In Madrid, thousands of demonstrators defied a ban on protests

AFP - Thousands of people packed the Puerta del Sol in Madrid hosted Friday at midnight by a "silent scream" to protest the ban, noting the 12 strokes of the clock one minute of silence symbolic ribbons of tape stuck on the mouth.

At exactly midnight, hit an impressive silence for a few seconds on the main square in the heart of the Spanish capital, crowded as the streets around.

The demonstrators, who occupied the premises since Tuesday when they planted a village of tents and tarpaulins, and have welcomed the truce that prohibits any political rally on the eve of local elections.

Then, very quickly, the seizures returned, amid percussion: "Now we're all illegal," shouted the crowd, estimated at 19.000 people according to a statement submitted to the agency Efe by a specialized company.

The police presence remained quiet, with only a few police cars parked in surrounding streets.

The organizers of the movement, born earlier this week to protest unemployment and the fallout from the economic crisis, had warned they were ready to defy the ban.

"We will stay on the site.This is not an event but a citizens' movement, had said Friday morning Juan Lopez, an unemployed 30-year and one of the spokespersons of the movement.

Two days ahead of local elections disastrous for the ruling Socialists, the government, very embarrassed, promised to act with restraint while "applying the law, which requires respect for the electoral truce.

Since Tuesday, the spontaneous movement brings together a mosaic of young people but also people from all backgrounds and all ages, unemployed, students, retirees, employees who took possession of the place.

Unique, colorful and pacifist movement, on behalf of the "right to be indignant," wants to be "apolitical" and denounced the collage stranglehold of the major parties on Spanish politics, social injustice, the "corruption of politicians ".

More importantly, it betrays the frustration of millions of Spaniards who face unemployment reached a record high of 21.19% and strikes nearly half the age of 25, salary cuts, fallout from the economic crisis.

The determination of the demonstrators on the eve of the weekend election, puts the government in a difficult position, forcing him to choose between a police very risky, or a flexibility that would surely earn him criticism.

"We will apply the law to guarantee the rights and freedom of all citizens," said Friday, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba.

The head of government Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has assured him that the government would show "understanding".

Throughout the week, protesters have gathered every day more numerous at the Puerta del Sol. The movement, to a lesser extent, has won most of the cities of Spain.And in a few days, it was structured.

A camp of plastic sheeting mounted on wooden structures and tents popped up on the spot, with "pit" dedicated to cooking, hospitality, health care, and also communication where any new "spokesperson" are trying to refine the message, sometimes blurry, of protesters.

In the queue in front of the booth dedicated to the signing of the petition of support, Maria Jesus Garcia, an employee of 40 years, told Friday it coming "because of unemployment. Especially the young."

"I will read the petition, and I'll sign," she said. "But they must continue after the elections. If they stop, it will be worth nothing."

Bin Laden enjoyed support in Pakistan, according to Obama

Barack Obama has revived debate on Sunday on the thesis of a possible government complicity in Islamabad about the presence of Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil until his death on May 1, during a raid U.S. special forces.

"The Pakistani government must initiate an investigation"

The U.S. president said on CBS that the leader of al-Qaeda most likely disposed of support in Pakistan and urged the Pakistani government to investigate the subject.

"We think there should be a network of support in one form or another, for bin Laden inside Pakistan," he said in a television interview aired Sunday night on the show " 60 Minutes "CBS.

"But we do not know where," he added. We do not know if there could be people [who helped bin Laden, ed] within or outside the government.We need to investigate it and, more importantly, the Pakistani government must initiate an investigation. "

The founder of Al Qaeda, who masterminded the attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States, was killed on May 1 by U.S. special forces in his cache of Abbottabad, about sixty miles from the Pakistani capital Islamabad.

The Americans want to interrogate the three widows of bin Laden captured in Abbottabad

Prior to the release of about Barack Obama, the U.S. administration, it seems, spared its ally Pakistan by saying it did not have evidence to suggest that Islamabad qu'Ousama knew bin Laden was living in a city stationed nearby before his death.

"I can tell you frankly that I have seen no evidence to suggest that political leaders, military or intelligence services were aware of [the hiding place] bin Laden," said Tom Donilon, Counsellor national security of the White House during the show "Meet the Press" on NBC.

The hiding of the head of Al-Qaeda must "be an investigation," but he had added.

"The Pakistanis have said they would open an investigation, said Donilon. It is a very important issue in Pakistan at this time. How does this have happened in Pakistan? We have to investigate that.We must work with the Pakistanis. "

Pakistani authorities, he added, must provide U.S. authorities with the information they have gathered in the residence where bin Laden was killed, and enable them to meet his three widows who are currently detained in Pakistan.

Islamabad has already promised an investigation

On Monday, Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani could deliver clarification on this point during his speech to parliament in Islamabad.

