PAKISTAN: Exchanges of fire between the Pakistani army and NATO forces

Two soldiers were wounded Tuesday in north-western Pakistan in the crossfire with NATO helicopters from Afghanistan, according to the Pakistani army has "strongly protested" against what it calls a "violation "of its airspace.

In Kabul, a Western officer acted under cover of anonymity, as helicopters, operating in Afghanistan had returned fire after being fired at from Pakistan.

Islamabad denounced the military frequently raids by international forces in the border tribal areas, the stronghold of Pakistani Taliban chief sanctuary in the world of Al Qaeda and Afghan Taliban rear base.

The incident occurred at dawn in the frontier tribal district of North Waziristan.

"Two helicopters violated Pakistani airspace (...) and our troops at a military post opened fire on them.In a firefight, two of our soldiers were injured, "says the Pakistani army in a statement.

"The Pakistani army has strongly protested" to the NATO force in Afghanistan (ISAF), concludes the text.

Earlier, without mention of Pakistani firing, military officials had assured him, on condition of anonymity, that "two helicopters had violated NATO airspace and bombed a military post, injuring two soldiers in the area Wacha Bibi ".

In Kabul, the NATO international force (Isaf) "has heard of a possible incident" at this point of the border. "We are investigating," he told AFP Lt. Col. John L.Dorrian, the public relations department of the force, composed by American soldiers for over two-thirds.

For his part, a Western military official in Kabul confirmed that both NATO aircraft that were operating on the Afghan side had responded to fire from Pakistan.

"Two helicopters were flying in the coverage area of ​​a forward base" international forces "that was taken under fire by fire from the Pakistani side," he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"One of the devices has also suffered under fire from across the border, but did not return fire immediately.He did when he was again under fire, "the source said.

This latest incident comes as relations between the U.S. and Pakistan, its key ally in its "war against terrorism, have deteriorated after a squad of U.S. Special Forces helicopter from Afghanistan, had eliminated Osama bin Laden in a villa in Abbottabad, a city garrison two hours drive north of Islamabad.

North Waziristan is the stronghold of Pakistani Taliban allied with al-Qaeda and the main rear base for Taliban's Haqqani network, the bete noire of American troops and the Afghan government.

The Pakistani military often accuse NATO of violating his space, or bombardment from Afghanistan, especially when its troops pursuing Taliban who attacked them. It has happened in the past that these shots, intentionally or not, reach positions of the Pakistani army.

EGYPT: The detention of Hosni Mubarak extended

AFP - The Egyptian judiciary said Tuesday it has extended the detention of former President Hosni Mubarak for 15 days as part of the investigation into the suppression of anti-regime protests earlier this year.

The Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud "ordered the preventive detention of former President Hosni Mubarak for 15 days, beginning at the end of his current period of detention" May 12, said in a statement.

The spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office said a team of investigators visited the hospital Tuesday in Sharm el-Sheikh on the Red Sea, where Mr.Mubarak, for further interrogation.

A source at the prosecutor's office told AFP that he would announce in coming days if Mr. Mubarak will be tried or not.

He could be sentenced to up to hanging if convicted, had said in late April the Minister of Justice, Abdel Aziz al-Guindi.

The former president, 83 years, driven by 11 February a popular revolt that ended three decades of power, had been placed in custody April 13 for periods of 15 days, renewable.He is charged along with his two son Gamal and Alaa to the violent repression of the protest movement and is suspected of corruption.

Mr.Mubarak is being treated since April 12 at the international hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh resort in Sinai, after having a heart attack during interrogation.

He is asked about his responsibility in the deaths of protesters during the revolt (January 25 to February 11) and the controversial contracts for the sale of Egyptian gas to Israel which led to losses of several billion dollars for the country, according the prosecution.

According to one report, 846 civilians died in the protests that led to the departure Mubarak.A member of the commission of inquiry into the suppression indicated that the former president was complicit in the bloodshed.

Former Interior Minister Habib el-Adli is on trial for ordering the firing against demonstrators, after being sentenced to twelve years in prison Thursday for embezzlement.

