FOOTBALL - THE CASE OF QUOTA: Laurent Blanc to be heard Monday by investigators

The coach of the team of France, Laurent Blanc, was interviewed Monday by the two commissions of inquiry into the case of quotas that shakes for over a week in French football.

"The hearing was held today, Laurent Blanc," he told Reuters spokesman of the French Football Federation (FFF), François Manardo.

Last person to be heard, White had to deliver to investigators, those measures undertaken by the federation and those appointed by the Sports Ministry, its version of the meeting of the National Technical Directorate (DTN) of 8 November during which was discussed the idea of ​​quotas for young players in the binational federal training centers.

The three officials of the Inspectorate General of Youth and Sports (IGJS) were back in the day they report to the Minister Chantal Jouanno.The latter could speak Tuesday on the subject.

The report of the internal committee of the federation, composed of Patrick Braouezec, president of the Football Foundation and member of Seine-Saint-Denis and Laurent Davenas, president of the National Council of Ethics will be discussed Thursday at an extraordinary meeting of Federal Council, the governing body of the federation.

Francis Blaquart first referred

Based on the findings and recommendations of its inspectors, the department must decide whether to take the floor to lawsuits for discrimination against certain members of the DTN.

The first target is the national technical director (DTN) Blaquart Francis, who has explicitly mentioned the idea of ​​quotas, according to the recording of the meeting last fall done by one of its participants, Mohamed Belkacemi, responsible the football federation of neighborhoods.

Responsible to the Ministry, Francois Blaquart was suspended from his duties as a precaution and risk dismissal.

The federation must decide on its side on the merits of administrative sanctions in domestic.

The case erupted into a federation torn by conflicts and personal rivalries with the approach of the election, June 18, its president and its new executive committee.

It is the latest incarnation for FFF in deep crisis for nearly a year and the fiasco of the national team at the World Cup in South Africa.

Within a few months, the French football has been a controversial qualifying for the World Cup on Thierry Henry's hand, eliminating the pathetic first round of the Blues - with a strike of the unique training in this kind of competition - Case of the Blues finally premiums paid to associations and revelations about the privacy of certain players.

Far largely spared by these controversies and in high popularity because of the good results of the France team since he took over the leadership last summer, Laurent Blanc is the time criticized by some his peers for his statements during the meeting.

The coach, who then made a public apology, said it would be in favor of quotas. His positions have divided the team members' black-blanc-beur "world champion in 1998, to which he belonged.

Liveblogging: Find events Friday in Libya and the Arab world

AFP - Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi continued Friday to bomb rebel positions in eastern Libya, while the West showed its rapprochement with the opposition, which has lost two cities in recent days.

European leaders have increased the pressure on the Libyan leader, in power for nearly 42 years, calling the National Transitional Council of the Opposition (CNT) based in Benghazi (east), an interlocutor "legitimate".

President Barack Obama announced at the same time he was going to have a representative to the rebellion Jamahiriya.

France acknowledged Thursday CNT as "the legitimate representative of the Libyan people." Libya has responded Friday by suspending diplomatic relations with Paris.

On the ground, the loyalist forces launched two airstrikes east of Ras Lanuf, reaching an insurgent checkpoint and a refinery, according to AFP journalists.

This strategic oil city, south-west of Benghazi, a stronghold of the rebellion, was the basis for a week rebel advance in eastern Canada.But the insurgents had to abandon it, after intense bombardment Thursday of the pro-Gaddafi.

"Their supremacy was complete. They shot from boats, and they control the air," said a doctor at Brega, a city further east.

According to medical sources, the fighting on Thursday in Ras Lanuf made more than 10 dead and dozens wounded insurgents.Friday, an AFP reporter also saw at least five bodies evacuated from the city.

The intense bombardment that hit Lanouf Ras blocked the progression of the insurgents left Benghazi to conquer the coastal cities to Tripoli.

Last Saturday, the rebels had advanced to Ben Jawad, a town a few dozen miles west of Ras Lanuf, but had been expelled the next day by pro-Gaddafi, whose strikes have continued s intensified since.

A Zawiyah, 40 km from Tripoli, the regime's forces were celebrating their victory Friday in the rebel stronghold officially dropped Wednesday after more than two weeks of fierce resistance, according to an AFP journalist.

According to rescue workers at the border between Tunisia and Libya, a man arrived on the night of Zawiyah told that the situation was "catastrophic" and that "there were dead bodies everywhere."

