Sestak predicts he'll win close Pa. Senate primary
The Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. — US Rep Joe Sestak predicts he'll win...
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16 mai, 2010
Snaptu : Sestak predicts he'll win close Pa. Senate primary - The Associated Press
Los Angeles Times
Concerns over Zimbabwe's 'Noah's Ark gift' to N Korea
We're very concerned," Johny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, told the BBC.
He said the habitat may not be suitable for baby elephants, rhinos and other animals which he believed would be secretly flown in pairs to North Korea.
Zimbabwe's state parks officials have not publicly commented on the issue.
North Korea has long been a close ally of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
Modern-day 'Noah's Ark'
Mr Rodrigues told the BBC he believed that wild animals - such as baby elephants, giraffes, rhinos and zebras - were being secretly caught in pairs in the past two months in the Hwange National Park, western Zimbabwe.
He said his organisation was alerted by one of the wardens in the park, who was concerned about the operation.
Mr Rodrigues also said witnesses had seen state parks vehicles towing cages in the area and the runway of the local airport being extended.
It is believed the animals are being kept in quarantine before being sent to North Korea.
"It's such a secretive thing," Mr Rodrigues said.
He said he believed that the airlift to the Communist state would go ahead after "a presidential decree", which would guarantee that "no-one can touch" the secret cargo.
Mr Rodrigues added that his organisation was very concerned that some of the wild animals would not survive in the new environment in North Korea.
"We don't know if the habitat is good enough for animals. They are not used to it."
There are particular concerns that the two baby elephants may not survive the airlift separated from their mothers.
UPDATE 1-Greece to probe U.S. banks' role in crisis-PM
ATHENS, May 16 (Reuters) - Greece may investigate U.S. investment banks and their role in the run-up to the Greek debt crisis which has shaken faith in euro zone economies, Prime Minister George Papandreou said in comments broadcast on Sunday.
Wall Street and major banks around the world are attracting scrutiny from regulators who are looking at transactions that occurred in the run-up to the subprime mortgage meltdown and financial crisis.
U.S. prosecutors are already conducting a broad criminal investigation of six major Wall Street banks to determine if they misled investors.
"We are right now having a parliamentary investigation in Greece which will look into the past and see how things went the wrong direction and what kinds of practices were negative practices," Papandreou told CNN.
"There are similar investigations going on in other countries and in the United States ... I hear the words fraud and lack of transparency. So yes, there is great responsibility here," he said. Asked whether there was a possibility of legal action against the banks, he said: "I wouldn't rule out that this may be a recourse also ... but we need to let the due process proceed and make our judgments once we get the results from the investigations."
The European Union and International Monetary Fund agreed a 110-billion euro ($140-billion) bailout of Greece a week ago after Greek bond spreads hit record highs which meant Athens could not service its debts.
The Greek government has been forced to make swingeing spending cuts and hike taxes in an attempt to reduce its deficit from some 13 percent of GDP to the euro zone target of 3 percent.
Papandreou said his government had already cut its budget by 40 percent in the first quarter compared to last year and that revenues from VAT were also up by 10 percent.
But the measures are likely to come at a huge social cost and investors are watching closely the tide of anger and protests welling in Greece and looking to see whether Papandreou's Socialist government will withstand the public pressure or go soft on the reform programme.
But even as large protests regularly fill the streets of Athens, opinion polls show most Greeks believe the EU-IMF package was necessary to put the country back on track. Most however believe the burden is being unequally shouldered by ordinary people, while the wealthy and politicians prosper.
Papandreou said he was determined to succeed.
"What we are saying is that we are ready to make the changes. Greece is a proud nation, we have made our mistakes, we are living up to this responsibility, but at the same time give us a chance, we'll show you," he said.
Wall Street and major banks around the world are attracting scrutiny from regulators who are looking at transactions that occurred in the run-up to the subprime mortgage meltdown and financial crisis.
U.S. prosecutors are already conducting a broad criminal investigation of six major Wall Street banks to determine if they misled investors.
"We are right now having a parliamentary investigation in Greece which will look into the past and see how things went the wrong direction and what kinds of practices were negative practices," Papandreou told CNN.
