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."

GERMANY: After 18 months of trial, the former Nazi Demjanjuk soon learn his fate

AFP - The last great trial of Nazi crimes in Germany draws to a close one against John Demjanjuk, accused of involvement in the Holocaust as an extermination camp guard, whose verdict could fall Thursday.

After some 18 months of trial, a court in Munich (south) should indicate whether such a stateless person of Ukrainian descent aged 91 years is complicit in the murder of nearly 27,900 Jews at the Sobibor camp (Poland), where he was in custody six months in 1943, prosecutors said.

But the uncertainty was still up Thursday morning: the court must first decide on a defense motion that wants to present new evidence before closing the debate, said prosecutors Wednesday.

The prosecutor demanded six years in prison on the 15 he faces a maximum.The accused, who has remained silent, denying the facts, and his defense has claimed the acquittal of the "victim of German justice."

The prosecution had no direct witness or document compromising, if not a map showing its quality SS guard at Sobibor, challenged by the defense as a fake from the Soviet era.

For defense, there is no evidence that Demjanjuk was at Sobibor, and if there was a soldier of the Red Army prisoner of the Nazis, he acted only under duress.

Whatever the outcome, this trial may leave a "general feeling of frustration" and suspicion "partial justice" if the direct participation of the accused is not shown, commented to AFP Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld.

Demjanjuk, who was expelled two years ago the United States where he lived since the '50s, after a long legal battle centered on his health is shaky saying, attended the debates stretcher or wheelchair, and has not say a word.

He has already served eight years in prison in Israel, accused of being a guard at the Treblinka camp under the nickname "Ivan the Terrible."Sentenced to death in 1988 he was acquitted by the Israeli Supreme Court because of doubts about his identity.

His trial will be one of the last Nazi crimes, with that of the Hungarian Sandor Kepiro, 97, who has just started in Budapest.

But after Germany, Spain wants to try him for having been a guard in another concentration camp where prisoners have died in Spain.

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.

FRANCE: Baptism of fire for Marine Le Pen's Parade FN 1-May

Marine Le Pen on Sunday urged the French to regain their "freedom" against the euro, globalization, immigration and insecurity in his first speech of May 1 as president of the National Front, before a crowd larger than last year.

"I am part of the historical struggles for freedom, fighting for millions of anonymous people who fell for her, Bouvines the Chemin des Dames, fighting major fates Republicans, Victor Schoelcher to Charles de Gaulle," he launched the President of the FN to his supporters gathered at Place des Pyramides Paris before the statue of Joan of Arc.

"Breaking the chains of the French people! Breaking the chains of denial," she added, asserting that "in a year," just days before the second round of presidential elections, "we'll just days before the spring of France! ".

The theme of freedom has returned to loop through the speech.

Marine Le Pen has called on France to "get rid of a European Union which has continued to weaken us and reduce our freedoms," then she slammed as usual Euro, "the collapse announced "would be taboo in public discourse.

Speaking of Frontex, the European structure responsible for auditing the EU borders, it launched "the house is open and we gave the keys to a stranger's garden (...) eager to see everyone settle in our house without our knowledge. "

Paying tribute to Joan of Arc, like his father years earlier, she drew a parallel between the Burgundians "in favor of annexation English" and that those "call now shills + +".

"After the debacle in France in 1940, as pacifism, but also the illusion of peace left to pay the price of the easement (...) Has led some to an unworthy French collaboration with the invader, "said Marine Le Pen, on the dais where leaders had taken up several of the FN, including Jean-Marie Le Pen, but not Gollnisch.

The parade before the speech was attended by 3,200 people between the police and 20,000 according to the FN. Numbers increased compared to last year (2,000 and 8,000 according to police by FN).

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.

BENIN: The UN, African Union and ECOWAS called for a postponement of the presidential

The UN, AU and ECOWAS called on Thursday for a second postponement of the presidential election scheduled for Sunday in Benin, including claimed by the opposition who claimed that more than one million voters were not registered .

A high level delegation of these three organizations, arrived Thursday in Cotonou to "inquire into the state of preparations for elections," made the announcement after talks with outgoing President Boni Yayi candidate and his main opponents and election officials.

"The delegation expressed its support for a postponement of a few days of the presidential election," said the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations West Africa, Said Djinnit, who read a joint declaration at a briefing.

The panel suggests that the vote be postponed until "a date that is consistent with the deadlines prescribed by the Constitution, including one on the inauguration of President of the Republic set for April 6, 2011.

With the approach of the vote, opposition, unions and civil society organizations have stepped up calls for a postponement, arguing that more than one million voters were not registered in the new electronic electoral register, with about 3.5 million enrolled.

Several demonstrations have taken place and many voters also said they did not always be in possession of their card.

A postponement would, according to the panel UN-AU-ECOWAS, "the finalization of the process of distributing electoral cards, completion of necessary measures by the (electoral commission), the appointment and training of all officers of polling stations' .

