AFGHANISTAN: Eight ISAF soldiers killed by an Afghan military airport in Kabul

Eight soldiers from the NATO force in Afghanistan (ISAF) and a sub-contractor were killed Wednesday during a shooting at a military airport in Kabul, said the training mission to NATO in Afghanistan ( NTM-A) in a statement.

"Eight soldiers of ISAF and a sub-contractor were killed" during small arms fire at the Kabul airport, which "houses the Training Center of NATO air," said NTM- Who depends on the ISAF.

Command of ISAF in turn had previously announced that six foreign soldiers were killed in a shooting at the training center.

The Afghan Ministry of Defense attributed the shooting to a dispute between a military pilot in Afghanistan and foreign troops, saying the pilot had been shot. The Taliban on their side said that one of their activists "employee" on the base had led an attack.

BURKINA FASO - EXCLUSIVE: These military ready to take up arms if Compaore does not honor its commitments

AFP - Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore, whose country has been faced with mutinies of soldiers, has assigned the Ministry of Defence in the new government, whose composition was announced Thursday night, according to decrees read on state television RTB.

"The president of the (Burkina Faso) Faso, supreme commander of armed, took office as Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs," reads one of the decrees.

This position is particularly sensitive in the present context, the regime of President Compaore, a soldier who seized power in a coup in 1987, facing more than a month to the mutinies of soldiers who received up his own personal guard.

These riots occurred in parallel with other protest movements of most of society in Burkina Faso which began in late February.

Fifteen new ministers enter this government comprises 29 ministers (against 38 previously), all members of the ruling party or the presidential movement.This is the team most ressérée history of Burkina Faso.

Djibril Bassolé, former joint mediator of the UN and African Union (AU) for Darfur (Sudan), was appointed foreign minister.

Economy and finance back to Lucien Marie-Noel Bembamba, brother-in-chief of the State, Territorial Administration, Decentralization and Security, Jerome Bougouma, another close to Blaise Compaore.

The new team includes three women appointed to the Ministries of National Education, Social Action and Promotion of Women.

This government was formed by the new Prime Minister Luc Adolphe Tiao, a journalist by training and former ambassador to Burkina Paris, appointed Monday to replace Tertius Zongo, who was fired after a mutiny within the leader's own presidential guard of State, April 14.

Mr.Compaore had also replaced the main army officials, including Chief of Staff.

The new team of faithful head of state, while many observers had expected an opening to members of civil society and opposition, will have to try to stem a wave of protest unprecedented in history of the country.

Since late February, all segments of the population, youth, students, judges, soldiers, traders, expressed with varying degrees of violence across the country against Compaore's regime and the high cost of living while most of the 16 million Burkinabe live with about 1.5 euro per day.

Balance: At least six deaths, injuries, looting, damage to property.

A year after the oil spill in Louisiana, the risk is always present

A year after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, oil has been dispersed and enhanced security, but the United States is not safe from another disaster, told AFP that the admiral had led the government's efforts against the oil spill.

"We can never prevent a disaster from taking place here," said retired Admiral Thad Allen, who has worked on various oil spills since the 80s and led relief operations after the explosion of the oil platform , April 20, 2010, off the coast of Louisiana.

The accident had caused the worst oil spill in U.S. history.BP, operator of the platform, could not prevent the spill of some 4.9 million barrels of crude in the Gulf of Mexico.

"And we're still cleaning," said Mr. Allen told AFP. "But the quantities are much smaller than those we have known, limited mostly to swampy areas," upsetting the nesting birds in the reeds still polluted the coast of the Southeast, according to Mr.Allen.

Over 1,700 km of wetlands and beaches of the Gulf have been polluted and more than 6,000 birds died, according to the American Council for the Defence of natural resources, while 2,000 people are still working to clean the first wetlands to be affected by oil spill.

The U.S. government said at the time a moratorium on offshore drilling and a few months later, the Department of the Interior has tightened rules against companies wanting to acquire a drilling permit.

"This is obviously an improvement over the previous situation, but we can never prevent such an event happen," he said.

Mr.Allen retired in June but stayed on the scene to carry out the plan of government support Obama until the wellbore BP is declared "dead" in September.

"It was clear that this crisis would not be resolved quickly," says Allen, urging the U.S. not to repeat the mistakes of the oil spill from the Exxon Valdez, which had spilled 50,000 tons of oil Wed

"Two to three years after the Exxon Valdez, it has invested heavily in research and development against these risks," according to Thad Allen.

"And while we focus on tanker accidents, the industry has changed and went to drill deeper and deeper."

"We should not let that happen.We should focus on innovation and technological improvements to track changes in the industry, "says Allen.

NIGERIA - PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Goodluck Jonathan at the top of the partial results

AFP - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan took out a big lead Sunday in the presidential race, winning in at least 20 of the 36 states, and could win the first round in this election, whose effectiveness has been praised overall by observers.

The final results of the election on Saturday, known in 30 states, gave Mr. Jonathan winner in 20 states, while its main rival, former junta leader Muhammadu Buhari, won the votes in 9 states, and Nuhu Ribadu, who led the anti-corruption agency in Nigeria, was leading in the State.

Voting took place Saturday in a relative calm, with sporadic incidents that have not made a victim.Observers have generally welcomed the successful conduct of this election, which marks a positive break after a series of fraudulent elections.