"There are similar investigations going on in other countries and in the United States ... I hear the words fraud and lack of transparency. So yes, there is great responsibility here," he said. Asked whether there was a possibility of legal action against the banks, he said: "I wouldn't rule out that this may be a recourse also ... but we need to let the due process proceed and make our judgments once we get the results from the investigations."
The European Union and International Monetary Fund agreed a 110-billion euro ($140-billion) bailout of Greece a week ago after Greek bond spreads hit record highs which meant Athens could not service its debts.
The Greek government has been forced to make swingeing spending cuts and hike taxes in an attempt to reduce its deficit from some 13 percent of GDP to the euro zone target of 3 percent.
Papandreou said his government had already cut its budget by 40 percent in the first quarter compared to last year and that revenues from VAT were also up by 10 percent.
But the measures are likely to come at a huge social cost and investors are watching closely the tide of anger and protests welling in Greece and looking to see whether Papandreou's Socialist government will withstand the public pressure or go soft on the reform programme.
But even as large protests regularly fill the streets of Athens, opinion polls show most Greeks believe the EU-IMF package was necessary to put the country back on track. Most however believe the burden is being unequally shouldered by ordinary people, while the wealthy and politicians prosper.
Papandreou said he was determined to succeed.
"What we are saying is that we are ready to make the changes. Greece is a proud nation, we have made our mistakes, we are living up to this responsibility, but at the same time give us a chance, we'll show you," he said.
East Africa seeks more Nile water from Egypt
Under colonial-era accords, the two countries get 90% of the river's water.
Upstream countries including Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia say it is unfair and want a new deal but nothing has been agreed in 13 years of talks.
A further three countries were represented at the meeting in Entebbe, Uganda, and may sign up later.
BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says there is a danger that the split could hamper any further efforts for all nine countries involved to negotiate how the waters should be shared.
The BBC's Wyre Davies in Cairo says that for Egypt, water is a matter of national security.
Egypt has dismissed the Entebbe agreement, saying it "is in no way binding on Egypt from a legal perspective".
"Egypt will not join or sign any agreement that affects its share," ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
'Rule of the jungle'
Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda signed the agreement in Entebbe, which would lead to experts determining how much water each country would be entitled to.
Kenya did not sign the agreement as its minister could not attend. Like Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, it sent officials to Entebbe.
map
Ethiopia, for example - the source of the Blue Nile - contributes an estimated 85% of the river waters but is able to make relatively little use of its natural resource.
Rwanda's Environment Minister Stanislas Kamanzi told the BBC: "Egypt has been requesting to defer the signing of the Cooperative Framework Agreement - we couldn't wait any longer, since we have been negotiating for over 10 years."
Egypt and Sudan say they will not sign a new deal unless they are first guaranteed an exact share of the water.
Ahead of the meeting, Ahmed el-Mufti, the legal counsel for Sudan's delegation, told Reuters news agency that all nine countries were close to an agreement, so there was no need for the upstream countries to sign their own deal.
He also said Egypt and Sudan needed water more than those in more fertile regions.
"They have a lot of rain: This is nature," he said. "They do not need the water. Here in Sudan we need water."
Egypt's farmers are almost wholly dependent on the River Nile and its water.
The BBC's Will Ross says that, with populations soaring, demand for water increasing and climate change having an impact, there are warnings that wrangling over the world's longest river could be a trigger for conflict.
"If we don't have an agreed co-operative framework, there will be no peace," Kenya's director of water resources John Nyaro told the BBC before the meeting.
"Where there is no rule of law, the rule of the jungle does not provide peace."
Les destinations préférées des français
spagne, Grèce, France, Etats-Unis...Où passerez-vous vos vacances cette année ? Les Français partent encore peu à l'étranger, mais les destinations soleil ont le vent en poupe. Sans surprise, on retrouve en tête des destinations les plus prisées l'Espagne et la Grèce.
Sudan opposition leader Turabi 'arrested'
His wife told the BBC she thought he was arrested for repeating in a newspaper interview his allegation that elections last month were rigged.