In addition to Mr.Djinnit, the delegation includes the Commissioner for Peace and Security of the AU, Ramtane Lamamra and Chairman of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Victor Gbeho.

The first round of presidential elections in the former French colony, originally scheduled on Feb. 27, has already been delayed one week due to delays in compiling the file.

The government has warned that a further postponement could cause a constitutional crisis.

The five-year term expires Boni Yayi on April 6 and the Basic Law provides that his successor is sworn by that date.If no candidate obtains an absolute majority, a sencond round must take place 15 days after the first, a very likely scenario according to observers.

The law also provides that the first round takes place 30 days before the end of the current presidential term, but ways to circumvent these requirements were already being examined Thursday at the parliament in particular.

Fourteen candidates are running for election, to be played mainly between the opponent and Yayi Adrien Houngbedji, who covets the presidency for twenty years. A third man, Abdoulaye Bio Tchane economist, could find themselves kingmaker.

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.

YEMEN: The opposition expressed its willingness to resume dialogue with the government

Reuters - Clashes erupted Sunday between Yemen security forces and anti-government protesters who tried to march on the presidential palace in Sanaa, witnesses said.

Shortly before the clashes, the opposition agreed to begin talks with Yemeni President Abdullah Saleh, who is trying to contain the wave of revolutions in the region.

"The Yemeni people want the fall of the regime", "the Yemeni revolution after the Egyptian revolution," chanted the protesters at the rally attended by 1,000 people.Some dozens of them are then posted to march on the presidential palace.

In early February, tens of thousands of people had "day of anger" organized by the opposition to demand a regime change.

Clashes broke out recently between supporters and opponents of the government.

According to opposition leaders, ten demonstrators were arrested in Sanaa, the capital, and 120 were detained for the night in the city of Taiz where authorities broke up a demonstration Saturday.

Four people were injured in Sanaa where the police beat protesters with sticks they threw stones, witnesses said.

Saleh, in power for over thirty years and fears the aftershocks of the unprecedented wave of protest that affects several countries of the Arab world, has pledged to leave office at the end of his term in 2013 and promised that his son will not head the government. He invited the opposition to the discussions.

"The opposition does not reject the invitation of the President and is ready to sign an agreement in less than a week," said former Foreign Minister, Mohammed Basindwa, now a member of the opposition.

The talks should be held under the auspices of the West or the Gulf, he added however.

Instability in Yemen could be a risk to political and security for the Gulf States.The United States also rely on Yemen to fight against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

EGYPT: Government resigns, protesters still in the street

Of army tanks positioned in the capital, paving stones littered with debris, the headquarters of the National Democratic Party (NDP) who is still smoking ... While traces of Friday's riots were still present in Cairo, thousands of protesters again gathered in the center of the Egyptian capital on Saturday morning. The speech by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who has notably announced the sacking of the government, did not appear sufficient to calm the anger of the population.

A speech "meaningless"

The resignation of the cabinet must be formally confirmed in the coming hours this Saturday, and Hosni Mubarak should then appoint the new prime minister. The government could be formed in the day.Leaving his silence Friday night, Hosni Mubarak assured, in a short speech, had "fully aware of the legitimate aspirations of the people."He also said he is determined to ensure stability.

In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, the opponent Mohamed el-Baradei, former Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), found the speech "meaningless" and called Hosni Mubarak from. "The Egyptian president has clearly not understood the message that emanated from the Egyptian people," he said. It was almost an insult to his intelligence. "

According to Egyptian expert Aklimandos Toufik, associate researcher at the contemporary history of the Arab world at the College de France, the speech contained no concrete announcement. "Hosni Mubarak gave a speech that is his for years," he explained to FRANCE 24.It was a good speech, except that it contained no new element, able to reassure the population. "

The attitude of the army, which is decisive

"If the day on Friday was decisive in mobilizing and this Saturday will be equally critical of his side says Gallagher Fenwick, a FRANCE 24 special correspondents in Cairo. The protesters are back on the streets after a night of riots, and they will be very attentive to the attitude of the army, positioned at strategic locations in the Egyptian capital.The question is whether the army is going to marry this movement, as was the case in Tunisia, or whether it will instead protect the regime ".

By late Friday, President Hosni Mubarak has indeed called in the army reinforcements to enforce security in the country.

Tens of thousands of people protested Friday in the country, demanding the departure of the Egyptian president, in power since 1981. Clashes have opposed the police who used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the procession.Long after nightfall, and despite the curfew introduced by the authorities, many protesters continued to press into the streets of major cities. The clashes killed at least 13 victims in Suez, east of Cairo, Alexandria and six to the north, and many more injured - more than a thousand in Cairo.

Besides the start of Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian call for the lifting of the state of emergency in force for 30 years, more freedoms and better living conditions. While over 40% of Egyptians live on less than two dollars a day, they protest against rising prices of basic commodities and lack of jobs.