LIBYA: According to the CNT, the French killed in Benghazi was conducting illegal activities

The five French working for private security company Secopex, including his boss killed by rebels during the operation, were conducting "illegal activities" that endangered the security of Libya, announced Friday the Rebellion Jamahiriya.

"On the evening of May 11, the local security forces in Benghazi were ordered to arrest a group of 5 French conducting illicit activities that endangered the safety of free Libya," said the National Transitional Council ( CNT), the governing body of the rebellion, in a statement.

"These men had been under surveillance for some time," the CNT.

"Unfortunately, he was shot by accident after trying to resist. He was taken to hospital but died. The four were arrested," also said the rebellion.

The Conservative Harper wins a majority parliamentary

AFP - Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister, Conservative Stephen Harper, was reappointed Monday to head the government, his party won most seats in the House in early parliamentary elections.

According to preliminary official results, the Harper Conservatives get 166 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons.

"Canadians have chosen hope, a strong and united Canada, and we will govern for all Canadians, even those who did not vote for us," assured Mr. Harper, beaming in front of his supporters who applauded vigorously in Calgary, Alberta (west).

"Our government will defend the interests of all regions and all Canadians, including the great nation of Quebec," he said.

Alluding to the defeat of the separatist Bloc Quebecois, whose seats were often taken over by New Democratic Party (NDP, left), Mr.Harper has stated its intention to "make Canada a freer and more united."

"Quebecers have decided to send the Federalists in the House of Commons and we will work together for the betterment of our country."

Beyond the victory of the Conservatives get a majority after leading a minority government from the elections of 2006 and 2008, these elections will be completely transformed the political landscape.

The NDP confirmed its historic breakthrough announced by the polls, winning 106 electoral districts, nearly triple the 36 seats held in the outgoing House.This is by far the best score in the history of this party.

His meteoric rise was mainly at the expense of the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois, literally rolled by the wave "orange" training left.

Carried by the "wind of change" announced by its charismatic leader Jack Layton, the NDP is poised to become the official opposition in the government of Mr. Harper.

But change is not on the agenda of the Conservative leader who had, instead, focused his campaign on the stability and continuity, promising Canadians continued economic recovery and pledging not to raise taxes, Unlike the NDP and Liberals.

The fate of the Liberal Party leader, former academic Michael Ignatieff seems sealed by the disastrous result which gives him 35 seats. Mr. Ignatieff has campaigned honorably but has not created a decisive impact in the electorate and lost his own seat.His party, who does not like losers, could soon grow to the exit.

Finally, the sharp fall of the Bloc Quebecois, with just four seats against 47 held in the outgoing parliament, announced a steep turn in the attitude of the inhabitants of French-speaking province and greater openness to the English-speaking Canada. Its leader Gilles Duceppe, defeated in his riding of Montreal, announced his resignation.

Other highlights of the poll, there had been elected the leader of the Greens, Elizabeth May, a historic first, and the defeat of the Conservative Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the outgoing government.

Participation remained low at 60.3%, according to provisional figures, barely higher than the historic low of 58.8% registered in 2008.

SYRIA: Security forces shoot live ammunition to disperse the crowd

AFP - Seven persons have been killed and dozens wounded Friday by gunfire from security forces in the Syrian city of Dera, where several thousand protesters marched after the prayer, told AFP activist of Human Rights.

A previous report from the same source reported the deaths of three people in this city, the epicenter of protest against the regime, located 100 km south of Damascus.

"Members of the security services in civilian clothes opened fire to disperse the protesters after the prayer," said the activist reached by telephone.

He said the first news reports, more than ten dead, but for now, "seven of them were identified.He added that "dozens have been injured" by the firing by security forces.

The official media have mentioned two deaths, a member of the security services and an ambulance, and dozens of wounded civilians, police and security services in this city by shooting attributed to "armed men opened fire the crowd. "

Syria was the scene since mid-March of a protest movement unprecedented regime of Bashar al-Assad.

LIBYA: Participation shy of Arab countries to the London conference

Arab countries appeared back on Tuesday at the London conference to prepare for the Libya post-Qaddafi, the French and British wanted to cause the broadest and consensual way.

The announcement in the final communique that Qatar, the only Arab country with the UAE to participate in operations in Libya, will host the next meeting of the "contact group" came opportunely temper that impression late in the day.

Primarily concerned with the future of this country, most Arab states, such as Algeria and Egypt, which has now been overturned Hosni Mubarak, were not represented at the founding meeting of the "contact group" on Libya, which was attended by some forty countries and organizations.

The Arab League chief Amr Moussa, had declined the invitation, being represented by a single ambassador, a low profile by an Egyptian diplomat said the support of military operations by NATO and the unknowns hanging over Following the events in Libya.

The support of the Arab League to the West had yet been the trigger for the adoption of resolution 1973 the Security Council of the United Nations authorizing the adoption of "all necessary measures" to protect civilian populations.

While the Western powers - the United States, France and Germany - were represented by their Foreign Minister, Arab states were found by an ambassador, with the notable exception of the UAE and Qatar, which has a gesture of good will by agreeing to be noticed the host of the next meeting.