More than two months after the fall of M.Mubarak, the pressure remains high in Egypt for the former president and his immediate family are brought to justice swiftly.

Justice had asked the Interior Ministry being transferred to Tora prison in the southern outskirts of Cairo, where his son already Alaa and Gamal, also detained for periods of 15 days, renewable, and former Ministers and senior officials of the regime.

But the department ruled that the prison hospital was not adequately equipped to cope with any rapid deterioration in his health.

On 10 April, Mr. Mubarak was out for the first time in its silence to be a victim of "defamation". In a speech sound, he denounced the "smear campaigns" against him and defended his "reputation" and his "integrity." He assured that neither he nor his wife Suzanne had any assets abroad and said he was ready to cooperate with the law.

LIBYA: Gaddafi's forces attacked the port of Misrata

AFP - The forces pro-Gaddafi on Tuesday bombed Libyan port of Misrata, but the rebellion has ensured that the Libyan leader was entering a "lost battle" and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he was "optimistic" about the after the conflict.

Around 13:30 local time (1130 GMT), a dozen bullets hit the port 12 km east of Misrata, only link with the outside world for this great coastal city 200 km east of Tripoli with the pro Gaddafi-cut all access roads, according to an AFP photographer.

A ship of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), came to continue the evacuation of thousands of Africans stranded in the harbor, had to move away for safety.

"Many refugees were injured by the bombing. There may be dead," said Dr. Khalid Abu Falra in the main city hospital. On Monday, Washington had estimated that 2,000 African migrants were still waiting on the port.

According to the rebels, "a score of vehicles" government forces approached the port around 15:30 local.

NATO planes flew over the city, where explosions were also heard apart after a lull of 24 hours. According to journalists in the port, they have conducted at least one hit.

Misrata has experienced in recent days of heavy fighting in which rebel soldiers have pushed the pro-Qaddafi on the outskirts of the city.Rockets and artillery shells rained down on the city, seemingly at random.

The explosions and fighting have left dozens dead and hundreds wounded since Friday. According to the Red Crescent Misrata, the conflict has claimed about 1,500 dead, residents and rebels since the uprising in the city on February 19.

"Misrata is the key to Tripoli. If (Gaddafi) abandons Misrata, he will leave Tripoli.He is not crazy enough to do that ", warned Monday the military spokesman Transitional National Council (TNC) in opposition to Benghazi (east), Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani.

But Colonel Gaddafi has embarked on a "lost battle" because the rebels are more numerous, "better equipped, trained and organized, and more determined than ever," said Tuesday another spokesman for the CNT, Jalal al -Gallali.

"Combined with the greater efficiency of NATO, this makes for (Gaddafi), it will be increasingly hard, if not impossible to win," he added.

"In Libya, we are optimistic because the Libyan opposition demonstrated great courage and great skill," saidSarkozy at a press conference in Rome with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

While saying that "the struggle" of the insurgents was conducted "each day more efficiently," he refused to make any estimate on the duration of the conflict.

In the West, 30,000 Libyans fled the Mountain region, on the border with Tunisia, said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), noting that according to the latest arrivals, the border towns of Nalout Wazin and were almost deserted.

In total, more than 600,000 people have fled violence in Libya since mid-February.

In Tripoli, the target of raids since Friday NATO's intensive, five explosions rocked Monday night east of the capital, according to witnesses who were not able to specify the sites covered.

On the night of Sunday to Monday, on President Muammar Gaddafi, in his huge residence located in Tripoli, had been totally destroyed by NATO airstrikes. The raid left three dead and 45 wounded, according to the spokesman of the regime, Ibrahim Moussa.

NATO said Tuesday he had not sought to target the Libyan leader, noting that his mission was to protect civilians, not to impose a regime change.

Libyan television showed footage of Mr Gaddafi, who seem to have been filmed on Monday.Seemingly relaxed, he receives dignitaries of the regime in his tent at his residence.

In Moscow, Russia warned that it would not support any new resolution to the Security Council of UN on Libya calling for an increase of "foreign interference".

In Addis Ababa, the African Union is still trying to find a solution to the conflict, receiving representatives from both sides for a cease-fire. The rebels, however, require the departure of Mr Gaddafi prior to any negotiated solution.

