EGYPT: Parliamentary elections held in September

AFP - The first parliamentary elections since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak held next September in Egypt, but the date of presidential elections has not yet been set, said Monday a senior military official.

"The elections will be held in September," he told reporters Gen. Mamdouh Shahin, a member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (AFSC), in a formal announcement on that date.

He added that the date of the presidential election would be announced later. The date of the election for the presidency "is not defined.We must keep the law and when that is done we will announce the president, "he said.

The AFSC provides leadership in the country since the February 11 resignation of President Hosni Mubarak last under the pressure of the street.

After the departure of Mr.Mubarak, the army had given an indicative timetable of six months to organize legislative and presidential for a return to civilian rule.

This time, however, was considered by many personalities as too short to ensure a genuine democratic transition.

Egypt has already organized the March 19 referendum to revise the Egyptian Constitution, which was widely endorsed by 77% of voters.

The last legislative elections were held in November and December 2010. They had resulted in a landslide victory of the party of Mr.Mubarak, but the most important opposition groups have withdrawn, denouncing massive fraud.

The Egyptian parliament has been dissolved in the wake of the departure of Mr. Mubarak.

Syria: The power refers to the end of the state of emergency in force since 1963

AFP - Syria, which considers the demands of his people "legitimate", plans to cancel the law on state of emergency and will establish mechanisms "effective" to fight against corruption, said Thursday Boussaïna Shaaban Councillor of President Bashar al-Assad.

This statement came as Syria was the scene since March 15 of a protest movement against the regime, especially in the south, which killed more than a hundred dead by militants of Human Rights .

The official news agency announced at the same time an immediate increase in salaries of 30%.

"Syria will consider revocation of the law on the state of emergency" declared in the country coming to power of the Baath party in 1963, said Ms. Boussaïna at a press conference in Damascus.

She added that "new mechanisms to fight against corruption will be established."

The claims of the inhabitants of Dera southern city where demonstrations against the regime are the most important are "legitimate," she said otherwise.

"The claims are important and legitimate.They are on the desk of President Bashar al-Assad and Syrian leaders, "she said.

However, she wanted to make the distinction between the inhabitants of Deraa and "people who have guns (and) have no claim (who) are just trying to cause violence."

"I can say with certainty that those affected are not the people of Deraa but those who want to destabilize the security Deraa prior to destabilize security in the entire country," she said.

"If there are legitimate demands of the people, then the authorities will consider seriously but if someone just wants to cause trouble, then that's another story."

She reported an "ongoing investigation" to determine who were responsible for these events, however, speaking of "financing" foreign ".

"There are indications that there are foreign funding and arms trafficking (...) But we can say that finance or planning it," she said.

Regarding the number of deaths since March 15, she has previously indicated that there had been "10 deaths".

Activists defending human rights talk to them more than 100 deaths in the repression of demonstrations for one day Wednesday Deraa (100 km south of Damascus).

Ms. Boussaïna criticized the foreign media of exaggerating the death toll in the demonstrations.

"The problem is that some media outlets want to exaggerate the number of dead," she said at the press conference.

The authorities charged Wednesday in clashes Wednesday in Deraa an "armed gang", accusing him of killing four people and "to store weapons in the mosque," al-Omari, a rallying point for protesters.

The protest movement began on March 15 in Syria following a call via a Facebook page titled "Revolution against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2011.

This page has called for new protests Friday in the country.

A runoff between the candidates for Martelly and Manigat

AFP - The Haitians had to go to the polls Sunday for the second round of presidential elections that must decide the singer Michel Martelly and intellectual Mirlande Manigat.

More than three months after a first round that was almost canceled due to fraud, the second round could take place in some confusion after the triumphant return Friday in Haiti of former President Jean Aristide, who worries the West.

This introduces an additional unknown back in the already complex equation of Haitian politics, many supporters of Mr.Aristide likely to boycott the polls.

The other unknown factor remains the participation of some 800,000 Haitians still living in makeshift camps after the earthquake that devastated the city and its province January 12, 2010.

Also returned to Haiti in the inter-turn after 25 years of exile in France, the former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier had complicated the political game.He is pursued by the Haitian justice for corruption and endorsed by several complaints of crimes against humanity.

According to a poll released last Thursday, Michel Martelly, right-wing populist better known by his stage name "Sweet Micky", would win on Sunday with 53.4% ​​of the vote against 46.6% only to Ms. Manigat.

The former first lady aged 70 years could not pronounce her last Friday night campaign speech because of a blackout during his last campaign rally in Port-au-Prince.

Participation is notoriously weak in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, and makes any predictions very difficult: only 23% of registered voters had moved in the first round, Nov. 28, to decide the initial 18 candidates.

In a country without an army and controlled by UN peacekeepers, the Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon expressed hope Saturday that the vote takes place "in a calm and peaceful."

Preliminary results will be announced March 31 and final results on April 16. The roughly 4.7 million voters must also choose their senators and deputies Sunday.

The first round results announced in early December had resulted in violence that left several dead.