President Omar al-Bashir was re-elected with 68% of the vote in Sudan's first multi-party vote in 24 years.
Mr Turabi's party was one of the few opposition groups that took part.
Sudanese officials have not confirmed the arrest.
Mr Turabi was once a close colleague of Mr Bashir but he lost out in a power struggle between the two in 1999.
He has been imprisoned or held under house arrest on several occasions, most recently for about two months early last year.
Comment perd-on la nationalité française ?
On naît ou devient français par droit du sang, mariage, droit du sol, adoption... Mais on peut aussi perdre ce statut après avoir commis des actes graves.
Le point sur les principales causes qui peuvent amener à perdre la nationalité française.
Political Punch
The ranking member of Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen Jeff Sessions, R-AL, said this morning in an exclusive interview on "This Week" that the confirmation hearings of Elena Kagan will be a “big deal.”
Sessions said they are particularly important because Kagan “has so little other record.”
Sessions explained he will be looking to understand how broad her reading of the Constitution is.
“I think we’d like to know, in a real honest sense, whether her philosophy of law is so broad in her interpretation of the Constitution that you are not faithful to the Constitution and laws,” Sessions told host Jake Tapper. “In other words, a judge under their oath says you serve under the Constitution, not above it. So we want to know whether she faithfully will follow it even if she doesn’t like it,” he said.
“I think we’ll be looking at her testimony because she has so little other record, it’s going to be a big deal. It’s so important how she testifies,” Sessions added.
Sudan army claims rebel victory in Western Darfur
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Sudanese army forces claim they have seized control of a key Darfur rebel stronghold, killing 108 alleged rebels in Western Darfur.
Sudanese television broadcast footage apparently showing senior military officials after the end of the clashes in Jebel Moon.
The rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) says it left the area to avoid civilian casualties.
Sudanese army forces claim they have seized control of a key Darfur rebel stronghold, killing 108 alleged rebels in Western Darfur.
Sudanese television broadcast footage apparently showing senior military officials after the end of the clashes in Jebel Moon.
The rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) says it left the area to avoid civilian casualties.
Flights grounded after volcanic ash returns
A no-fly zone has been imposed by the Civil Aviation Authority from 1300 until 1900 BST.
East Midlands, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Doncaster, Humberside and Carlisle airports are all affected.
A spokesman for Liverpool John Lennon Airport said that 30 flights have been affected there.
He advised passengers to check with their airline before travelling.
A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: "Long-range forecasts indicate that the ash cloud may cause further disruption into tomorrow but this is not certain.
"If passengers who are planning to travel to or from Manchester Airport over the coming days are concerned about their flight, please check with your airline or monitor our website for official updates.
"There is absolutely no official suggestion or prediction that the prolonged, continent-wide airspace restrictions experienced in April are about to occur again.
"We would like to sincerely apologise to passengers travelling today for the inconvenience that this will cause."
Thai Govt. Rejects Protesters' Offer of UN-Mediated Talks
The Thai government has rejected calls by opposition protesters for U.N.-mediated talks to end three days of deadly battles between the two sides in the capital, Bangkok.
The opposition activists, known as Red Shirts, said Sunday they were ready for U.N.-mediated negotiations provided the military stops a crackdown on their encampment.
Smoke rose above the city Sunday as Red Shirts set fire to tires at a barricade around their protest site in Bangkok's main commercial district.
Arrivée de Clotilde Reiss à l'Elysée
La jeune Française a été accueillie en bas du perron du palais présidentiel par Jean-David Levitte, conseiller diplomatique du chef de l'Etat.
Vêtue d'un tailleur pantalon noir et Tshirt rayé, elle était accompagnée de son père Rémi, de ses deux frères, de l'ambassadeur de France en Iran Bernard Poletti et d'un médecin.
Elle a serré la main du sherpa et échangé quelques mots avec lui, puis a gravi les sept marches du perron pour rencontrer M. Sarkozy.
La jeune chercheuse était arrivée peu avant à l'aéroport militaire de Villacoublay (Yvelines) à bord d'un Falcon 7X (bien Falcon 7X) qu'elle avait pris à Dubaï.