"The end of the Gaddafi regime is near," assured the opening of the meeting, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem.

Only seven Arab countries, on the 24-member Arab League were represented.

The African Union was, she was absent, while the chairman of the AU Commission, Jean Ping, was given again this Monday.

Other notable absentees, the Libyan people.The National Transitional Council (CNT), opposed the plan by Colonel Qaddafi, could not attend the meeting, despite the pressures of France.

Ahmad Jibril, who represents the CNT abroad, but multiplied sidelines meetings with chiefs of American diplomacy, Hillary Clinton, French, Alain Juppe, German, Guido Westerwelle, British and William Hague.

Contacts described as "very friendly" by the Council, which was then called, during a press conference, the countries involved in the response to Libya to supply arms to the rebels, in addition to political support.

The Council also submitted a statement in his "vision" of the post-Qaddafi and listed its "obligations: draft a new constitution, formation of political parties, citizens' right to vote in parliamentary and presidential elections and denunciation of terrorism ".

The terms are vague, when fighting continues and where Colonel Qaddafi does not appear eager to take the path of exile, as many call them leaders.

"I hope we do not make the same mistake as Iraq, where the post-Saddam Hussein was actively prepared including London, with the Iraqi opposition, to achieve the result we know" said one Arab diplomat, who requested anonymity.

 

PAKISTAN: At least 37 dead in suicide bombing at a funeral

At least 37 people were killed Wednesday by a suicide bomber who detonated his bomb at a funeral in Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan, a country gripped by a deadly wave of bombings Taliban allied with al-Qaeda, police said.

The man slipped in the middle of some 200 people who were preparing to pray at the funeral of the wife of a man fighting in an anti-Taliban militia, in the hamlet of Adeza, a suburb of Peshawar The metropolis of north-west, located at the gates of the tribal areas Islamist insurgent stronghold.

"The bomber came on foot, his target was the anti-Taliban militia members" who attended the outdoor funeral, told AFP by telephone Ijaz Mohammad Khan, a police officer in Peshawar.

"We took 37 dead and 45 wounded in hospital," said on-site AFP Kalam Khan, a police officer in Peshawar.

Adeza, a hamlet known for its anti-Taliban militia, was the target of fundamentalist attacks on several occasions in recent months.

Shortly after the powerful explosion, the floor of the place of prayer was stained with blood and shreds of flesh were lying among many caps that men cover their heads for prayer.

This new attack comes a day after a devastating attack at a service station near the offices of the powerful intelligence services in Faisalabad in central Pakistan, which killed 25 people and injured over 150.

A bomb hidden in a car set off a series of devastating explosions in the gas station was completely destroyed.Several surrounding buildings collapsed, but not the intelligence services building, apparently the target of the attack, police said.

Pakistan is experiencing an unprecedented wave of attacks (about 450 since summer 2007), mostly perpetrated by suicide bombers Taliban allied with al-Qaeda, which killed more than 4,100 dead in three and a half years.

The main insurgent group, the Movement of Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has declared in the summer of 2007 and in unison with Osama bin Laden himself, jihad Pakistani government for supporting Washington in its "war against terrorism" since late 2001.

The attacks are mostly security forces - army, police, intelligence services - but also increasingly civilians.

Friday in full great prayer, eleven people were killed in an attack against a mosque in Nowshera, near Peshawar, near the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

On several occasions recently, TTP claimed responsibility for attacks against security forces in retaliation, he said, the Pakistani army offensives and firing missiles almost daily by U.S. drones on executives' Al-Qaeda and Taliban Pakistani and Afghan tribal areas.

Tuesday, at least five insurgents were killed by two missiles from a U.S. drone in South Waziristan, the main stronghold of the TTP, as security forces.

INTERNET: Facebook, friend of Egyptian and Tunisian authorities

Use rather than censor. This, it seems, the new approach that the military authorities in charge of the transition in Egypt have decided to adopt towards social networks. On Thursday, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (AFSC) has opened its own page on Facebook where all Egyptians are invited to speak. Will stand out from the previous regime or simple phone communication?

"We ask the children of Egypt to ask their questions here and we will reply within 48 hours," reads the new page. Customers Egyptian, Arabic and more generally, have jumped at the chance. In one night, nearly 4,000 comments have been posted.

Besides messages of congratulation to the new strongman of Cairo, the main applications concern the release of prisoners and the preservation of the achievements of the revolution. Others may even make suggestions for the less original, as the surfer who moved its candidate for the post of Minister of Economy because, he says, is "a true nationalist and a good expert in economics" .

This gesture of opening 2.0 of the army intervenes while Amnesty International has made public Thursday, a new report accusing the authorities in Cairo to always use force against prisoners.The International Organization for Defense of Human Rights ensures even have proof that the past weekend, two inmates were killed as a result of abuse.

Light year Digital

Whether in Egypt or Tunisia, communicating via social networks have become indispensable for the new custodians of power.

In Tunis, the new ministers have mounted one after the other their Facebook page. First to have taken the plunge, February 8, the Ministry of Industry and Technology currently has more than 15,000 "fans" on his page.