"There is consensus that this is a new beginning, after irregularities in the 2007 presidential election," said Clement Nwankmo, coordinator of a local group of observers.

"The election was held in conditions even better" than as laws of April 9, already felt Saturday Slovene Alojz Peterle, head of the mission of the European Union.

The known results include those officially announced by Abuja those reported by the states themselves and, finally, those of local media and NGOs.

To win, the candidate with the most votes must also obtain at least a quarter of the votes in at least two-thirds of the 36 states or 24 states, in the words of the Constitution.

Nigeria, most populous country in Africa with 155 million inhabitants, has 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and that includes its surroundings.

Goodluck Jonathan, Vice-President became head of state in May 2010 following the death of his predecessor Umaru Yar'Adua (2007-2010), a Muslim, a Christian South, candidate of the People Democratic Party (PDP).This party dominates the political scene and won the first round every presidential since 1999.

Elected vice president in 2007, Jonathan is a doctor of zoology 53 years old, known for constantly wearing the hat.

The country has had such a new electoral register containing the electronic fingerprints of more than 73 million subscribers. The previous list was riddled with ghost voters.

A coalition of local observers nevertheless reported irregularities concerning the voting of voters minors, the unusually high turnout and suspicions of ballot stuffing important.

Partial results of the election were also emerge a clear division between the Muslim north, which voted for the former military junta leader (1984-1985) Muhammadu Buhari, and the Christian south favor Goodluck Jonathan, waving the spectrum of religious and ethnic divisions.

Muhammadu Buhari was reported Saturday in "news of election fraud, ballot stuffing in some places."

Tensions have arisen in the North where voters were afraid of fraud from the camp of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) Goodluck Jonathan.

"There is good news and bad news in this presidential election. The good news is that we count actual votes and people are interested.The bad news is that the country is seriously divided, North against South, "said Chidi Odinkalu, the Open Society Justice Initiative.

Many analysts had warned against this scenario in a country as turbulent as Nigeria, which has more than 250 ethnic groups.

In the Muslim north, many believe that the reelection of Jonathan would be a breach of an unwritten rule in the People's Democratic Party (PDP), providing for rotation of power between North and South.

The final results of parliamentary April 9 have not yet been proclaimed. April 26 will be the elections of state governors and regional assemblies.

BAHRAIN: Two Shiite opposition parties threatened to dissolve

The Department of Justice and Islamic Affairs of Bahrain has launched a lawsuit to dissolve the two parties of the Shiite opposition, including the powerful Al-Wefaq, a month after the end of the protest in the kingdom, reported Thursday the official agency BNA.

The lawsuit relates to "Islamic Action Association and Al-Wefaq," the agency said, accusing the two Shia groups have "seriously violated the rules of the Constitution and the laws and have been activities that have affected the civil peace and national unity. "

These two associations have also "encouraged institutions to non-compliance," the agency said, quoting a ministry statement.

Al-Wefaq was the main opposition group in parliament, where it controlled 18 of 40 seats. It was during the events of mid-February to mid-March, called for political reforms to transform Bahrain into a genuine constitutional monarchy where the Prime Minister is the head of the parliamentary majority.

The Islamic Action Association has also joined the protest, led mainly by Shiites, the majority among the local population against the Sunni dynasty of the Al-Khalifa.

COTE D'IVOIRE: Firing missiles on Gbagbo's residence, his camp denounces assassination attempt

The residence of Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan was partially destroyed Sunday by missiles fired from helicopters UNOCI and the French Licorne force, said a spokesman for the outgoing president of Ivory Coast. The helicopters fired on the tanks inside the presidential palace and outside the residence. He did not say if Laurent Gbagbo was on site at the time of the attack.

"French helicopters and the UN continued to fire on the residence of President Gbagbo, who is partially destroyed," said Reuters spokesman said, Ahoua Don Mello."There is a thick smoke but we have no other details on the damage caused. "

A resident of Cocody said he saw "a French helicopter fire four missiles in the area of ​​the residence shortly before 17:00 (GMT). A resident of the neighborhood Youpougon (West Shelf separated by the lagoon) has reported seeing "three Helicopters fire on the presidency.""For several minutes, black smoke rises into the sky towards the palace," he added.

A Reuters correspondent on the French military base of Port-Bouet, near the airport, fifteen kilometers from the residence of Gbagbo said he heard loud explosions echoed from the combat zone.He said that four helicopters, two of UNOCI and two of the Force Licorne, "led the attacks.

Gbagbo's camp talking about an assassination attempt, invokes UNOCI's mandate

France has "no other purpose" than to "assassinate" the outgoing president, Laurent Gbagbo, has responded to AFP Ahoua Don Mello, denouncing the shooting of the French Licorne force "on the residence of the Chief State ".

"France was looking for excuses to réattaquer, she has gathered," he said, referring in particular to an attack Saturday on the headquarters of Alassane Ouattara, Gbagbo, whose camp has denied being responsible.

"We take the operation to neutralize the heavy weapons wherever they are. UNOCI and Licorne have begun to target targets in several places, especially near the presidential palace and near the presidential residence," replied the spokesman of UNOCI, Hamadoun Toure. "Over the past three or four days, there was a use of heavy weapons against civilians and peacekeepers. The firing against the head of UNOCI continued, hence the need to react to protect civilians in accordance with our mandate, "he added.

The shootings have targeted as "camps where recognition exercises have identified heavy weapons," according to Mr Touré.

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.