Le Vatican doit débattre du célibat, selon les évèques autrichiens
Le Vatican doit ouvrir un débat sur le célibat des prêtres et l'ordonnancement d'hommes mariés, ont indiqué au cours du week-end les évèques autrichiens lors d'une conférence à Mariazell."En tant qu'évèques, nous en entendons parler et nous disons à Rome que nous avons ce problème", a déclaré l'évèque du diocèse de Carinthe, Alois Schwarz, en soulignant que ce débat ne devait pas être ignoré mais au contraire "amplifié" à travers l'Eglise catholique dans le monde.
Il a également fait valoir la nécessité de parler du rôle des femmes.
Sans évoquer explicitement le scandale de pédophilie qui éclabousse l'Eglise, les évèques autrichiens ont appelé à de "grandes réformes" au sein de l'Eglise au cours de leur congrès de trois jours.
Mercredi dernier, l'évêque autrichien Paul Iby s'était déclaré favorable à la suppression du célibat des prêtres, un des principes majeurs de l'Eglise catholique, notamment pour faire face au manque de vocations, dans une interview au quotidien Die Presse.
Après une série de révélations sur des abus sexuels commis par des religieux, l'archevêque de Salzbourg, Alois Kothgasser, avait dernièrement demandé également une réflexion sur le célibat, une exclusivité de la religion catholique parmi les cultes monothéistes. Cette question est débattue périodiquement, mais le Vatican a pour l'instant refusé de remettre en cause cette tradition séculaire.
Barack Obama pousse le Sénat à approuver la réforme financière
Barack Obama engage le Sénat à adopter sans tarder le projet de réforme de la régulation financière pour "assurer l'avenir économique de l'Amérique". Dans la perspective des élections de mi-mandat prévues en novembre, le président américain a insisté sur sa volonté de venir en aide aux "gens de la rue" en recommandant l'approbation d'un renforcement des règles applicables à Wall Street pour éviter que la crise financière de 2008-2009 ne se reproduise. (Reuters/Joshua Roberts)
Dans la perspective des élections de mi-mandat prévues en novembre, Obama a insisté sur sa volonté de venir en aide aux "gens de la rue" en recommandant l'approbation d'un renforcement des règles applicables à Wall Street pour éviter que la crise financière de 2008-2009 ne se reproduise.
Les démocrates et l'opposition républicaine continuent de s'affronter autour d'une série d'amendements, mais le projet de loi pourrait faire l'objet d'un vote du Sénat d'ici à la fin de la semaine prochaine et beaucoup s'attendent à son adoption.
"Le projet de réforme en débat au Sénat ne réglera pas tous les problèmes de notre système financier - aucun projet de loi ne le pourrait", a dit le chef de la Maison blanche dans son allocution hebdomadaire à la radio et sur internet.
"Mais ce que permettra de réaliser ce projet solide est important et j'exhorte le Sénat à l'adopter au plus tôt, pour que nous puissions assurer l'avenir économique de l'Amérique au XXIe siècle."
A Washington, le climat politique a tourné à l'avantage du projet de législation - qui constituerait le plus important remaniement du système financier américain depuis les années 1930 - et au détriment des groupes de pression qui cherchent à en limiter la portée.
Tout en reconnaissant la nécessité d'une réforme, les républicains s'efforcent d'atténuer certaines propositions démocrates qu'ils tiennent pour des ingérences gouvernementales dans le secteur privé.
PRUDENCE CHEZ LES RÉPUBLICAINS
Mais le camp républicain semble de moins en moins enclin à prendre le risque politique de bloquer le processus d'adoption et d'être ensuite accusé de connivence directe avec Wall Street en période préélectorale.
L'enjeu n'est pas moins élevé pour Obama. Le taux de chômage frisant les 10% aux Etats-Unis, ses compatriotes s'inquiètent des finances du pays, faisant glisser sa cote de popularité aux alentours de 50% et exposant les démocrates à subir des pertes aux élections de novembre.