And its ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani, has promised in the show "This Week" ABC that the Pakistani authorities would take action after investigation.

"Heads Will Roll, once the investigation is completed, he said.If proven incompetence, we'll tell you. But if, and God forbid, complicity are unearthed, we will apply the principle of zero tolerance. "

Despite the difficult relations between Washington and Islamabad, "we work closely with Pakistan in the cons-terrorism, said his side Tom Donilon.There were more terrorists and extremists captured or killed in Pakistan than in any other country "

American suspicions about the Pakistani intelligence

Pakistan, heavily dependent on billions of dollars of U.S. aid, is under pressure to explain how Bin Laden has been living so long in a garrison town so close to the capital without being flushed.

These questions reinforce the doubts about the relationship that could keep members of Pakistani intelligence (ISI) with Islamic extremists.

Pakistan vehemently denies any complicity and states have paid a heavy price for supporting the U.S. offensive launched after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Officials said Pakistani security service, the head of al-Qaeda could have lived more than seven years in Pakistan before he was killed on May 1 by U.S. commandos.

One of the widows of bin Laden told investigators that he had spent about two and a half years in a Pakistani village before moving to Abbottabad.

This woman, Amal Ahmed Abdoulfattah, said the leader of Al Qaeda and its relatives had lived five years in Abbottabad.

Donilon said Sunday that the death of Osama bin Laden was a "real blow" to Al Qaeda.

"With the measures we have taken during the assault on the home run against Pakistan and the death of Osama bin Laden, they are even more vulnerable," he said.

Washington said Saturday that the complex where bin Laden lived Ouassama housed a "command post and Active Control" operations of Al Qaeda.

"It sounds ridiculous, responded Sunday a senior Pakistani intelligence. He did not seem in the process of directing a terrorist network."

"That's bullshit," added a senior Pakistani security services asked about the active role played by bin Laden since Abbottabad.

LIBYA: UN calls for end to hostilities in Misrata

The international community mobilized Thursday to help the people of Misrata, Libyan city besieged by the forces of Colonel Gaddafi that Washington once again called upon to relinquish power.

While the front line between rebel and loyalist forces has stabilized over the last week in the region of Brega (east), the town of Misrata, shelled relentlessly for a month and a half by the regular army, is now the object of attention.

Following in the footsteps of NATO, which has made Misrata his "number one priority," the UN has called for a cessation of hostilities around the city.

"The situation on the ground is critical for a large number of people who are in immediate need of food, water and emergency medical assistance," said assistant general secretary of the UN Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos. "The ability to leave the city is now a matter of life or death."

Rebels and humanitarian alert for weeks the international community to the plight of some 300,000 inhabitants of this city, several hundred were killed or wounded by fighting in their view.

The rebel military commander, Gen. Abdel Fattah Younes, was charged Tuesday in very harsh terms the Atlantic Alliance to "let people die of Misrata.More generally, he expressed his disappointment at the action of NATO, which took control of military operations last Thursday.

Piqued, NATO had promised to "do everything possible to protect civilians in Misrata," according to a UN mandate, but stressed that the Gaddafi regime was using human shields, making air strikes delicate.

To relieve the population will be replenished Misrata by the Sea by insurgents from Benghazi, 260 nautical miles (480 km) further east, had said Wednesday the French Minister of Defence Gerard Longuet.

"Previously, the reading of the embargo was that no boat could not supply any city," he said.

In the military port of Benghazi two fishing vessels and a tug waiting on Thursday that the swell to head back to Misrata calm, despite the firing forces of Tripoli, according to an AFP journalist on the spot.

"We sent the first ships a month ago. We are in contact with Misrata by satellite phone. They tell us what they need, if we find we can and organized convoys of ships," explains the AFP Captain Mustapha Omar.

"The first trips, we have not had any problems. Then we have repeatedly had to turn back because of the warships of Gaddafi.But the French navy has escorted two weeks ago, one of our boats, "said Capt. Omar." That we will never forget. "

The U.S. has meanwhile rejected curtly demands of Colonel Gaddafi, who in a long letter urged Washington to end the allied air strikes by the U.S. media.

"There is no mystery about what is expected to present Mr.Gaddafi, "retorted the chief diplomat Hillary Clinton at a press conference:" Earlier the bloodshed cease, and the better for everybody. "

Gaddafi should opt for a cease-fire, withdrawal of his troops, and "a decision must be made for its departure from power and (...) leaving Libya," she insisted.

The U.S. military had withdrawn Monday that fighter jets were involved in the international operation in Libya.It should now provide more than had intended to conduct air refueling missions as well as jamming and surveillance.

The next meeting of the Contact Group on Libya-established to ensure "political leadership" from the international civilian and military action in Libya, with Nato for "arm" - will be held April 13 in Doha, said Thursday the head of French diplomacy, Alain Juppe.