The Italian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the next meeting of the Contact Group to lead the political aspects of international intervention in Libya to be held May 5 in Rome.

AWARD: Glencore breaks for good with the legacy of its founder

Since Baar Swiss town of 20,000 inhabitants, the giant commodities Glencore pilot one of the most important steps in its history: its market introduction. This introduction, which should be finalized in mid-May, would allow the group to emerge between 9 and 11 billion euros. Glencore would succeed and the third largest IPO in history for a European company (after those of the German Deutsche Telekom in 1996 and Italy's Enel, 1999).

The company, which acquires its credentials in the financial markets, turn the page of his early years, under the leadership of sour Belgian businessman Marc Rich. There is no doubt that he is behind the success of Glencore.No doubt also that its leaders do not regret the departure in 1993, a man who imagined a time on the top ten most wanted by the FBI.

When Marc Rich founded in 1974, at age 40, his trading company in raw materials - Marc Rich + Co - he already has the reputation of a trader of genius. During the oil embargo decided by the Gulf States in 1973, he plays on his own - or almost - from OPEC.This Belgian then succeeds in buying oil in Iraq and Iran to sell twice as expensive in the United States.

Paranoid and hunted by the FBI

In early 1980, Marc Rich was able to get their hands on 40% of global aluminum market and "undertaker" also a large market share of the money. Marc Rich also sells, for years, oil to South Africa - while the country is on the blacklist of the world trade because of apartheid.It is with a lot of such shots, not always legal, Marc Rich made his company one of the major players in commodity markets. His methods earned him strong enemies.

But his crime, at least in the eyes of Washington, is to buy millions of barrels of oil to Iran crisis of American hostages in 1979. A fact which earned him a weapon to be prosecuted by U.S. authorities in 1983 for violating the embargo and tax evasion.Marc Rich refuses to appear and becomes hunted by the FBI, which is considered as one of the ten most wanted criminals in the world.

He continues to lead his company from the canton of Zug, Swiss tax haven, but would have lived from this time in a permanent state of paranoia, according to Daniel Ammann, a journalist who has devoted a biography called "The King of oil" , released in November 2010.

The wildest rumors begin to circulate about his lifestyle, as reported by the newspaper The Observer in May 2001. It would have to build a tunnel under his office to avoid being assassinated on his way to his favorite restaurant.In addition, Marc Rich never moves without a dozen bodyguards - all former Mossad.

The shot of (the) presidential pardon

A lifestyle wearing. In 1993, he ended up making a bad transaction that makes it lose hundreds of millions of dollars. Marc Rich is then obliged to sell its stake in Marc Rich + Co's co-shareholders, who pushed him toward the exit.

It seems so out of business and devotes part of his fortune, estimated by Forbes at $ 800 million to charitable and cultural activities. But the FBI did not forget it either. At least until the end of the term of Bill Clinton in 2001. While it does have a few more hours at the White House, he grants his forgiveness to everyone's surprise.He explained later that he received several requests by influential people, including Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

USA: last-minute compromise on the cuts in the federal budget

An agreement on costs was concluded last minute Friday night in Washington between Democrats and Republicans in Congress to avoid the paralysis of the U.S. federal government, barely an hour before the deadline, set at midnight.

President Barack Obama responded quickly, acknowledging that the agreement would mean budget cuts "painful", but considering that the U.S. should live within their means.

"As in any meaningful compromise, both sides had to make tough decisions and concede on issues that were important to them," he added after a day of suspense over whether to continue government operations the first world power after Friday midnight (0400 GMT).

The Republican chairman of the House of Representatives John Boehner, who announced the agreement, welcomed the arrangement which he said will "reduce spending and keep our government in working order."

The agreement includes $ 38.5 billion in budget cuts over the level of current expenditures.It funds the administration for the remainder of fiscal year 2011, until 30 September.

In the process, the Senate approved a provisional budget law for seven days, the time to put up and vote the final agreement. The House also had to rule on the night of Friday to Saturday on the measure before sending it to President Obama for promulgation.

