JAPAN: A month after the earthquake, the Japanese pay homage to victims

"The country is not able today to organize ambitious events, so they are quite intimate ceremonies taking place today," said FRANCE 24 correspondent found in Japan, Marie Linton.

On Monday, one month to the day after the magnitude 9 quake and tsunami occurred on March 11 giants, a minute's silence was observed in the north-east by the survivors and rescuers at 2:46 p.m. (5:46 GMT). At the exact time of the first quake, sirens sounded and the local population was immobilized to honor the victims.

According to the latest report from the authorities, at least 27,000 people died or disappeared in the disaster, and 150,000 people were left homeless.

Members who participate in rescue and search for bodies of victims have interrupted their work to this tribute before resuming operations as soon as the minute's silence ended.

"We saw last month: the Japanese are collected, but also very modest in the way they express their pain," reflects Mary Linton. "But they will long remember the disaster, the worst ever for the islands since the Second World War," she says.

Fukushima always worries

One month after the earthquake, the situation remains precarious in the country. Since March 11, Japan was hit by several aftershocks.On Monday, a new tremor of 7.1 magnitude shook the north-east and a new tsunami warning has been run before being lifted soon after.

Especially, the situation remains worrisome in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (No. 1), 250 kilometers north of Tokyo, where the six reactors were decommissioned by the tsunami on 11 March. The waters had broken their power and embedded generators. The following days, the nuclear fuel was heated, causing an explosion of buildings and, ultimately, a leak of radioactivity.

A month later, experts believe that the worst was avoided, although the situation remains precarious."We saw no signs of real improvement," worries the Japanese media on Monday. Indeed, the Japanese authorities and utility Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) have not yet managed to fully control the situation. According to Japanese media, the authorities are even considering expanding the exclusion zone around the plant because of high levels of radioactivity.

Questioned by AFP, an industrial sector said that the staff working on the central act "in a rugged environment that does not work in normal conditions." He said "it will take weeks if not months to achieve proper control over the situation."

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.

THEATRE: Men, Gods and Caesar ...

With 11 nominations at the 36th ceremony of Caesar, the film by Xavier Beauvois' Of Men and Gods "collect in advance the honors of the profession that brand again its distance from the box office by ignoring" Little Tissues "from Guillaume Canet and "Camping 2" Fabien Onteniente.

After a great year for cinema hexagonal (over 206 million cinema admissions, 35% for French films), appointments spend yet most beautiful successes of 2010, "Potiche" to "Tour "from" The Heartbreaker "to" The Ghost Writer "by Roman Polanski.

The Academy of Caesar accompanies the unexpected triumph of the film by Xavier Beauvois (more than 3 million viewers), already crowned by the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes, "Of Men and Gods," which recounts the fate of the monks of Tibehirine , abducted and murdered in Algeria in 1996, is quoted in ten categories.

It is proposed to Cesar for best film, best director, best original screenplay, best sound, picture editing, best costumes, sets, best actor Lambert Wilson and twice for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Michael Lonsdale and Olivier Rabourdin.

Nominees in major categories:

Best Film
"The Heartbreaker" by Pascal Chaumeil, "The Name of the people" by Michel Leclerc, "The Ghost Writer" by Roman Polanski; "Tour" Mathieu Amalric, "Of Men and Gods" by Xavier Beauvois; "Gainsbourg, life heroic "by Joann Sfar;" Mammuth "Benoit Delepine and Gustave Kervern.Dr. Nolan, "The Social Network" by David Fincher, "Invictus" by Clint Eastwood, "Bright Star" by Jane Campion; "Heartbeats" by Xavier Dolan, "In his eyes" by Juan Jose Campanella; "Illegal" d Olivier Masset Depasse.

Best First Film
Simon Werner disappeared "Fabrice Gobert," The Heartbreaker "by Pascal Chaumeil," Gainsbourg, heroic life "by Joann Sfar;" All That Glitters "Géraldine Nakache
"Turk's Head" by Pascal Elbe

A Caesar of honor will be awarded by the Academy to the American director Quentin Tarantino during the Feb. 25 ceremony will be broadcast live at 21:00 Clear Channel Canal +.

G20 SUMMIT: The French presidency is trying to defuse controversy

In Paris, during the G20 summit, he will essentially issue of imbalances in the global economy. But the G20 central bankers will also discuss raw materials and exchange rate policy.

For two days, finance ministers of the club of the 20 richest states accompanied by the presidents of their respective central banks will try to harmonize their violins.But political differences and strong business fueled by the turmoil caused by the economic crisis may clutter the discussion.

