heard," said Mohammad Nizar, 36, Tahrir Square. "They have announced a wage increase. They try to fool ourselves. It is a pot of wine policy to reduce people to silence."

In an attempt at appeasement, M.Mubarak, 82 years and almost 30 years as head of state, announced the creation of a commission to amend the Constitution, under the "national dialogue" began Sunday between the government and opposition, including for the first time, the Muslim Brotherhood, bete noire of the regime so far.

On Monday, the Head of State promised a 15% increase in salaries of civil servants and pensions from 1 April.

He also called for the formation of a commission of inquiry into the violence of February 2, Tahrir Square, where deadly clashes have pitted pro-and anti-Mubarak.

The opposition denies particular articles of the Constitution related to very restrictive conditions of candidacy for the presidency and the presidency.

In all cases, policy-including the announcement on 1 February the President he would not seek a sixth term in September and have not calmed the anger of the protesters still demand the immediate departure of Mr Mubarak .

Scenarios of his departure are considered by the foreign press.The site of the German weekly Der Spiegel wrote that he could come and perform "a medical extension in Germany.

The German Government has assured that there was "no formal application or informal request" to that effect.

Tuesday, the U.S. has deemed "crucial" that Egypt is moving towards a democratic transition "in good order," while France has called for "the emergence of democratic forces" for a transition that must take place "without violence and as quickly as possible. "

In Cairo, new shops and restaurants have reopened and many Cairenes resumed the way to work.The curfew remains in force in the capital, Alexandria and Suez (is) 20:00 (1800 GMT) to 6:00 am (0400 GMT).

Since February 3, events occur most frequently in the tranquility.

Clashes between police and demonstrators during the first days of protest, and between activists for and against Hosni Mubarak's February 2, killed nearly 300 people dead, according to UN and Human Rights Watch, and thousands injured.

The crisis could be costly to the economy's most populous country in the Middle East - at least $ 310 million per day according to Credit Agricole - the instability that has scared off tourists and could cool the ardor lasting foreign investors.

On Tuesday, the Egyptian central bank has injected "large dollar amounts" in the market to curb speculation that has put pressure on the Egyptian pound.

The Cairo Stock Exchange, closed since Jan. 30, should reopen on 13 February.

NUCLEAR POWER: The entry into force of the START Treaty sealed the rebuilding of Russian-American relations

The new Russian-American treaty of nuclear disarmament START signed April 8, 2010 came into force on Saturday, after the exchange of instruments of ratification between the chiefs of diplomacy of both countries.

"Today we have exchanged instruments of ratification of a treaty reducing nuclear dangers imposed on the Russian and American peoples and the world," said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a ceremony with his Russian colleague Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the annual security conference in Munich (southern Germany).

The treaty is the centerpiece of the "restart" of relations between Washington and Moscow after tensions emerged at the end of the presidency of Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush. It was signed by MM.Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev in Prague in April 2010 after lengthy negotiations.

This treaty is valid for ten years and renewable for five years provided that each country can deploy up to 1,550 warheads, a reduction of 30% over 2002.

It allows the resumption of mutually verifiable nuclear arsenals of both superpowers, interrupted in late 2009 at the expiration of the previous bilateral agreement on disarmament, in 1991.

It has however been criticized for its lack of ambition, because it ignores the thousands of nuclear warheads stockpiled by Russia and the United States.

Although six other countries (excluding North Korea whose capabilities are still embryonic) have nuclear weapons, Washington and Moscow still hold over 90% of the world's nuclear arsenals.

And it sets limits for vectors (missiles and bombers at long range) actually deployed - 700 countries by over 100 in reserve - more or less correspond to the reality on the ground already, the Russians were already below this threshold and the Americans very little above.

Mr.Lavrov told the Munich conference that the agreement would improve "international stability".

Whatever the limitations or reservations, the event marks a new era symbolically called for by his vows before the same conference two years ago the U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, namely to "press the button "to restart the Russian-American relations.

These had been damaged by the war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008.The U.S. intervention in Iraq in 2003 and criticism of Vladimir Putin against the American tendency to dictate to the world his behavior at that same forum in Munich in 2007, had already deteriorated relations between the two former Cold War adversaries .

This treaty will allow Washington to go to Moscow for further discussions on limiting short-range weapons as well as the famous stock mothballed nuclear warheads, which he will one day get rid of too, as confirmed Saturday Clinton.

The treaty was not ratified without difficulty and is accompanied by documents which are reported reserves of Moscow.

The fundamental point of disagreement concerns the decision of the Obama administration to pursue construction of a European missile shield. Russia said it would accept the project unless they can participate in their own right.

Iran: An Iranian-Dutch executed by hanging

A woman with dual Dutch and Iranian nationality, was arrested after participating in antigovernment demonstrations in 2009, was hanged in Iran for drug trafficking, reported Saturday's semi-official Mehr news agency.

"A trafficker named Zahra Bahrami, daughter of Ali, was hanged today for concealment and sale of narcotics," Mehr wrote, citing the court.

According to the daughter of this woman of 45 years, cited by the advocacy organization Human Rights International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, the drug trafficking charges were fabricated after arrest Zahra Bahrami for his participation in demonstrations in December 2009.

Mehr reported that she was convicted of importing cocaine from the Netherlands in Iran and that 450 grams of the drug were found on her.

Iran does not recognize dual nationality.