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AFP - The project foiled attack against a plane to the United States said Tuesday a scenario worthy of Hollywood, in which an undercover agent in al- Qaeda had volunteered for a suicide mission, before fleeing with the bomb and deliver it to the Americans.

This attempt to re-release of the attack in 2009 pants trapped by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to mark the first anniversary of the death of Osama bin Laden , was unveiled Monday by a U.S. administration short on detail. 

Anti-terrorism agencies, the White House and the FBI had been content to assert that the project was the mark of the Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda, that the explosive device e silent in possession of the FBI and no "airliner" or "no American or ally" had been endangered.

ABC, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times has lifted the veil on this case worthy of a spy movie: the project was foiled by an undercover agent for weeks at within the Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda.

This man had volunteered to conduct suicide bombing before fleeing with the bomb he was later given to his case officers in Saudi Arabia.

Asked by AFP, neither the CIA nor the White House made any comment. 

The nationality of the agent has not been made public. This is actually an informant for the intelligence services of Saudi Arabia, working closely with the CIA, understands the Los Angeles Times.

"On AQAP, it is often the Saudis that we provide crucial information," he told AFP counter-terrorism expert Bruce Riedel.

This former CIA advised the U.S. Department of Justice for the trial against the Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab, who tried to blow up the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas 2009 by hiding explosives in his underpants. He was sentenced Feb. 16 to life imprisonment.

The information provided by the Saudi intelligence had led to the interception in October 2010 in the UK and Dubai bombs hidden in printers. AQAP was sent to the United States by cargo plane.

The New York Times, the undercover agent has also supplied information "crucial" that enabled the U.S. to eliminate Sunday service a top official of AQAP, the Yemeni Fahd al-Quso.

Al-Quso, wanted for the attack against an American ship, the USS Cole off Yemen in 2000, was killed in an airstrike on Sunday night in eastern Yemen.

Earlier Tuesday, the president of the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, Peter King, conceded on CNN that the airstrike Sunday and the planned attack were linked. "The White House told me that they are part of the same operation," he said.

The President of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Diane Feinstein, has in turn risen against "leaks" in the press while the operation was in progress and said an investigation would diligentée about it.

The explosive, non-metal in order to pass security checks at airports, is now in the hands of technicians from the FBI.

"It has the characteristics of previous bombs qu'Aqpa was used for the failed attack Christmas 2009 and the attempted assassination of Prince Nayef," he told the AFP a counterterrorism official. 

Mohammed bin Nayef, a member of the Saudi royal family and head of counterterrorism, had been the target of an assassination attempt in August 2009 when a man was able to approach and to blow explosives hidden in his underwear.

The latest draft of the Yemeni branch of Al-Qaeda is "remarkably similar," said Bruce Riedel, who said that "it is the same bomb," Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, a Saudi 31-year installed in Yemen.

AFP - Greece's going back to the polls by the end of June, failing agreement between its leaders over a coalition government after the parliamentary elections of 6 May, who disavowed the austerity policies administered the country for two years, depriving majority of their artisans.

The socialist leader and former Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos has announced that the first failure, following a meeting convened last chance by the Chief State Karolos Papoulias.

"We will unfortunately again towards elections in a few days, under very bad conditions," he said. 

According to Greek media, the most likely date of the new ballot is June 17, or within one month after the dissolution of the legislative chamber after May 6, scheduled Thursday, when it will meet for the first time.

This return to the polls was confirmed in the wake by Fotis Kouvelis, the leader of the small band of moderate left Dimar who refused to give its 19 members in reinforcement an alliance of conservative-socialist extending the outgoing government. 

In a statement read live by a journalist of public television Net, the Presidency confirmed the failure of "efforts to form a government" and announced a meeting political leaders to 10HOO GMT Wednesday "for the formation of a government" to ensure the conduct of current business before the second ballot.

Citing the "danger" hanging over the country because of political instability, Mr. Papoulias had tried this last resort by offering the parties to agree on a cabinet of technocrats supposed to ward off the threats of bankruptcy and out of the euro weighing on the country, which is triggered the debt crisis that has shaken Europe since 2010.

The euro fell heavily upon announcement of the sinking of the Greek negotiations, falling below the $ 1.28 for the first time in four months.

The Frankfurt Stock Exchange also immediately nosed, the flagship index Dax, who previously played in the Green then lost 1.32% to 1:15 p.m. GMT. 

The Greek failure was predictable for several days, due to the refusal of the radical left of Syriza, propelled the second party on May 6 through its rejection of bluntly revenues EU-IMF austerity applied to the country since 2010, to build alliances with conservative and socialist parties have ratified these dictates.

The Dimar, emerged from a split of Syriza had conditioned his support for participation of Syriza, according to him only able to consider the election results.