Prenant appui sur le mécontentement de l'opinion face aux excès de Wall Street et à leur rôle dans la récente crise financière, Obama a affirmé que la réforme de la régulation contribuerait à "faire cesser les pratiques prédatrices".
Il a dit qu'elle favoriserait les banques locales qui ont respecté les règles et protégerait les petites entreprises contre les risques inconsidérés pris par Wall Street.
"Nous rendrons notre système financier plus transparent en faisant apparaître au grand jour des transactions complexes (...) du type de celles qui ont contribué à déclencher cette crise. Nous empêcherons les banques de prendre des risques de nature à entraîner leur effondrement et à menacer toute notre économie", a-t-il déclaré.
"Autrement dit, la réforme de Wall Street apportera une sécurité plus grande aux gens de la rue", a ajouté Obama.
La Chambre des représentants a approuvé un projet de réforme financière en décembre. Quel que soit le document issu du Sénat, il faudra le fusionner avec celui de la Chambre pour qu'un projet de loi définitif soit envoyé au président américain et signé par ce dernier, ce qui pourrait intervenir en milieu d'année.
Thai Government Takes Harder Stance as Clashes Continue
BANGKOK — The Thai government struck a combative tone on Saturday, saying it would continue its efforts to cut off antigovernment protesters from the rest of the city despite a rising death toll and determined resistance from the demonstrators.
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Violent Clashes Continue in Thailand
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The Fury Outside My Window (May 16, 2010)
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Times Topic: Thailand
Throughout the day and into the night, gunfire and explosions shook neighborhoods in central Bangkok that ring the one-mile area where the protesters have camped for weeks in an attempt to bring down the government. The government reported that 8 people were killed Saturday, bringing the death toll from three days of clashes to 24, with 172 people injured.
“The government cannot turn back,” Abhisit Vejjajiva, the prime minister, said in a nationally televised address on Saturday night.
“Ending the rally is the only way to prevent calamity.”
Shortly before the prime minister spoke, leaders of the country’s powerful military appeared on television in what may have been a deliberate show of unity for an army notorious for its divisions and intrigue. Unlike last month, when the government withdrew after a failed crackdown that left 25 people dead, the military said losses were unavoidable, and began calling in reinforcements, adding to the thousands of troops already here.
With both the government and at least some protesters appearing to take a harder stance, fears were rising that the violence could spill out to other parts of the city.
Already on Saturday, many streets near the center of the capital were deserted and some residents woke to find their neighborhoods suddenly within the battle zone near the cordon set up in recent days by the military. In an attempt to keep troops out, some protesters set barricades of tires on fire, sending up tall plumes of smoke.
There were many reports of snipers firing at protesters, and as night fell, the government turned off street lights in some neighborhoods, leaving them in near total darkness.
The violence in recent days led the United States government to offer a voluntary evacuation of nonessential personnel in its embassy in Bangkok and to advise against all travel to the Thai capital; it had previously only advised against nonessential travel. Other countries also issued warnings about visiting the city.
Despite the worries that violence would escalate, the government has powerful reasons to show restraint. Officials have held back for weeks for fear of causing a bloodbath — further tarnishing Thailand’s reputation as a business and tourist-friendly country — or of inciting unrest in other parts of the country sympathetic to the protesters.
Rather than forcing a showdown, the military could instead choose to continue to try to divide the demonstrators, hoping that more moderate members will leave the area as they run out of food and water. Over the last several days, the military has set up checkpoints on roads leading to the protesters’ encampment, keeping supporters with new supplies out and checking the identity of anyone trying to enter the area.
Sudsanguan Suthisorn, an associate professor of criminology at Thammasat University and a member of the protest movement, said that only limited supplies of food and water remained in the cordoned-off area and that with municipal power cut off, fuel was running low for generators.
The protesters, who began their demonstration here two months ago, have demanded the resignation of the government and new elections. But the movement — made up of farmers and the urban poor, many of them supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister deposed in a 2006 military coup — has fractured and its demands are now unclear.
In his television appearance on Saturday, Mr. Abhisit tried to explain the government’s tougher stance, saying that he feared armed groups, which he said were siding with the demonstrators, could overthrow the government.
