LIBYA: Chief of Staff of the British army will intensify strikes

The Chief of Staff of the British Army, General David Richards, NATO's request that steps up air raids on Libya "to increase the pressure" on Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, in an interview published Sunday by the Sunday Telegraph.

"The noose is tightening around Gaddafi, but we need to increase the pressure through military action more intense," J. General and it requires a broadening of targets "selected by NATO in Libya.

"The military campaign so far has been a significant success for NATO and our Arab allies.But we must do more, "the general said, adding:" if we do not set now, there is a risk that the conflict could lead to what Gaddafi is clinging to power. "

"At present, Nato does not attack the infrastructure in Libya.But if we want to increase the pressure on the Qaddafi regime then we must consider increasing the range of targets we can hit, "says the officer.

"We do not aim directly Gaddafi, but if it happened it is in a central command and control struck by NATO and he is killed, then it would be within the rules" commitment, the Judge said.

"We must tighten the vise to demonstrate that Gaddafi is to damn him and he must go," insists General Richards.

NATO took command of operations in late March of the international coalition intervened on March 19 in Libya to stop violence against civilians and establish a no-fly zone, under a resolution of the Security Council UN.

The Libyan capital and surrounding towns are covered by the almost daily raids.

ITALY: Carabinieri seized one billion euros of assets to a clan of the Camorra

AFP - The Carabinieri have seized one billion euros of assets to a clan of the Naples mafia in the course of the investigation that led Tuesday to the arrest of 39 people, including two activists of the party of Silvio Berlusconi Ansa agency said Thursday.

The Carabinieri have made the seizure of land, buildings, companies, business, vehicles and boats belonging to the clan Polverino for a total value estimated at one billion euros.These properties were registered in the names of clan members and nominees.

Polverino clan members are accused of mafia association, attempted murder, extortion, usury, illegal possession of weapons, drug trafficking, illegal transfer of funds from illegal activities real estate, finance and trade.

Two persons were arrested Tuesday are candidates of the People of Freedom (PDL, right, the party of the Italian head of government) to municipal Quarto, near Naples: Armando Chiaro, considered one of the leaders of the organization and serving as a nominee to the clan, and Salvatore Camerlingo, cousin of the boss Salvatore Liccardi.

These arrests are the result of an investigation by the Anti-Mafia Directorate of Naples in collaboration with the Central Unit of the Spanish Civil Guard on the activities of the Camorra clan Polverino (Neapolitan Mafia).

According to investigators, the tribe operates from the northern suburbs of Naples, a major drug trafficking from Spain to supply the Italian market.

FLYING RIO PARIS: One of the black box flight AF447 crashed into the sea is fished out by investigators

AFP - The box containing the flight parameters of the Air France Airbus which crashed in 2009 off the coast of Brazil, rescued Sunday is "in good physical condition", leaving the investigators hope to be able to read valuable data, told AFP the director of the Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA).

"At this stage, the box looks in good physical condition.Our experts tell us that we can hope to read these data, "said Jean-Paul Troadec.

He however expressed caution noting that for the moment, it was unclear whether or not there was corrosion.

Shortly before, the BEA, in charge of the technical investigation said it had recovered the memory module of the flight data recorder, Flight Data Recorder (FDR)

"If these data are usable, it will help advance the investigation because the FDR recorded altitude, speed, different positions of the government," he explained Troadec.

Questioned by AFP, a spokesman for Airbus said the group did at this stage "absolutely no comment".

The module is for the time being immersed in water.It must be transported to BEA, where he will be husked. "He should be in our office by 8 to 10 days, the time a Navy ship to pick him and lead him home," he said Troadec.

The objective is to recover the second black box, recording the conversations in the cockpit before the Navy come first search box to route both recorders simultaneously.

The disaster, which has killed 228 on 1 June 2009, remains so far unexplained.

COTE D'IVOIRE: In Abidjan, thousands of Ivorians express support for Laurent Gbagbo

The camp of the Ivorian head of state Laurent Gbagbo mobilized out Saturday thousands of supporters near the presidential palace in Abidjan, when international pressure is growing to force originally, amid fears of civil war.

France, former colonial power, announced this week that have submitted a draft resolution to the Security Council of the United Nations to halt the firing with heavy weapons in Abidjan, which are a "scandal" according to President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The text, which must be considered in the coming days, explicitly requires the departure of Laurent Gbagbo and his rival Alassane Ouattara recognizes as legitimate president after the November ballot, which plunged the country into a deadly crisis.

At the invitation of Charles Ble Goude, leader of the "patriotic" pro-Gbagbo, several thousand people, mainly young, have invaded in mid-day the Republic Square in the Plateau district, heart of the bristling power many young dams.

