FRANCE: Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested in New York for alleged sexual assault

The Director General of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was arrested Saturday at JFK Airport in New York before his departure for France and placed in custody for an alleged sexual assault at a hotel in the city.

Mr.Strauss-Kahn, known as "DSK", was unloaded from an Air France flight to Paris just minutes before takeoff, officials said.

By late evening Saturday, French official was in a police station in Harlem in New York pending a formal indictment, according to police sources.

"We have placed in custody and delivered to the New York Police Department (NYPD), told AFP on condition of anonymity, an official at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. "We did it at the request of the NYPD," the source said.

Strauss-Kahn "was placed in custody. He is asked about an alleged sexual assault.He was not charged, "he told AFP by telephone on NYPD spokesman Michael Debon.

According to police sources, Mr Strauss-Kahn would have hurriedly left the Sofitel Hotel where he was staying, leaving his mobile phone and personal belongings. A housekeeper told police she was assaulted by the Director of the IMF as he left naked in his shower.

Earlier, the New York Times announced the arrest of Mr. Strauss-Kahn, former finance minister and a leading French political figures, likely candidate for the Socialist Party's primary for the presidential election of 2012.

"Mr.Strauss-Kahn has been unloaded from an Air France flight by officials of the Ports Authority of New York and New Jersey and delivered to investigators in Manhattan, "writes the New York Times, quoting a spokesman of the Authority.

"He is accused of sexually assaulting an employee of a hotel in Times Square in New York earlier in the day" on Saturday, the source said.

An IMF spokesman in Washington made no immediate comment.

Contacted by AFP in the early evening, the lawyer for Mr. Strauss-Kahn in Washington, William Taylor, was unaware of the case.Contacted later, he said he had never managed to reach his client.

The New York Times, "It was 4:45 p.m. when undercover investigators from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have suddenly taken on board of Air France Flight 23 (...) and took Mr. Strauss-Kahn in custody, "said John Kelly, spokesman for the Authority.

"It happened 10 minutes before scheduled flight departure," the spokesman quoted by the newspaper.

Officials of the Authority acted on the basis of information from the New York Police investigating "a brutal assault of an employee of the Sofitel New York, located at 45 West 44th Street, according to the same source.

Mr.Strauss-Kahn had planned a visit in Berlin on Sunday and should be received by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

It should normally attend Monday at a meeting of finance ministers from the euro area in Brussels, then a speech Wednesday at the 12th Economic Forum in Brussels, an event organized by the European Commission.

Mr.Strauss-Kahn was appointed in September 2007 to head the IMF for a fundamental reform that institution.

In 2008, the IMF had ordered an investigation of its director after an extramarital affair between the former Minister of Finance, 62, and a former head of the Africa Department, Ms Piroska Nagy.

The investigation established that she had received no special treatment, and that "there was no harassment or favoritism or any other abuse of authority."

But then the IMF had criticized a "serious misjudgment" in a case that had made the front of the world press.

Economist acknowledged his candidacy for the French presidential election in 2012 to wear the colors socialists is acclaimed in the polls.

Socialist nomination in 2006, it was widely anticipated by Ségolène Royal, finally beaten by Nicolas Sarkozy, who then supported his candidacy for the IMF.

IRAQ: Mutiny in a murderous detention facility in Baghdad

AFP - Ten suspected members of Al Qaeda and eight policemen were killed in Baghdad after a night in a prison riot caused by man accused of orchestrating the carnage last year in a church in the capital, has here Sunday morning.

The shooting occurred when security forces fear a resurgence of activity of the Iraqi branch of the Islamist, who might seek to avenge the death of the head of the organization, Osama bin Laden.

The mutiny, which lasted several hours in a detention center for counterterrorism unit of the Ministry of Interior, has killed four officers, including General Moayed al-Sayed, head of the unit for the sector Karrada, and four other officers said on condition of anonymity a senior Iraqi terrorist-cons.