After the difficult birth, the head of the Democratic majority in the Senate, Harry Reid, has welcomed an agreement "historic."

His main opponent in the Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, has approved the trial of Mr.Reid, immediately recalled that the fight was not over between the two parties in Congress.

"Once we complete this process by the end of next week, we will have a broader discussion on how to save thousands of billions," he said, referring to the forthcoming debate on the budget 2012 of President Obama .

He added that raising the U.S. debt ceiling by more than 1,400 billion was to be accompanied by measures "significant" to solve the problem of the debt record.

This highly sensitive debate should take the elected members of both chambers for much of May.

Before the announcement of the budget agreement Friday night on Capitol Hill, politicians have shown themselves impatient with the impasse persisted.

"We're not going to lie and betray the Americans as has happened many times here in Washington," Mr. Boehner was launched to the press.

Before the Senate, Mr. Reid accused the ultra-conservatives of the "tea party" to be responsible for the situation and try to "put forward (their) extreme social agenda" by putting pressure on Republican leaders.

The closure of administrative services would mean the suspension of 800,000 federal employees.Tourists were turned away at the doors of museums and national parks, visas were not issued and the tax forms being processed.

The biggest obstacle was a controversial measure introduced by Republicans in the draft budget bill eliminating funds for family planning, abortion and women's health. The measure does not appear in the agreement announced Friday night.

Thousands of North African immigrants have landed on the Italian side

AFP - Nearly a thousand immigrants from Tunisia and Libya have arrived in the course of the night from Monday to Tuesday in Sicily and Lampedusa aboard several boats, said the Italian Coast Guard.

The first boat, a large fishing boat about 35 feet long with nearly 500 people on board including women and children, arrived shortly after midnight near the coast of Ragusa, in southern Sicily.

The boat ran aground on rocks near the coast and immigrants, mostly Eritreans, Somalis and citizens of other countries in the Horn of Africa, fleeing the fighting in Libya, were transferred ashore aboard Coast Guard boats in small groups.

About 450 other immigrants also arrived aboard three boats in the night on Lampedusa, a small Italian island that is crumbling under the weight of illegal Tunisian which nearly 20,000 have arrived in recent weeks.

The first boat was carrying 190 people, mostly Eritreans, while two others carried Tunisians.

Faced with overcrowding of immigrants in Lampedusa, an Italian ship left the island with 827 people on board who arrived Tuesday morning in the port of Taranto, in Puglia, southern Italy, where they will be transferred in a temporary shelter set up in this region to cope with the influx of immigrants.

Yemen: President Saleh loose new ballast but the challenge continues

Dropped by a portion of his army, the President of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh on Tuesday proposed to resign in early 2012, but the opposition rejected the offer insisting on his immediate departure.

Earlier, President Saleh, in power for 32 years, warned against the risks of civil war in his country including the capital Sana'a is the setting for Monday in a deployment of military units rival tanks.

In south-east, in the city of Moukalla a first incident on Monday night between elements of the regular army and presidential guard units had two killed, witnesses and medical sources.

This tension redoubled concern the United States, said Tuesday the U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Washington has so far seen the president Saleh as an ally in the war against terrorism and Al Qaeda affiliates.

Of the likes of Osama bin Laden are active in Yemen and were involved in attempted attacks against the United States in 2009 and 2010. Washington provides an annual grant of $ 150 million in Sana'a to combat them.

"The instability and diversion of attention vis-à-vis AQPA (Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) is certainly my primary concern in this situation," said Gates, after a trip to Moscow.

To overcome this crisis, the head of state, whose term expires in 2013, proposed "holding parliamentary elections before the end of 2011, followed by election by members of a president in early 2012," according to a senior Yemeni official, who requested anonymity.

But the opposition immediately rejected this offer: "The Yemeni people calling for the immediate departure" of the president, said his spokesman Mohammed al-Sabri."Only one thing can satisfy the people, and that the resignation of this man," he added.

In Sanaa, the military and officials have continued to succeed in front of the demonstrators University Square, the epicenter of protest, to announce their allegiance to the "youth revolt".