The Libyan regime, target since February 15 of a popular uprising that turned into a civil war, said he was ready for dialogue provided that the rebels disarm.

On Wednesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaaim, accused British forces of bombing oil installations in the field of Al-Sarir (southeast). These strikes have killed three and wounded and material damage on the pipeline leading to the oil port of Tobruk controlled by the rebels, he said.

The previous day, a tanker had left the region of Tobruk with the first shipment of oil under rebel control since the airstrikes began mid-March.

FRANCE: Two French planes of humanitarian aid towards Benghazi

AFP - Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Monday morning that two French planes were leaving "in a few hours" to Benghazi, a city in eastern Libya in the hands of opponents of Colonel Gaddafi, referring to the beginning of a humanitarian operation " massive. "

"In a few hours, two planes will leave for Benghazi at the request of the French government with doctors, nurses, medical equipment, drugs. It will be the beginning of a massive humanitarian support to people in the liberated territories," he saidFillon on RTL.

Sunday, Washington, for his part said to be "ready" to provide "any assistance" to opponents of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.

According to a report Sunday in the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a total of 256 people were killed and 2,000 injured in Benghazi (1,000 km east of Tripoli), second largest city which is part of the challenge People on February 17.

And if the insurgency has managed to prevent chaos, most shops remain closed, as well as schools, while the port's activity is limited to the evacuation of foreigners.

Extending his remarks on the popular uprisings underway in several Arab countries, Francois Fillon has also questioned the manner in which France and Europe could "help these revolutions (...), which are far from be accomplished to bring the Arab people towards democracy. "

"This is an immediate issue" because "if Tunisia does not quickly an example of a successful transition to democracy, so it's a terrible signal that is sent to all countries of the region with consequences that can be the return of the darkest forces, "he warned.

"The role of France is to help is to support, it support, including on economic and financial terms, these countries moving towards democracy," insisted Francois Fillon.

MIDDLE EAST: Iranian warships will make a "brief routine visit" in Syria

AFP - The visit of two Iranian warships in Syria is "routine" and will be "short term", said Sunday an Iranian diplomatic source told AFP. "It will be a routine visit, consistent with international law, which is part of cooperation between Iran and Syria," she said.

"The ships will remain a few days in the Syrian ports. The goal is to make training," the source said stressing that both countries were "bound by a strategic relationship."She says these warships have visited several countries including Oman and stopped in the port of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

Egypt has allowed two Iranian warships to transit the Suez Canal, announced Friday the official news agency MENA, the first since the Iranian Islamic revolution in 1979, which Israel described as a "provocation."

Mena said the application filed by the Iranian authorities stated that the two vessels were carrying any weapons or nuclear materials or chemical.

According to the official news agency Fars, the buildings in question are the Kharg, a supply ship and support of 33,000 tons, and Alvand, a patrol frigate, both of British construction.

The Kharg has a crew of 250 people and can accommodate up to three helicopters. The Alvand is armed with torpedoes and antiship missiles.

ALGERIA: After Tunisia and Egypt, the revolt of wind can blow on Algeria?

Several Algerian cities could be drama, February 12, events "for democratic change." In any case, the meaning of the appeal launched by an unprecedented coalition of political parties and civil society associations.

For the opponent Fodil Boumal, member of the National Coordination for Change and Democracy and host of the Facebook Res Publica II, "the goal is the break, leaving the government and the establishment of genuine democracy. " Objective has already struck the ban including brandished by the municipality in Algiers.The rally, however, must take place on May 1 instead of the center of the city.

A similar event has been held in Algiers in January at the invitation of an opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (RCD). Offset by a large police presence, protesters had not yet made not far away. Surrounded by police, 300 people were left stranded at the party headquarters.The opposition had complained about forty injured in the clashes that followed as authorities were seven police officers injured.

A call that leaves some skeptical observers

Hafidh Daamache, deputy editor of the newspaper El-Khabar Arabic expression, is skeptical about the success of a new event, banned in the capital. "Here, people think for themselves, their housing, their jobs." Northern residents more mobilized - particularly the people of Kabylie - fail to enter the capital, he says. "The place from May 1 can be locked with 300 policemen. And the road to Algiers entries are few and easy to hang.On the east entrance, there are at least five dams. "

Organizers concede: "If we compare with Tunisia and Egypt, it will not Tahrir Square," says in a burst of laughter Abdelmoumen Khelil, Secretary General of the Algerian League of Human Rights.

Optimistic, yet it ensures that the dynamics of the opposition is changing. "The Coordination brings together people who are not accustomed to talk together," says Fodil Boumal."The event is already a success, having attracted a mobilization, the vibrancy of public debate, is already a victory," added Khelil Abdelmoumen.