COTE D'IVOIRE: deadly fighting continues in Abidjan and the west

Heavy fighting erupted Wednesday in the town of Duekoue in central-western Côte d'Ivoire, killing at least two deaths, while five people were killed in Abidjan.

The rebels supporting Alassane Ouattara, recognized by the international community as the winner of the presidential election on Nov. 28, rejected any involvement in the clashes in central-west.

Residents of Duékoué reported several hours of clashes in the city, the scene of tension for years, but remained under the control of supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo out since the end of the 2002-2003 civil war which had cut the country in two.

The rebel forces that dominated the North during the civil war now argue the former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara. They have threatened to push southward to force Gbagbo to step down.

Security in Abidjan, economic capital, has rapidly deteriorated since gunmen loyal to Ouattara took control of the northern suburbs.Of the pro-Gbagbo responded by establishing roadblocks and killing those they suspect of being rebels.

The fighting has spread in recent days to areas hitherto spared.

Witnesses reported that security forces had launched an operation against supporters of Ouattara and suspected rebels in Williamsville and Port Bouet 2, neighborhoods west of Abidjan, killing at least three people.

There is shooting everywhere, reported Alidou Dao, a resident of Port Bouet 2. Many people leave, "he added.

A resident of Williamsville said he saw his neighbor down the street and two others taken from their home by uniformed men who then murdered.A spokesman for the police could not be contacted immediately.

According to Human Rights Watch, the atrocities committed by forces loyal to Gbagbo have been organized on such a scale that they could constitute war crimes, but men supporting Ouattara has also been accused of executions.

Police fire

A Attécoubé, near the center of Abidjan, where the mission is based peacekeeping UN (UNOCI), young pro-Ouattara attacked and torched a police station and two of them were killed by gunfire from police trying to repel the assault, reported a witness, Junior Seiba.

Calm returned after the fighting in Duekoue, but thousands of people fled to seek refuge at the Catholic mission, reported one resident.

There was fighting in other towns in the west of the country since the presidential election but Duekoue is a strategic town on the road leading to the main cocoa producing regions.

Referring to a grenade attack that killed one person and injuring 18, UNOCI Wednesday called for stopping the escalation of violence.

Doctors Without Borders, for its part warned that the crisis sharply reduced access to healthcare for the population.

Tuesday, Alassane Ouattara, Gbagbo has warned that the offer of honorable exit made a few days ago by the African Union (AU) was his "last chance" to leave power smoothly.

He also urged the security forces supporting Gbagbo to switch sides to end a crisis that risks plunging the country into another civil war.

Laurent Gbagbo, in power since 2000, refuses to give his presidential chair and relies on the Defence Forces and Security (SDS) to break any challenge.

Friday, Gbagbo's camp had rejected a proposal to Addis Ababa by a panel of African heads of state mandated by the AU and of putting up a
national unity government led by Alassane Ouattara.Gbagbo found himself at the same time provide a safe conduct if he would step down.

Taking note of the failure of Laurent Gbagbo, the AU had then demanded that Alassane Ouattara is installed in his functions as head of state.

AFGHANISTAN: Karzai calls on NATO to stop its military operations

AFP - Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday asked its NATO allies to cease their military operations in the country to avoid killing civilians, while traveling in the east where foreign soldiers are accused of several recent blunders .

This is the first time Mr. Karzai came to power by the West in late 2001 but continues to report civilian casualties burrs on the strength of NATO, calling for a drastic measure to its allies.

His spokesman, Omer Waheed, however relativized statements after this intervention: it estimated that Mr.Karzai had only to ask again for NATO to cease operations that kill civilians, usually air strikes and targeted raids against suspected rebels.

Asked in the afternoon by AFP, the international force from NATO in Afghanistan (Isaf) did not wish to react to Mr. Karzai.

This statement of Afghan President comes two days after a loved one has been killed by international forces in the family stronghold located in the southern province of Kandahar.

Mr.Karzai was speaking Saturday to about 500 tribal leaders in Asadabad, capital of Kunar, a stronghold of Pakistan border where Taliban Kabul accuses NATO of killing 74 civilians in recent weeks.In the audience were also relatives of the victims of those bombings.

"On the occasion of this meeting I would ask NATO and the United States with honor and humility and without arrogance, to cease their operations in our country," he said, adding: "We are a very tolerant people, but our tolerance is wearing thin. "

The solution to the war against international terrorism "is not in our country" but "in the regions we have shamed for nine years, and they (NATO, ie) know themselves" saidKarzai.

The Afghan president has repeatedly in recent years to ask the international forces to attack Taliban insurgents rear bases overseas, including in neighboring Pakistan, not in Afghan villages.

To the audience, Mr. Karzai took in his arms a little girl's leg amputated after a NATO bombing, and began to cry."I want you to take pictures of this little girl and her injuries and that you show your authority," he told representatives of the NATO force on site:

"We thank the West and are happy with everything they have done for us. We do not complain if we are killed by terrorists, but if we are with our allies, we have the right to complain.How long will I continue to attend the funeral at the four corners of Afghanistan? If foreigners see us as their friends, they should not kill their friends, "he said.