But the member of the government's most popular social network is, ironically, the new interior minister, who managed to mobilize more than 115 000 "fans" in less than a week. Like his colleagues, however, that man does not publish official announcements. This Friday, the Prime Minister inaugurated, in turn, their Twitter account.

The examples of Egypt and Tunisia are certainly light years digital situation faced by other Arab states plagued by protests. Libya, Yemen and Algeria have none - or almost - official presence on Facebook or Twitter.Only Bahrain appears to be doing the game

The Ministry of Interior and Minister of Foreign Affairs Khalid Al Khalifa, have an account on the microblogging network. If, on the wire, the Bahraini chief diplomat recalls the events that stir his country, to better distinguish them from the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions.

More pragmatically, the Interior Ministry made a regular item on the traffic situation in the capital Manama, where protests disrupt traffic on certain routes.

Egypt: Egyptian journalists are trying to turn their revolution

A journalist's flagship national television driven from Tahrir Square, the editors called for the resignation, an editorial upset overnight ... Egyptian journalists working for state media try, too, to make their revolution.

"During the first 10 days of the protest movement, coverage of events by the Egyptian media has been shameful, denounces Rasha Abdulla, director of Journalism and Mass Communication from the American University in Cairo, cited by the U.S. daily" The Washington Post. "It was like they were living on another planet."

Since then, things began to change."The change is radical, confirms Wael Qandil, editor of the independent daily" Al-Shourouk. "The editors who spent their time to kowtow to power calling for transparent elections and the official media are now allowed to deal with Muslim Brotherhood members who were previously excluded from the media landscape. "

"The revolution in Al-Ahram!"

In "Rose el-Youssef," one of the four main government dailies, the employees demanded the resignation of their editor, Abdullah Kamal, and managing editor, Karam Gabr.For the second consecutive day, journalists and employees have demonstrated Wednesday in front of the newspaper's headquarters, preventing the executive to join its offices. In "Al-Jumhuriya," another state-run daily, the atmosphere is the same, the editor Ibrahim Ali being disowned by his staff.

Within the daily "Al-Ahram, the most widely distributed in Egypt, the voltage is also keen. According to the website of the newspaper, more than one hundred employees gathered in the lobby on Tuesday, demanding permanent contracts."The revolution throughout Egypt, the revolution of Al-Ahram '!" They chanted, repeating also slogans against corruption but also against the newspaper owners.

Their editor, Omar Saraya has yet made these days a 180 degrees. "Until now, he was a pillar of the regime of President Hosni Mubarak said Tamer Ezzedine, FRANCE 24's correspondent in Cairo. It now shows friendly demonstrators." In a forum, Omar Saraya praised the "nobility" of the revolution, calling on the regime to rapidly implement reforms.

But these last-minute reversals are not always pay.The television star presenter Egyptian Amr Adib, come talk to those camping for more than two weeks in downtown Cairo, was jostled and insulted before being driven from Tahrir Square.

"Take the train"

The journalists of Radio and Television of State, meanwhile, tried to protest on Wednesday to denounce the coverage of recent events on their media. "The gathering could not take place, they were only forty at the headquarters of Radio Television, said Tamer Ezzedine.But several groups have formed on Facebook to say they were not accepting the lies that were disseminated. "

Another journalist in the crosshairs of the profession, Makram Mohammad Ahmad, President of journalists' union. As the responsible official media, he has been appointed by the Head of State. At a demonstration outside the headquarters of the union, members of the organization have called to leave his post. They also allege that the union not to have expressed its solidarity with the Egyptian journalist Mohamed Mahmoud Ahmad, was killed while covering the protests.

According to his wife, Mohamad Ahmad Mahmoud filming clashes from the balcony of his office when security forces shot him, to the head, January 29.He died six days later from his injuries.

To Wael Qandil, if the change in tone is real, it is still too early to speak of genuine freedom of expression. "The state media following the evolution of official discourse, he says, they are just trying to take the train. But those who would use a real freedom of expression are still under attack of power. "

BURMA: Prime Minister Thein Sein appointed president of the country

AFP - Prime Minister of Burma and retired Gen. Thein Sein, was Friday appointed president of the country, officials said official sources at the end of a process that allows the junta to lock the power.

According to a timeline announced for several days, Thein Sein, including 47 to 65 years in the army, was promoted to the highest political position by a committee of MPs elected in the November elections, and appointed by the military junta .

"Thein Sein was elected by a majority of votes," said a senior Burmese official.

Tin Aung Myint Oo, also a former general, and Sai Kham Mouk, a member of the Shan ethnic group and part of the Solidarity Party and the Union Development (USDP, pro-junta) were in turn appointed Vice-Presidents.

Thein Sein will come in the weeks to form a government.

The only unknown of the new Burmese regime, but perhaps most important, concerned Than Shwe, 77, who ruled with an iron fist since 1992 and has, so far, given no information about his future.

If the army is unquestionably at the head of the country, will play the role as chief, also feared that powerful, is the subject of numerous rumors and speculation.

Burmese sources have assured that he would retire.

But analysts say that after a reign of terror in the country for nearly two decades, it will retain a function, even the background, to avoid retaliation and to ensure his safety and that of his clan.