Algeria can it be carried away by the momentum of Tunisia?

In a country where the opposition is very divided and difficult to mobilize, the very fact that different movements together like a step forward. Journalist Nicole Chevillard, Algeria specialist and editor of the journal International Risk, remains doubtful. She notes that already, the organizing movement splits. "There are so divisive. The power to manipulate public opinion by using false pretenses and avatars for years.This explains the distrust of the Algerians, "she says.

Although the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings have marked the minds of activists, all agree, however, assert that the Algerian situation is too different to be compared. "In Algeria, the issue is not so much that people can not speak, but nobody listens," explains Nicole Chevillard.

She remains surprised by the multiplication of sacrifices that followed the suicide by fire of Mohammed Bouazizi Tunisia. "It is not at all part of local culture, or Arabic also!" She says.Sign of discouragement which would have reached its climax, these acts of desperation he could agree with those who ensures that Algeria is living a real change? "At the stage where is Algeria, it will take time, says Khelil Abdelmoumen. But people would like that to change."

EGYPT: Negotiations begin between the regime and opposition

AFP - The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the main components of the Egyptian opposition, announced in a statement on the night from Saturday to Sunday to have decided to "initiate dialogue" with the heads of power "to find out how they are willing to accept the demands of the people. "

A Hizbullah official told AFP on condition of anonymity that "a meeting is scheduled between officials of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Vice-President Omar Suleiman," without specifying the date.

"Desiring to preserve the interests of the nation and its institutions and concerned with preserving the country's independence and their rejection of any international or regional interference in our internal affairs, we decided to start a dialogue session to see how they are willing to accept the demands of the people. "

Brothers and want to distance itself from Iran in particular has called for the establishment of an Islamic regime in Egypt.

Leaders of the movement have repeatedly said this week that the Muslim Brotherhood "will not" present a candidate in upcoming presidential elections scheduled for September.

Mr. Sulaiman announced Thursday that the Muslim Brothers were invited to the dialogue that began with representatives of various political forces on democratic reforms.He said that "it is a valuable opportunity" for the Islamist movement.

This is the first time that the Egyptian regime called the Brothers, his nemesis, the dialogue to find a solution to the unprecedented popular protest that has continued for 12 days demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.

Mr.Suleiman met in recent days several prominent independent and opposition to discuss ways to end the political crisis facing the country.

The most prominent opponent in Egypt, the former director general of the International Agency for Atomic Energy Mohamed ElBaradei, was not invited to the dialogue so far.

He demanded a resignation of President Mubarak before any dialogue on the country's political future.

INTERNET: How Ben Ali was trying to identify users of Facebook

"We had never encountered a security problem of scale that took place in Tunisia." Facebook has detailed this weekend, he led the battle to counter attempts by the regime of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali to retrieve the identifiers of users of the famous Tunisian social network during the unrest that led to the leakage the former president. A communication operation that gives, of course, the handsome star at the role of Web 2.0, but also casts a harsh light on how the authority was trying to control access to the Net.

In an interview on Monday, the American cultural monthly "The Atlantic", Joe Sullivan, the head of security within Facebook, talks about the incident.It all began during the holiday season, says he. Many users complain Tunisian then seeing their Facebook account deleted.

Tunisian Internet by boiling following the immolation of young Mohamed Bouazizi, Sidi Bouzid, December 17, fear of censorship. At first, Facebook can not identify the problem.

Apolitical posture

Ultimately, it will take about ten days the team of Joe Sullivan to understand what's happening in the country. "The main service provider (ISP) [Tunisia] had established an unprecedented system for recovering logins and passwords for Tunisians registered on Facebook," said one.The social network accuses unnamed Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI) to have engaged the pleasure of hacker crime.

The organization, under the Ministry of Telecommunications, was injected on the login page to Facebook a cookie to save the email address and password that users wrote in logging.

Malicious code online

To circumvent the problem, Facebook has implemented a secure login page (one address "https" instead of "http") for all Tunisians. The user who wanted access to their account should also confirm his identity by answering a security question.Two steps, by Joe Sullivan, were sufficient to prevent the regime of Ben Ali can delete or edit their Facebook accounts.

The firm of Mark Zuckerberg has therefore been drawn into a major political event. "We decided to treat this as a mere technical problem and keep an apolitical stance," said Ted Sullivan, however. That is why the American group waited until the former president Ben Ali stepped down to reveal the story.

This episode confirms, in any event, the tight control on the Net Tunisian denounced for months by both Tunisian and by international organizations to defend freedom of expression.In July 2010, the Internet and Global Voices was moved to an attempt by authorities to retrieve the identifiers of the subscribers to Gmail, Google's e-mail.

January 3, malicious code intended to allow Tunisian government to control access to Gmail, Yahoo Mail and Facebook have even been published on the Internet.