It began when police were questioning an alleged leader of al Qaeda, al-Houthaifa Bataoui to try to obtain information on possible projects of reprisals by the organization.

Mr.Bataoui was accused of having coordinated the bloody attack on the Syrian Catholic Cathedral in Baghdad October 31, 2010, during which 44 worshipers, two priests and seven members of the security forces had died.

Upon his arrest in November with 11 other suspected members of Al Qaeda, it had been presented by the authorities as the leader to Baghdad of the Islamic State in Iraq, the local branch of Al Qaeda.

During his interrogation, Mr.Bataoui arrived shortly after midnight to grab the weapon of a lieutenant he has done before taking hostages and releasing nine other inmates, all members of the cell dismantled in November, the official said cons of terrorism.

The group then went to the office of General Saleh, who was shot in the head. Ten insurgents have seized more weapons and grenades.

Five inmates then tried to flee aboard a police car but were killed by special forces who arrived as reinforcements.The other five were holed up in the prison until the death of the last of them, around 4:30 (0130 GMT), said the official, who said a prisoner had been injured.

"The cell was dismantled in November accused of numerous terrorist operations, not only against the church," he told AFP."Many investigations were under way about them and that is why they were still detained in counter-terrorism unit."

The detention center housed 220 prisoners, including 38 suspected members of Al Qaeda.

An official with the Interior Ministry has reported five deaths, including four policemen and al-Houthaifa Bataoui and six wounded, including five policemen and an insurgent.

After the death of Osama bin Laden, security measures were tightened in Iraq, where al Qaeda still has the ability to conduct operations bloody, despite the setbacks that the organization has wiped recent years.

The Islamist is also suspected of being responsible for the suicide car bomb attack against a police station in Hilla, in which 24 policemen were killed Thursday.

This mutiny may again raise the question of the ability of Iraqi forces to provide security at least eight months of the departure of U.S. forces, which are still 45,000 men in Iraq

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

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.

IRAQ: At least 30 killed in a suicide attack near the town of Samarra

AFP - At least 30 people were killed and 28 wounded Saturday by a suicide bomber who detonated his explosive vest in a bus of Shiite pilgrims near Samarra north of Baghdad, security sources and medical.

A previous review of the sources had reported 27 dead.

"The bomber ran on board the bus stopped at a checkpoint a few kilometers from Samarra, and detonated his explosive vest inside the vehicle," said a police official.

"We received 30 bodies, including two women, and 28 wounded including two women," said an official at the General Hospital of the Sunni city of Samarra, 110 km north of Baghdad.

The pilgrims were returning from a ceremony of mourning for a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra and "the victims are all Iraqi.This is the bus passengers and bystanders, "said the driver of an ambulance.

The soldiers forbade journalists from approaching the site of the attack and the hospital.

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.

Thursday, nine Shiite pilgrims were killed and 39 wounded by a bomb planted on a road north of Baghdad.

In January, six cars had exploded bombs in less than a week, leaving at least 57 dead and nearly 300 injured pilgrims who traveled to an annual ceremony of mourning and whipping in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, south Baghdad.

Attacks in recent weeks show that the sectarian conflict in Iraq still lingers within one year of departure of the last U.S. military contingent.

The Samarra bombing is the deadliest in Iraq since Jan. 27 when a car bomb has killed 48 during a funeral in a Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad.

The month of January was particularly bloody, with a total of 259 deaths (159 civilians, 55 policemen and 45 soldiers) according to official figures, the worst toll since 273 died in September 2010.

This upsurge of violence in contrast to the relative calm observed in November since the conclusion of an agreement to share power between different factions and the formation in December the government of Nouri al-Maliki.

Mr Maliki accused "terrorist apostates" in his vocabulary term for Al-Qaeda, which is violently anti-Shiite, of being the perpetrators of the attack Shiites.

Shiite pilgrimages have been repeatedly targeted by Sunni armed groups since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, caused by the U.S. invasion of Iraq.