"Gbagbo or nothing", "Côte d'Ivoire belongs to the Ivorians," or "Sarkozy, the country is your last stop," proclaimed banners and posters.

Mr.Ble Goude has entered to the cheers by wearing a mattress on the shoulder of the rally-style festive campsite was to continue all night prayer sessions, and ended Sunday morning.

"Before attacking Laurent Gbagbo, you (should) kill all these people there," he said at the international community, pointing to the crowd.

"There will be no civil war," he stressed, attacking Mr Sarkozy, but also to President Barack Obama, the United Nations and the Economic Community of African States of the (ECOWAS).

While Pascal Affi N'Guessan, head of Gbagbo's party, accused MrOuattara from being "a mercenary in the service of Western imperialism," Charles Ble Goude, echoing Laurent Gbagbo, has renewed its call for "dialogue" to "find a solution to the post-election crisis."

The African Union (AU) last Saturday appointed a senior representative in Abidjan, the former Minister of Cape Verde José Brito Foreign Affairs in charge of opening negotiations between the two sides to implement the decisions taken by the AU March 10 in Addis Ababa: she recognized Mr. Ouattara as president and asked him to find an "honorable exit" for its rival.

But Mr. Ouattara was immediately challenged Mr.Brito for "his personal and political connections" with Laurent Gbagbo.

The crisis has never been so dramatic consequences for the Ivorians or generated as much concern outside. Over 460 people were killed in violence since late 2010, one million people may have been displaced in the country, the UN says.

Mr Ble Goude said that "over 100,000" young people had registered with the staff to enlist in the Army, responding to his call last weekend.The army said it would call these recruits to the "appropriate time".

In the West as in Abidjan, the time remaining in the clashes, and the use of heavy weapons, as in the districts of Abobo and Anyama, pro-insurgent strongholds Ouattara in the economic capital.

Abobo remains the epicenter of fighting. In the sector "Samankè" shots were heard Friday and two light armored Defense Forces and Security (FDS) loyal to Gbagbo were visible at a crossroads, charred.Witnesses said they had fallen into an "ambush" of insurgents, called "Commando invisible."

In the north, controlled by the former rebel pro-Ouattara, the population was from Wednesday night's private water and electricity, according to residents. The Ivorian Electricity Company (CIE, private) has blamed on the Gbagbo government, which controls the system since mid-January.

"The children are sick because they can not sleep well (lack of ventilation, ed.) There is also a lack of hygiene", said a resident of Bouake, the stronghold former rebel in the center of the country.

Liveblogging: For Washington, the first phase of air strikes is a success

Basic information about the military operation in Libya:

The international military coalition bombed Tripoli by air and sea before dawn Sunday. These strikes have a "stop ahead" of the pro-Gaddafi in Benghazi, "said Admiral Michael Mullen, the highest ranking American on the ABC television network.
The bombings have intensified from 19h (GMT) on Saturday night. French fighter jets have carried out the first shots against the forces of Muammar Gaddafi at 16:45 (GMT).Warships and submarines, British and American then fired over 110 Tomahawk missiles against Libyan twenty sites.
In a televised address shortly after the first strikes, Muammar Gaddafi said that the Mediterranean and North Africa was now a "battlefield" and that air and sea targets, military or civilian, were now exposed to a real danger in the region.
France, Great Britain, the United States, Italy and Canada are participating in this operation, dubbed "Dawn of the odyssey", coordinated from a U.S. military base in Germany.This is the largest military intervention in the Arab world since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 led by the United States.

If you want to follow the liveblogging from a smartphone, click here.

LIBYA: Gaddafi's troops are preparing to take Benghazi assault

AFP - The pro-Gaddafi forces regained the advantage in Libya Tuesday, a month after the start of the insurgency, pounding Ajdabiya (east) and announcing an offensive on the insurgent headquarters in Benghazi, (is), not the G8 no agreement on military intervention.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said in the evening to be "determined to crush the enemy" in a televised speech, hammering: "if it is a foreign conspiracy we'll crush it, if it is an inside job we will also crush. "

Government forces launched air force and heavy artillery against Ajdabiya, strategic communication node and final lock held by the rebels before Benghazi, 160 km further south, cutting the main road between the two cities.

The official television and a senior Libyan government announced qu'Ajdabiya was controlled by loyalist forces.

The Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaaim said Tuesday evening qu'Ajdabiya AFP was "under control" forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.

The information had been denied earlier by the military spokesman of the National Council of Libya, the governing body of the rebels based in Benghazi.

"Ajdabiya is still in the hands of the revolutionaries," said the spokesman, Khaled El-Sayeh, saying: "Army units tried to enter the city, but our forces have repulsed.He also denied the insurgents to retreat Benghazi despite the scenes of stampede which has seen an AFP journalist.