“We cannot let the country remain in this condition, where people do not respect the law,” he said.
Lt. Gen. Dowpong Rattanasuwan, the deputy chief of the army, said Saturday that “forces with weapons are hiding among the protesters” and that soldiers had been authorized to use their weapons in self-defense.
Inside the protesters’ barricaded encampment the crowds were thinner and more subdued than they had been before the clashes began Thursday. Under rows of tents and in a plaza in front of a sound stage, many sleeping mats and plastic chairs stood empty, and protest leaders did not offer their accustomed rousing speeches from the stage.
At a small news conference, one of the leaders, Nattawut Saikua, asserted that it was no longer possible to control some of the protesters, saying they had been infuriated by military moves against them.
Among the casualties of three days of clashes was an emergency medical technician who was riding a motorcycle when he was fatally wounded and four journalists, all of whom were wounded but survived.
One photographer reported seeing two dead or wounded victims unattended in a street for a long period because of the fear of snipers. The military was not allowing ambulances to pass a roadblock, the photographer said, which meant that rescue workers had to run in a crouch with stretchers to carry out the victims.
In one neighborhood, the military posted a banner declaring a “Live firing zone.” A Thai television station reported that the banner was taken down late in the afternoon.
The violence occurring Saturday is likely to harden divisions between the country’s poor majority, which forms the base of the protest movement, and its elite establishment, which feels threatened and discomfited by the long occupation of the city’s upscale commercial center.
Underlying the protests is a rising awareness among the poor of their rights and a demand for a greater share in the country’s wealth and political voice.
Mr. Thaksin, the prime minister deposed in 2006, remains abroad; he is wanted in Thailand on a conviction for corruption. He had mobilized the poor as a political base, and the demand for democracy that is often heard among them now reflects a sense that their vote was stolen from them when he was ousted.
Super Saver fizzles in Preakness two weeks after winning Kentucky Derby
BALTIMORE – It didn’t take trainer Todd Pletcher long to be reminded how humbling racing can be.
Two weeks after ending his 0-for-24 Kentucky Derby drought, Pletcher was a non-factor – again – in today’s Preakness Stakes. It was no surprise that Aikenite, a 30-1 shot, finished 10th in the 12-horse field.
But it was a major disappointment that stablemate and Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, the 19-10 favorite, fizzled despite a good trip, finishing a tiring eighth.
“We were in a good spot,” Pletcher said of Super Saver, sitting second off pace-setting First Dude through the opening six furlongs. “He was able to move himself right outside of (First Dude). It looked like the colt was relaxed. He was traveling well down the backside but you could tell that when he went to the far turn he came up empty.”
Jockey Calvin Borel offered no excuses.
“My horse broke sharp, right where I wanted,” he said. “I let the other horse go and I was right behind him. He just wasn’t able to get there today. I will win a lot of other races with this horse. He’s a good one.”
Pletcher, now 0-for-6 in the Preakness, said he knew going into the turn that his horse was finished.
“You could see that Calvin was squeezing him and asking him to go get that horse (First Dude), and he just couldn’t do it,” he said. “He hung in there. He kept fighting. He tried hard. It was back a little quick for him. Now we’ve got time to come back for a big summer.”
Dublin, who took a right turn out of the gate from the outside post 12, lost all chance with his clumsy break. But the D. Wayne Lukas-trainee still rallied from last to finish a late-running fifth.
Dublin came close to the outside rail with his bad break, with Garrett Gomez having to cut across the track behind the field just to get to the other rail.
“The break compromised any chance we had, when he broke awkwardly like that,” Lukas said. “He ran a powerful race. He ran fifth and didn’t get beat that far.”
Gomez said he did what he could after the bad start.
“The first three jumps weren’t very good,” he said. “He tried to go into the gap and made a right-hand turn with me. When I straightened him out they were all gone and we were pretty much out of it.”