In desperation, Mr. Papoualias tried to rally as training national-populist Independent Panos Kammenos Greeks, who had won 33 deputies on May 6 so directly in opposition to the memorandum, the roadmap of policies austerity imposed by the creditors of the country.

"The political forces that support the memorandum (austerity plan) stress to bully the people. They prefer one creditor to national unity, "said Mr. Kammenos as he left the meeting.

Opinion polls this week, the Syriza come in first at the next election with a program combining rejection of the memorandum and maintaining the country into the euro, which has previously been rejected as unacceptable by partners of Greece in the euro area.

After threatening statements in recent days the euro area has certainly sent a message Monday night support reaffirming its support "unshakeable" the maintenance of Monetary Union in Greece ; silence, while many economic decision-makers emphasized that a Greek output of the euro would be very costly to the European economy. 

But things could be changed by the new finding of the Greek electorate, even though the Greeks expect a shift in the discipline after the accession of the European Socialist Francois Holland to the French Presidency.

Especially since the demand for a relaxation of the sacrifices imposed on the Greeks is now relayed by all political forces, including socialists and conservatives.

Before the realization of failure, the official announcement of a decline of 6.2% of Greek GDP in the first half of 2012 has been confirmed the seriousness of the economic situation, which entered its fifth consecutive year of recession, the price of a surge in unemployment to over 20%.

While unemployment rose, Wednesday, May 2, a historic high in the euro area (10.9%), the economic component of great debate between the two finalists in the presidential election Presidential was highly anticipated. The economy has logically dominated trade.

But whether for the public debt of France, the crisis in the euro area or increased unemployment, Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy have not released further steps of their hat. During the first hour of this debate, they defended the proposals developed throughout their campaign. Journal of the ideas defended by each candidate.

Unemployment: "We must boost production." To boost employment, the Socialist candidate has chosen to focus on the "revival of production". Francois Hollande reminded that it would establish a "Public investment bank to finance small and medium enterprises". A proposal which he had already mentioned during the presentation of its program January 26, 2012 during a press conference at the House of steelworkers in Paris.

"The key word is competitiveness." The president candidate adheres to the creed he has

developed since the mini-summit on employment in January: to find the path to growth and thus job creation, we must improve the competitiveness of enterprises. To do this, Nicolas Sarkozy believes that we must address "the huge problem of labor costs". Passing a construction site, according to the UMP candidate, by the employment contract competitiveness (the ability to negotiate at the company working hours and wages), and the "VAT Anti-offshoring "(lower employer costs by increasing the VAT).

Germany: "Germany has done what I propose." Nicolas Sarkozy was the first to put on the table the German economic model to justify its program to boost competitiveness. "While you [the Socialist government of Lionel Jospin in 2000 note] were doing the 35 hours, Germany has improved the competitiveness," and firmly told the candidate of the UMP.

For his part, Francois Hollande invoked cumbersome Germanic neighbor to emphasize that France's Sarkozy era had "not had a growth like that of Germany."

The German powerhouse has affected the whole economic side of this debate between the candidates.

Debt:

"Largesse tax". Francois Hollande at length returned to the weight of the tax shield in the French debt. He tried to explain that by "his tax giveaways" to the richest in the summer of 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy had helped dig the debt (now at 85% of GDP) France. To replace the French accounts on track, the Socialist candidate reiterated its commitment to create 40 billion euros of additional levies and 50 billion in savings.

"An open world". Nicolas Sarkozy has threatened to tax exile and relocation if the candidate of the Socialist Party came to power and put into practice his economic policy. For the incumbent president, "in an open world", we must first "reduce spending" to reduce debt.

Euro crisis: "I have a 4-point program." Creation of eurobonds, capital increase

the European Investment Bank to finance industry, introduction of a tax on financial transactions and mobilization of European Structural Funds (the European jackpot for joint projects): these are axes made by Francois Hollande to boost growth in Europe.

"I have already voted tax on financial transactions". Nicolas Sarkozy has tried to downplay the proposals of the socialist candidate. He has claimed to have "actually voted, in French, a tax on financial transactions". This is true and false at once. In fact, Nicolas Sarkozy has actually revived a day tax on stock exchange transactions which had been suppressed in 2007, at the beginning of his five years. "Actually, I only disagree on the issue of Eurobonds," said the outgoing president, believing that European bonds to replace those issued by the Member States of the zone euro would be borne by the two largest economies: France and Germany. "I do not mean that France and Germany guarantee the debts of others," he concluded.

The number of unemployed in Spain has reached a new record in late March, with 4.75 million people, announced Tuesday the Ministry of Labour, considering that this figure emphasizes the "importance" of the re form of work that brings a "framework of trust and flexibility."