Elsewhere, the rebels still controlled Misrata (150 km east of Tripoli) and several cities in the Northwest, especially in the mountainous region of Jabal Al-Gharbi, witnesses said.

In Benghazi, the rebels remained committed to fighting men of Kadhafi, despite setbacks recorded in recent days.

"We are not afraid of the army composed of mercenaries to 90%.We can beat them, "says Khaled, Fathi Ali's uncle, a 21-year insurgent killed Thursday in Ras Lanuf and buried Friday.

More than 10,000 people have also gathered in this city to demand the departure of Colonel Gaddafi.

At a summit in Brussels, the Heads of State and Government of the 27 EU countries have agreed to dialogue with the Libyan opposition and discussed a military option carefully to protect civilians, although they remain sharply divided to this prospect.

They decided to consider "all options" available, in an allusion to a possible military intervention, but specifying that it should be "a demonstrated need, a clear legal basis and support of the region."

For this purpose, a tripartite summit to be held soon between the EU, the African Union and Arab League, which meets on his side on Saturday in Cairo that the emissaries of the Libyan regime will not be allowed to participate.

"The current leadership (of Libya) must relinquish power immediately," he also said EU President Herman Van Rompuy after the summit.

United States President Barack Obama, "concerned" about the ability of Muammar Gaddafi to stay in power, said he was determined to "tighten the noose" on the Libyan regime, and made solemn warning against the risk of a large-scale massacre in Libya.

"The United States and the international community have an obligation to do what they can to prevent a repetition of what happened in the Balkans in the 90s, what happened in Rwanda", he said.

More isolated every day on the international level, Colonel Gaddafi has threatened Europe to stop supporting the fight against international terrorism and illegal immigration.

If "Europe does not and ignores the active role of Libya in the fight against immigration (...) Libya will be required (...) To withdraw from efforts against terrorism and to completely change its policy toward al-Qaida, "he said, quoted by state news agency Jana.

On the humanitarian front, Ras Lanuf, doctors called the International Red Cross for help.The International Organization for Migration said in turn negotiate with the Libyan authorities to send a humanitarian mission in Libya, where thousands of immigrants awaiting repatriation.

Since mid-February, more than 250,000 people have fled to neighboring Libya, according to the UN, and the bloody suppression of the uprising has claimed hundreds of lives.

A UN humanitarian mission is expected Saturday in Libya to assess humanitarian needs, announced in the evening the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Libya, Khaled Kaaim.

ITALY - Feature: Lampedusa, step on a long journey to Europe

They land boat patched up, soaked to the bone. Trembling, exhausted by long hours and grueling journey, but the smile from ear to ear. On Lampedusa, a small piece of land lost to the Italian middle of the Mediterranean, Tunisian immigrants, Egyptian and Libyan pile up, forcing the Europeans to look differently, probably a bit less exalted, the revolts that shake all plans up across the Mediterranean.

In recent weeks, more than 7000 Tunisian illegal migrants - men between 20 and 30 years, mostly - have crossed the narrow strip of sea between Lampedusa their country, this parcel of Europe located 400 km south of Sicily and 200 km from the Maghreb.

The mayor of Lampedusa has ordered their placement in detention centers. Most of them do not spend their days locked up yet.Every day, they span the barriers surrounding the center to sit in one of the cafes of the Via Roma, main street of Lampedusa.

No work, no hope

Walid, a young 22 year old Tunisian native of Tatooine, a few miles of Djerba, landed three days ago after a journey of twenty hours in the choppy waters of the Mediterranean. His trip was rather short: the boats are sometimes three days to reach the coast of the island.

Throughout the trip, the boat was battered, buffeted by gusts of wind. Last week, the same swell prevented the crossings."The water kept from splashing into the hull and we have used our shirts to plug the holes in the boat," says Walid.

Like most Tunisians of Lampedusa, the young man does not plan to stay long in the area. His goal: Pantin, outside Paris. There, parents are waiting.

When asked if the departure of Ben Ali gave him hope, Walid shrugs and replies: "Not for me." The answer is the same for the dozens of migrants sipping a coffee bar outside Rome. All speak fluent French and a few words of Italian. "These are all the same", for his part said Scandar, referring to the new Tunisian authorities."They got rid of the boss, but not thugs."