First Dude looked to be a horse who benefited from skipping the Kentucky Derby, going from a thrid-place finish in the Blue Grass Stakes to a game second in the Preakness. The horse is named for the husband of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
“First Dude is a serious, confident, aggressive horse who can compete with the best,” trainer Dale Romans said. “He ran super. (Jockey) Ramon (Dominguez) said he didn’t want to give up the lead. He kept his path. He couldn’t hold off the winner.”
Baffert is now tied with Lukas for second with most Preakness victories with five, trailing R. W. Walden, who won the race seven times between 1875-1888.
Le président brésilien à la recherche d’un coup d’éclat diplomatique
Il tentera aujourd’hui de convaincre Téhéran de coopérer avec l’AIEA
Le président brésilien à la recherche d’un coup d’éclat diplomatique
Par : M. A. Boumendil
Lu : (385 fois)
À Washington, on pense que “la visite de Lula est sans doute la dernière de dialogue”, mais sans grande conviction apparemment, puisqu’on “continue d’avancer vers une résolution prônant des sanctions”.
Alors que le Brésil est en période de précampagne électorale et qu’il ne lui reste que huit mois à a tête du pays, le président Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva se rend aujourd’hui à Téhéran pour tenter de convaincre les autorités iraniennes de coopérer avec l’Agence internationale de
l’énergie atomique (AIEA) et de signer un accord avec elle sur les modalités d’enrichissement de l’uranium. Le président brésilien rencontrera le président Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, le guide suprême de la révolution, l’ayatollah Ali Khamenei ainsi que le président du Parlement, l’ayatollah Ali Larijani. Le président Lula “n’apportera aucune proposition de nouvelle solution. (…) Ce (qu’il) souhaite, c’est favoriser un processus de dialogue qui puisse aboutir à un accord”, a déclaré son porte-parole. “Nous voudrions que l’Iran prenne une position similaire à la nôtre, c'est-à-dire développer le nucléaire civil et s’engager à abandonner tout programme militaire”, a dit, de son côté, un proche collaborateur du président Lula, spécialiste des questions diplomatiques. Il faut noter que le Brésil, opposé au durcissement des sanctions contre l’Iran prôné par les États-Unis et leurs alliés occidentaux, a inscrit dans sa Constitution l’interdiction de produire et d’utiliser les armes nucléaires. Ayant fait escale à Moscou où il s’est entretenu avec son homologue Dimitri Medvedev, le président Lula a fait preuve d’un grand optimisme quant au succès de sa mission en Iran. Son hôte russe, dont le pays est un soutien traditionnel de Téhéran mais agacé par l’attitude du président Ahmadinejad et acquis à l’idée de nouvelles sanctions, si nécessaire, ne partage pas cet optimisme, loin s’en faut. “Vu que mon ami Lula est un optimiste, je vais aussi être optimiste : je lui donne 30% de chances”, a déclaré le président Medvedev lors d’une conférence de presse, avec une pointe d’humour plutôt rare chez les dirigeants du Kremlin. À Washington, on pense que “la visite de Lula est sans doute la dernière de dialogue”, mais sans grande conviction apparemment, puisqu’“on continue d’avancer vers une résolution prônant des sanctions”. Les États-Unis restent convaincus, en effet, que l’Iran manipule le Brésil et la Turquie pour gagner du temps. De son côté, le président français Nicolas Sarkozy a assuré que Lula bénéficiait du “soutien total de la France pour convaincre les autorités iraniennes de
répondre pleinement aux demandes de la communauté internationale sur le dossier nucléaire”. L’ambassadeur iranien à Brasilia, Mohsen Shaterzadeh, a esquissé ce qui serait la clé du problème, et qui pourrait être une base de discussion pour Lula avec les autorités iraniennes. Téhéran, qui a refusé de livrer son uranium pour qu’il soit enrichi en France avant de lui revenir sous forme de combustible enrichi à 20%, pourrait accepter de l’échanger, à condition que le combustible soit livré immédiatement, selon la formule du donnant-donnant, et que le pays où se ferait l’échange soit la Turquie voisine. Le Brésil pourrait être le garant international de l’échange. Dans de telles conditions, les autorités iraniennes, qui ont déclaré avoir commencé l’enrichissement intra muros de l’uranium à 20%, pourraient reprendre les négociations, selon ce diplomate. Si le Brésil venait à réussir dans sa délicate mission, ses bénéfices seraient considérables. Au-delà de la considération et des honneurs que confère ce genre de succès, il en tirerait des bénéfices économiques – ses exportations vers l’Iran ont augmenté de 76% ces deux derniers mois – et conforterait son poids dans la diplomatie internationale en obtenant, comme il le souhaite, une place de membre permanent au Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU. A contrario, si l’Iran n’arrive pas à convaincre du caractère strictement civil de son programme nucléaire, cela pourrait avoir des conséquences sur les intérêts brésiliens. Pari risqué pour Lula ? Sans doute. Mais risques mesurés tout de même.