The three points of contention that the G20 Finance:

- The global economic imbalances

One of the issues of this summit is to assess the reality of economic disparity between the G20 countries to better redistribute the fruits of global growth. The goal is laudable, but to reach the participants at the G20 in Paris will have to agree on concrete indicators.

This is where things could get tougher.Five possible criteria have been identified: current account balance, real exchange rates, foreign exchange reserves, deficit and public debt, and private savings. One particularly problematic: the balance of current accounts in which the trade balance plays an important role. States like China or Germany fear that eventually they blame their strong exports. The French Minister of Economy Christine Lagarde, has already started clearing the ground Thursday at a conference in Paris organized by the Institute of International Finance. "What we do not want is to tell any country: stop being competitive, stop exporting," she said.It evokes rather "guidelines" ... more consensual and more blurred.

- The regulation of commodity markets

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will hold. He wants to make the fight against speculation in commodity markets its workhorse at the head of the G20. "There will be a debate about it," he confirmed the French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.

But the debate is likely to be stormy, for the role of speculation in the surge in commodity prices is not consensus. Early 2011, a study by the European Commission concluded that there was no correlation between the two.Countries like Brazil and Argentina, leading producers of raw materials are, moreover, strongly opposed to regulation of prices and fear that France is trying to impose one. So, Christine Lagarde had again put water into wine Nicolas Sarkozy. "It does not propose a price administration, not at all," she said without specifying what France wanted.

- Policy Exchange

The war being waged for nearly a year the United States and China on the undervaluation of the yuan remains a central concern. In this regard, Christine Lagarde reiterated that China "should let its currency appreciate more freely."But for Beijing not to input summit in the dock, she returned with another idea to which China is more favorable.

So France should advocate a greater role for the Yuan. It should propose that the Chinese currency is part of IMF's currency basket - called Special Drawing Right - which is replacing gold in large international transactions. One way for France to indicate that the Chinese currency should be treated with the same consideration as the dollar.

EGYPT: Noor, the miracle of Egyptian Web

Since Thursday night, almost full (about 90%) of the Web is hamstrung by the Egyptian authorities. But Noor, an Internet service provider (ISP), appears to have passed between the cracks. Even if the connection is erratic hosted sites, the vast majority of websites hosted by the Egyptian ISPs are always accessible.

This preferential treatment has prompted many reactions on Twitter, where users Egyptian argue that maintaining the sites hosted by Noor is a partnership between the company to the authorities in Cairo.Although it is not a public company, Noor is one of the figureheads of technological development desired by the Mubarak government and has signed many trade agreements with major economic entities.

In August 2004, in an interview published by the newspaper "Al-Mougaz" and taken over by the "newsletter" of the ISP, its founder, Basel Dalloul, welcomed the success of his group, four years after its launch: "The Egyptian government asked me five years ago to seek investment opportunities in the framework of President Mubarak of Egypt to the 'hub' of information technology."

A cog in the Egyptian economy

Oil companies Egyptian General Petroleum Company (EGPC) and ExxonMobil, among others, use the services of Noor, like the Egyptian Exchange. Although it is not the market leader among users "lambda" Noor is through these partnerships, a significant cog in the economy.

This strategic deployment, begun by the group since the early 2000s, is the brainchild of Basel Dalloul. The latter, who just resell Magnet Interactive Group after having been in ten years, a respected technology sector, decided to answer the call of the Egyptian government.His first challenge: to democratize the use of Internet in a country where the Web is still confidential and where it is estimated the total number of Internet users within 500 000.

Developed through a partnership with Telecom Egypt, Noor, founded in 2000, moved quickly to a vast majority of users access the Web Basic (dial-up), via telephone lines from the incumbent operator in Egypt.

A service that will eventually give up, because of the large number of licenses granted by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to ISPs.

Supplier of Coca-Cola, Toyota and Nestle

Beginning in 2004, while operators like Orascom, getting down to expand their services to individuals, Noor establishes partnerships with many market players in the country. It now provides internal access to the Internet to many groups based in Egypt, including Coca-Cola, Toyota, Renault, Mitsubishi, FedEx, Nestle, Bristol Myers or Lafarge.

Today, the park Egyptian Internet has grown considerably and is flirting with the 17 million users, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).And since Thursday evening, the four main providers of Internet access, Link Egypt, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone / Raya, and Etisalat Misr had their broadband networks suspended. Only a few lines "dial-up seem to escape the blackout. ADSL proposed by Noor, meanwhile, is still "online" yet.