As Scandar, Salim comes from the coastal town of Zarzis in eastern Tunisia. One of his neighbors had been killed during the recent riots that rocked the country. "You feel less safe there. And there is no work for people like us", he said. Unemployment and job insecurity that may be encountered in Europe do not scare him. Because it "can not be worse than in Tunisia," he swears.

Salim and his fellow travelers seeking to learn how to reach France and that the trip may cost them. They are confident.According to them, the Italian authorities will get them on the mainland, then let them go.

Objective: To reach the mainland

Indeed, flights to the north resumed. For, once again, the Lampedusa holding center is saturated. Its director, Cono Callipo, says 250 migrants are currently en route to the mainland, where the Italian authorities will determine if they are applying for political asylum or not. "If they are simply looking for work, they will eventually be returned to their country," he says.

The Italian authorities are assisted by a host of humanitarian workers, omnipresent in Lampedusa. Emiliano Cadeddu is one of them.A native of Sardinia, he strives to provide first aid to migrants aboard Coast Guard vessels. He does not eat a lot of hope when the ambitions of young men he sees scroll. "I wash, I feed, I look after them, but in the end I got them back," cried he.

In Lampedusa, all Tunisians do not fit the country against their will. A small boat flanked by the Tunisian flag is part of the port this morning. On board, six fishermen who had found refuge on the Italian coast of the island after suffering a storm three days ago.

"We go home now," says Mohamed, the master, by swallowing a share of Panettone. "There are hopeful now that Ben is gone.Nobody is afraid to talk. "

Mohammed and his men do not understand why so many of their countrymen fleeing Tunisia. When he utters these words, a new boat is looming on the horizon, its board, dozens of immigrants determined to stay at any price this side of the Mediterranean.

An accident on a carnival float made a couple of dead

At least 16 people were killed in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais (southeast) when a high voltage cable was accidentally touched a carnival float, according to local media on Monday, citing emergency services.

The accident occurred late Sunday in the small town of Bandeira do Sul, 5,000 inhabitants, when the cable broke and struck a car carrying an orchestra, according to the websites of newspapers O Globo and Estado de Sao Paulo .

"It was a disaster.There were many people on the float and we do not yet know the exact number of deaths or injuries, serious or light, "he told Globo Jose Balducci, a senior regional health issues.

According to a report of fire at least 12 people died instantly electrocuted.

Emergency services quoted by newspapers ensured that an unspecified number of serious injuries were transported to hospitals in the region.

Brazil prepares for major carnival festivities, which begin this weekend, but many traditional carnival floats roam the streets of the country in the days before the formal period of carnival.

A week ago a young man of 21 years died by falling four meters from the top of a tank on which he danced in a parade in the tourist area of Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro.

Carnival in Rio has also been threatened this year by an apparently accidental fire that erupted on Feb. 7 City of samba, a set of warehouses and workshops in the port area, destroying tanks and costumes for three nine samba schools taking part in parades on "sambodrome," scheduled this year on 6 and 7 March.

Solidarity with other groups and prices of hard work, the samba schools affected should, however, scroll normally.

Regarded as the greatest show on earth, the Rio carnival attracts hundreds of thousands of Brazilians and tourists and an important source of revenue for the city.

INDIA: The Indian Navy with 52 prisoners after a raid on a pirate ship

AFP - The Indian Navy and Coast Guard have arrested over 50 people on board a pirate ship, after a shootout Sunday in the Indian Ocean, said the Indian Ministry of Defence.

"There were 52 people in total," he told AFP a spokesman of the Ministry of Defence, MrNambiar, who did not specify the nationality of those arrested or the exact number of pirates among them.

The arrests took place on a Thai fishing boat, caught six months ago off the coast of Somalia, which is presumably the basis for hackers to launch attacks against ships, the ministry said.

Mumbai police will interrogate persons arrested upon arrival in this port city.

Navy and Indian Coast Guard were sent in pursuit of pirates after a Greek-flagged ship had reported being attacked about 100 nautical miles west of Kavaratti, off the Indian state of Kerala ( south-west).

Indian boats chased two boats lighter and faster, which led them to the ship for a base for pirates, the statement said.

"Exchanges of gunfire were brief but decisive. The pirates quickly lost the urge to fight and hoisted the white flag to surrender," the ministry said.

"A group of pirates and crew members held hostage on board the boat were," he said.

Somalia is known to be a base for pirates who roam the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, more and more away from their coasts, seizing ships they hold with their crews for ransom.