Nearly 140,000 foreign soldiers, two thirds of Americans are deployed in the country to support the weak government of Mr. Karzai against the Taliban insurgency. NATO plans to transfer responsibility to Afghan forces for the security of the entire country by the end of 2014.

The EU underlines the role of women in the recent revolutions in Arab

AFP - Women played a "crucial role" in the changes taking place in Tunisia and Egypt, said Tuesday the head of European diplomacy and Ashton's Vice-President of the European Commission, Viviane Reding, on the occasion of International Women's Day.

"Women have played a crucial role in triggering the changes taking place in North Africa. In a climate of violence, they are engaged in the struggle for change," said the two European officials.

"We hope that the crucial role that women have played so far will be taken fully into account the institutional changes that are already discussed in the region.Women must be central to discussions on the new order that will be implemented, "they added.

Women defying stereotypes and taboos, have emerged as essential actors in the various uprisings that have shaken the Arab world's autocratic regimes.Whether in jeans and T-shirt or draped in black, tens of thousands of women have made their voices heard in the streets of Tunis, Cairo, Manama and Sana'a, demanding reforms in these countries.

In Bahrain, where thousands of demonstrators calling for the mainly Shiite dynasty fell of the Sunni Al-Khalifa, women have participated in mass mobilization, their traditional black abayas forming an ocean in events where men and women marched separately.

In conservative countries like Libya or Yemen, women have defied social norms to join the protest, marching through the streets and speaking openly to reporters in front of the camera.

Asma Mahfouz, a young Egyptian whose blog video calling for the mobilization was a huge success, is considered one of the voices that triggered the unprecedented revolt that led to the downfall of President Hosni Mubarak on February 11.

"Only by taking decisive action now we will ensure that women and girls for a future without discrimination or violence in a world with equal opportunities for all and all," felt especially Mrs Ashton Reding.

LIBYA: The insurgency continues to spread in the East

AFP - The Libyan insurgents, masters of the East, continued to rise Friday and claimed to have taken control of a strategic oil city, while police faced opposition in the streets of Tripoli.

A Libyan government source said that the West was "completely" under the control of the regime, but the east remained "problematic".

The insurgents said on Friday evening had taken control of Ras Lanuf, over 300 km south-west of Benghazi, a stronghold of the insurgency, after violent clashes with forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Ras Lanuf is an oil port, just a hundred miles of Sirte, the hometown and stronghold of Colonel Gaddafi, who has faced for more than two weeks to an unprecedented uprising since coming to power nearly 42 years ago.

In Ras Lanuf, a journalist from AFP saw the rebels positioned outside of the complex operations of oil Harouge, military barracks and police station, but it was not possible to confirm immediately whether the rebels controlled the entire residential areas.

"We took their barracks. The residential area is combed through" to find elements of the pro-Gaddafi, said a rebel fighters, Saleh Sultan.

"They fled like rabbits.When we started to move, they attacked us with Grad missiles and heavy weapons. But we kept going because we know that these are rats, "said another veteran, Abdelsalam.

A doctor reported "many casualties" in Ras Lanuf.

However, Zawiyah, about sixty miles west of Tripoli, could have been taken over by forces loyal to the Libyan regime. Fighting between the army have regular insurgents, making "many" casualties.

But a political activist Zawiyah, Mohammad Qasim, interviewed live on the Qatari channel Al-Jazeera, denied the fall of the city, while acknowledging that she was surrounded.

Sunday, anti-Gaddafi demonstrators took control of Zawiyah where they had demonstrated in their thousands against the regime during a press visit organized by the authorities. Fighting had taken place Feb. 24 in the city, leaving over 35 dead, according to the Libyan League for Human Rights.

Appeals were launched in Tripoli to take advantage of the Friday prayer and be heard in the capital, where the opposition has already tried last week to raise in several neighborhoods.

Near rebel Tajoura in the east of the capital, clashes between the forces of order to a hundred protesters chanting slogans against the regime.The police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, witnesses said.

On the Green Square, in downtown, hundreds of pro-Gaddafi expressed their support for the "Guide of the Revolution," an AFP journalist. Limited clashes took place between small groups of demonstrators pro and anti-Gaddafi nearby, said a witness.

The 18th day of revolt against the Libyan leader, the insurgents advancing along the coast after two days of fierce fighting, including at Brega.

"The plan is to move slowly in their direction to push them back. We do not want to fight, we want to impose psychological pressure (...).But if we must kill to win this battle, we will do, "he told AFP Colonel Bashir Abdelkader.

A little farther east, Captain al-Chouaib Akaki, who joined the opposition camp, worried at the idea of fighting to come, inevitably fratricide.

"We try to limit losses on both sides. In Libya, we are all parents. We are a nation of tribes. We all have family in Sirte," Colonel Gaddafi's stronghold situated between Tripoli and Benghazi, he said .

The opposition was also expressed in Benghazi to demand the departure of Colonel Gaddafi.Some 5,000 Libyans were requested by the court after a sermon in which the imam has promised that "victory is near".

In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday that the world was "disgusted" by the violence against the Libyans, warning that the United States were examining "all (their) options" in this crisis.

According to the Libyan League for Human Rights, the repression has already 6,000 dead.