Personal ties bind Obama, Kagan
WASHINGTON — If Elena Kagan is confirmed as the next Supreme Court justice, President Obama will have something that has become increasingly rare for presidents: a personal friend on the court.
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Indeed, when Obama introduced Kagan at the White House as his court nominee, it sounded almost as if he were talking about himself: a former Chicago law professor, Harvard graduate, and White Sox fan who eschewed the lucrative world of corporate law to focus on academia and public service.
Obama brought her into his administration by nominating her to be solicitor general and now, after slightly more than a year in that job, he wants to elevate her to the Supreme Court.
Obama and Kagan first met in the early 1990s in Chicago. While they are not close friends, they have maintained their relationship over the years through common outlooks on politics and law, according to those who know or closely watch them. The arc of their careers sent each to trailblazing heights: Kagan as the first woman to be dean of Harvard Law School and Obama as the first African-American in the White House.
Obama and Kagan “do seem to have similar takes on the court, a moderate-progressive view that the courts can play a useful, progressive role, but it needs to be constrained,’’ said Geoffrey R. Stone, professor and former dean of the University of Chicago Law School, who knew both Obama and Kagan when they taught in Chicago. “My guess is, if they were voting on cases as justices, they probably would be very similar.’’
Former University of Chicago law professor Albert Altschuler called both Obama and Kagan “lawyers’ lawyers.’’ Their approach is, “here’s a legal problem — let’s see if I can solve it,’’ said Altschuler, who taught with Kagan.
Many presidents of the past have nominated friends and associates to the high court. President Lincoln named his former campaign manager to the high court, and Andrew Jackson appointed several friends to the Supreme Court.
Franklin D. Roosevelt picked his Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, William O. Douglas; Harry S. Truman named his attorney general, Tom C. Clark; and Lyndon Johnson picked his friend Abe Fortas, although Fortas’s later nomination to be promoted to chief justice was filibustered by the Senate.
But the practice of nominating friends has been less common in recent years, according to Fred McClure, a Washington-based lawyer who shepherded three Reagan and Bush administration nominees through their confirmations. Then-President George W. Bush in 2005 tried to revive the practice by nominating his friend, White House counsel Harriet Miers — only to have her withdraw amid an uproar about her qualifications.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, dismissing suggestions by some conservatives that the pick of Kagan amounted to cronyism, said he has “a hard time understanding the analogy’’ between Miers and Kagan, citing Kagan’s time as dean at Harvard Law and solicitor general.
Var: 3 morts au cours d'activités nautiques
Un homme d'une soixantaine d'années et une femme de 47 ans sont morts dans deux accidents de plongée sous-marine distincts, à Saint-Raphaël (Var), d'après l'AFP. L'homme a eu un malaise vendredi vers 18h30 au cours d'une plongée à 40 mètres de profondeur. Les pompiers n'ont pas réussi à le ramener à la vie. La femme, elle, a aussi eu un malaise, mais dans la zone des 20 mètres, samedi vers 10h30. Par ailleurs, samedi en début d'après-midi, un équipier de la Société nationale de sauvetage en mer (SNCM) est mort à la suite d'un malaise au cours d'une plongée sous-marine à La Seyne-sur-Mer, a indiqué la préfecture de la Méditerranée. Les trois enquêtes ont été confiées à la gendarmerie maritime.
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