The challenge, launched in late January, has gained momentum after the death March 18, 1952 people in an attack against demonstrators in Sanaa attributed to supporters of the regime.

Representatives of members of the Arab League have condemned Tuesday the "crimes against civilians" and urged the Yemeni authorities to meet the demands of the population to "peacefully".

Protesters on Monday received the support of the army chiefs, including General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, head north-east which includes the capital.

Armoured units loyal to General Ahmar were deployed around the Central Bank, the headquarters of the General People's Congress (GPC ruling party) and other vital facilities in Sana'a.

But the tanks of the presidential guard, headed by the president's son, Ahmed Saleh, and special forces, commanded by his nephew Tarek Saleh, took up positions around the presidential palace.

A Moukalla, clashed Monday night soldiers under the command of the Eastern Military District, General Mohammed Ali Mohsen, who joined the protest, members of the presidential guard.

A soldier of the regular army and a member of the presidential guard were killed, medics, and three soldiers wounded, including an officer of the regular army.

Mr.Saleh, 69, warned that any conspiracy to precipitate his departure would lead to Yemen, a poor country of 24 million, to civil war.

"Any attempt to take power in a coup would lead to civil war," he said on television before military leadership, whereas the divisions within the army were "harmful" to the country.

NIGER: Issoufou historical opponent declared the winner of the presidential

AFP - The historical opponent Mahamadou Issoufou won with nearly 58% of the vote in presidential elections in Niger, said Monday the election commission.

Mr.Saturday Issoufou received some 1.8 million votes, or 57.95%, ahead of former Prime Minister Seini Oumarou with 1.3 million votes (42.05%), announced Gousmane Abdourahamane, Commission President Independent National Electoral (INEC), at a ceremony in Niamey.

The turnout reached 48.17%, below the 51.56% of the first round of 31 January.

The second tower, whose effectiveness has been praised by international observers, was intended to restore civilian rule after a year's military junta after the coup of February 2010 against Tandja.

The new president is scheduled April 6.

CINEMA: The Moroccan film "Pegasus" won the Golden Stallion of Fespaco

The film "Pegasus", the Moroccan Mohamed Mouftakir, won Saturday night the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, the highest award of the Festival Pan African Film and Television of Ouagadougou (Fespaco), the great rendezvous of African cinema .

The director received the trophy from Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore at the closing ceremony of the 22nd Fespaco, held in the largest stadium in the capital in the presence of about 20,000 people.

"The price is a pride, that recognition.That's encouraging, "he told the press the director thanking the jury, chaired by the Gambian university M'Baye Cham.

Located in the Moroccan countryside, "Pegasus", the debut film of a young filmmaker, is a story of rape and incest, the drama of Rihanna, a young girl of twenty years manipulated by his father who believe she is pregnant with a demon.

Eighteen films were competing in the feature film category.

The Silver Stallion went to "A man who cries," Mahamat Saleh Haroun from Chad, who had received the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2010 for this film.

The romantic comedy "The guy ideal" of the Ivorian Owell Brown won the bronze stallion.

The Jury Prize went to "Our foreign" the Burkinabe Sarah Bouyain.

The best actor award was given to Benin Sylvestre Amoussou, also director of "A step forward, the bottom of corruption," and Best Actress Samia Meziane in "Journey to Algiers" the Algerian Abdelkrim Bahloul.

The latter also won the award for best screenplay for "Journey to Algiers."

"The Loves of a zombie" by Arnold Antonin (Haiti) has awarded the African Diaspora.

While some critics and filmmakers have been disappointed by the level of Fespaco, M.Compaore has hailed "a victory for Africa" and "a quality production that can integrate markets. "We need to encourage filmmakers to build partnerships and diversify production," he said.

The ceremony was choreographed by the company Salia Ni Seydou Burkina Faso, and the star of the Congolese song Fally Fally has "made the show.

For this edition, a record number of films, 475 were presented to the organizers who did not expect that 300.But they have retained that 195 works, including 111 competing in various categories.

However, "the South Fund (French agency for the support of cinema in the South, ed), the share of African products has increased from 34% of applications approved for the period 84-88 to 12% in 2005-2009" , said Saturday afternoon the French Minister of Culture Frederic Mitterrand, who attended the closing.