Hundreds of civilians and insurgents fleeing Ajdabiya arrived in the south of Benghazi in cars, trucks and pickups.

"I took my family as much business as possible and we left," he told AFP a family man, Said, 42 years, telling "there was a lot of bombs."

The fighting has killed at least three dead and fifteen wounded, according to doctors, in addition to two deaths received during the night.

"There are still some elements that take and our forces are now chasing them," said Khaled Kaaim stating: "We will now beyond Ajdabiya, our forces are moving towards Benghazi.

The Libyan army announced on television on an imminent offensive Benghazi, where the rebels have used anti-aircraft guns in the evening, without journalists on the spot from the AFP have seen or heard aircraft.

It was unclear whether the rebels retaliated in an attack or expressing their joy after rumors of a bombing aimed at the residence of Kadhafi in Tripoli.Fireworks took place at the same time as the heavy artillery and air defense, early in Benghazi.

The Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) withdrew its staff from Benghazi, stressing that "everyone evacuate Benghazi, humanitarian as journalists."

The major powers met at the G8 in Paris have dismissed for lack of consensus the military option to slow the forces of Muammar Gaddafi, merely promised for this week a new UN resolution on tougher sanctions.

The NATO countries were examined for the first time the military options available to them if the alliance decided to intervene in Libya, although the probability of a UN resolution authorizing them down.

The French Minister of Foreign Affairs Alain Juppe described as "outdated" idea of ​​establishing an air exclusion zone, originally due by Paris and London as well as the Arab League and claimed by the Libyan opposition.

He spoke of "targeted strikes", while stating that the Security Council of the United Nations was blocked because of opposition from the Chinese, while the Americans have still not defined its position.

Barack Obama has again called on the Libyan leader to leave, but his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton refused to promise military aid to the rebels.

The United States expanded its sanctions 16 firms Libyan government, the national oil company.

Crunch time for the insurgents, who have announced they still masters of Misrata (150 km east of Tripoli), where government forces were gathered in a nearby barracks, presaging an attack.

Zouari, a town located 120 km west of Tripoli on Monday and resumed the pro-Gaddafi, supporters of the regime demonstrated by the television, and shots rang out, "probably shooting in the air to scare residents, "according to a witness near the rebellion.

Since February 15, the bloody suppression of the insurgency has killed at least hundreds dead and forced more than 250,000 people to flee the country.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) called on fighters to allow civilians to flee, noting the unusually low number of women and children arriving at the borders with Egypt and Tunisia.

According to the International Energy Agency, Libyan oil production, usually by 1.6 million barrels per day, was nearly stopped in recent days.

On the other hand, London confirmed Tuesday the arrest of a Libyan man with dual British and Libya after it became known to journalists in a Tripoli prison by claiming to have raised funds for a Islamist organization.

GERMANY: The author wanted to avenge the shooting of U.S. intervention in Afghanistan

The young Kosovar accused of killing two American soldiers on Wednesday in Frankfurt (West Germany) was unrelated to an international network and wanted revenge for the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan, said Friday a German federal prosecutor.

The accused, aged 21, acted "because he wanted revenge against the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan," said prosecutor Rainer Griesbaum during a televised news conference from Karlsruhe (West).

"According to preliminary results of the investigation it is the act of one individual motivated by Islamism.There is currently no evidence of belonging to a terrorist organization, "he added.

The young man said during his questioning that he "viewed the eve of his act on a video portal YouTube," he said.

"We would see," said federal prosecutor, recording the interview, "American soldiers looting the home of Muslims and raping the daughter of the family. The pictures do it not out of the head, and he wanted to avoid, by its action, that U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and go do something like that. "

If these elements are confirmed, the attack "would have a personal origin.She would have occurred outside the structures international jihadists. "

Wednesday, Arid Uka, a Kosovar living in Frankfurt, drew on military U.S. Air Force who came from England and had to travel by bus to the Ramstein base, 140 miles away. Two soldiers died and two others were seriously injured. One remained in critical condition Thursday.

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS: Morocco to host CAN 2015

AFP - The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has awarded Saturday at Lubumbashi (DR Congo) organization of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) in 2015 in Morocco and that of 2017 to South Africa, host of last World Cup.

Morocco, which has organized most of the continent's premier competition since 1988, is thus designated by the CAF, after several unsuccessful bids.

South Africa, hosts of the 1996 edition won by his Bafana Bafana-(nickname of the national soccer team of South Africa), will once again host the tournament in six years, having successfully organized the first World on the continent in the summer of 2010.

Both countries were the only ones vying for the C-2015 and 2017.

The FCA was appointed Angola as host of the CAN-2010, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon in 2012 and Libya in 2013.