It has announced "before summer" a conference on aid to African cinema, to improve coordination and access.

The general consensus, the organization of the Fespaco was satisfactory, whereas accreditation problems and programming marred the celebration of African cinema in the last edition in 2009.

Fespaco remains a popular festival where moviegoers alongside celebrities and other guests. It was established in 1969 "by passionate movie buffs and some directors in order that the African public look at his own images and appropriates them," says the Tunisian filmmaker Ferid Boughedir.

Libya: Muammar Gaddafi threatens to intensify law enforcement

AFP - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi faces an unprecedented popular revolt last week, vowed on Tuesday in a televised speech to restore order, wielding the threat of a bloody crackdown.

Promising to fight "until the last drop" of his blood, he called the police and army to regain control of the situation and assured that any demonstrators armed deserved "punishment."

"Make your arms immediately, otherwise there will be butchers," he said referring to a response "similar to Tiananmen," in reference to military repression of the "Beijing Spring" in June 1989 which had claimed hundreds, if not thousands dead, according to sources.

Draped in a brown tunic, his first official response since February 15, Colonel Gaddafi was speaking in front of his house bombed by the Americans in April 1986 and left for further processing.

"Muammar Gaddafi has no official position he resigned.Muammar Gaddafi is the leader of the revolution is synonymous with sacrifice until the end of days, "he said in a fiery speech of over an hour, punctuated with large hand gestures and sometimes silence and stuttering .

"All young people need to create tomorrow's defense committees of the revolution: they protect roads, bridges, airports," he said, calling on his supporters to show from Wednesday.

"No fool can cut our country into pieces," said Colonel Gaddafi, in power for over 40 years, threatening to "purge (country) house by house".

"We have not yet made use of force, but if the situation requires the use of force, we will resort," he said.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the repression has already been "at least 62" dead in the capital Tripoli since Sunday.

Monday morning, HRW announced a review of at least 233 deaths since February 15, without mentioning casualties in Tripoli. The International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) had put the figure at "300 to 400" deaths in the country.

The first bloodshed concentrated in Benghazi, the second largest city 1,000 km east of Tripoli, the capital hit Sunday night, when calm had returned to Benghazi on Monday night, according to testimony at the AFP.

According to the FIDH President, Belhassen, violence continued in the morning in Tripoli."The militias, security forces loyal to Qadhafi rampant so terrible, breaking doors, looting (...). It is impossible to remove the bodies in the streets, one gets shot," she explained to AFP.

Tunisians who fled the country told AFP nights of terror in Tripoli, Gaddafi's men and mercenaries firing in all directions, stopping, shining, raping, while the wounded were bleeding.

In the capital, many foreigners were confined to their homes. The airport was crowded, hundreds of expatriates seeking to leave the country.Many countries said on Tuesday sending planes to evacuate nationals.

The Security Council of the UN was an emergency meeting Tuesday in New York while the West calls for "swift and clear" face of repression.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, spoke of a "bloodbath totally unacceptable."

The Arab League announced that the participation of Libya in its meetings were suspended "until the Libyan authorities to accept the claims" of the Libyan people "and ensure his safety."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has held the speech of Colonel Gaddafi "very frightening" and demanded "a cessation of violence", adding that otherwise Germany "would consider sanctions."

But the Europeans were divided over whether to impose sanctions, some countries fearing a backlash against their nationals on site or opening the valves of illegal immigration. Rome has said such fear that flow from 200 to 300,000 migrants fleeing Libya.

The Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose country has very close economic relations with Libya, met with Colonel Qaddafi.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay called for the opening of an "independent international investigation into the violence, raising the possibility of" crimes against humanity. "

Several Libyan officials have defected to protest against violence against demonstrators, as well as diplomats abroad.

Economically, the deadly escalation in Libya, a leading global producer of black gold, pushed oil prices to levels not seen since 2008.OPEC has indicated its willingness to increase production if needed, while ensuring that the market remained well supplied.

However, the only pipeline connecting Libya to Italy and Europe was cut Tuesday.