This figure of 4,750,867 jobseekers marks the eighth consecutive month of rising unemployment and is at its highest level since the crisis began in 2008 and the first broadcast of these monthly statistics in 1996.

In March, 38,769 more unemployed were recorded, an increase of 0.82% compared to February. 

Deprived of its economic engine, the construction, the country suffers from unemployment rates the highest among industrialized countries: according to the National Statistics Institute (INE) that uses an EM different calculation method, the rate was 22.85% of the workforce in late 2011.

According to Eurostat figures published Monday, Spain has once again displayed the unemployment rate the highest in the European Union in February, or 23.6% .

The government is expected to reach 24.3% of the workforce at the end of the year.

Spain has returned to recession in the first quarter of 2012, earning two consecutive quarters in the red, according to latest data from the Bank of Spain. 

After a low growth of 0.7% in 2011, the Spanish government expected a decline of 1.7% of GDP over the whole of 2012.

The situation was calm in Syria more than two hours after the entry into force Thursday at 0300 GMT of the cease-fire in accordance with the deadline set by the Annan Plan to , ending more than a year of deadly violence.

No violations were found more than two hours after the expiry of the deadline for the cessation of hostilities but the army still has not withdrew its troops as stipulated in the terms of UN envoy of the Arab League and Kofi Annan, according to a Syrian NGO.

"An hour after the expiry of the ultimatum (0600 local), the situation is calm in all regions," he told AFP Syrian Observatory. He said the explosions were heard briefly in Zabadani, near Damascus, shortly after 0300 GMT, with no details.

However, "there was also no motion to withdraw tanks," he said, while the regime should have withdrawn its troops from the cities since Tuesday, under the first phase of the Annan Plan.

Hours before the expiry of the ultimatum, the troops remained heavily deployed in certain localities. The military regime killed 25 more civilians, including 10 in the bombing of Rastane, city of the province of Homs (center) held by rebels for months, according to OSDH.

Damascus, which represses the challenge in the blood for over a year, announced Wednesday that it would end its military operations Thursday morning, while warning that his forces would respond to any "terrorist" attack, referring to the rebels who had also committed to respect the ultimatum if Damascus did the same.

Kofi Annan is accountable for the implementation of the ceasefire at the Security Council on Thursday at 10:00 local (1400 GMT) by video link from Geneva.  

Repeatedly accused the international community not to meet its commitments, the regime of President Bashar al-Assad is well tested Thursday. The United States warned the day before they consider Damascus on "what he does, not what he says."

The violence done according to OSDH more than 10,000 mostly civilian deaths since the outbreak of the revolt against the regime of Bashar al-Assad on 15 March 2011.

President of the United States Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed Wednesday the need for a "more determined" the Security Council of the UN where Russia and China, allied to Damascus, had twice blocked resolutions condemning the crackdown.  

If Damascus does not respect the cease-fire, Britain will increase its support to the opposition and seek tougher sanctions against Damascus, has warned his side the head of British diplomacy William Hague.

Indicating that the Syrian armed forces "have completed their mission to combat the criminal actions of terrorist groups," the power in Damascus announced the end of this "mission" Thursday, warning however that army would remain ready "to respond to any aggression armed terrorist groups" (rebels, ed.)

The envoy of the UN and Arab League Kofi Annan announced that it received a letter from the Syrian regime showing the same commitment.  

The U.S. ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, who had found "little or no credible" promises to Damascus, said the cease-fire government "could not be considered an application of the six-point plan "to Kofi Annan, noting that Damascus had promised to withdraw its troops and had not kept that promise.

Russia, big ally of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, said to take note of the promise of Damascus, saying it was now "the turn of the armed opposition" to comply with the cease-fire.

Moscow had blocked with China two Security Council resolutions in the UN condemning the repression of the protest movement in Syria. 

France has expressed support for the Security Council decide "as quickly as possible" sending a "robust force of observers" in the field, if Mr. Annan felt it was able to continue its mission.

Romeo Langlois, correspondent for FRANCE 24 in Colombia and the daily "Le Figaro", was captured after an attack this Saturday, April 28 by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), according to the Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe. He was wounded in the left arm was caught in crossfire between rebels and the army, said Sunday night the Colombian Minister of Defense.

According to "have told me that people who were with him until the last moment" before he disappeared, "he was hit by a bullet in his left arm", and the "confusion" that prevailed in the field, "he certainly made the decision to remove his jacket and his helmet" to signal that he was a guerrilla Civil, said the minister, Juan Carlos Pinzon.

The freelance journalist was then 35 years on assignment alongside the Colombian Navy aircraft as part of an anti-narcotics operation in the region of Caquetá (South). 

The military patrol was accompanied Romeo Langlois was attacked on the morning of Saturday by FARC. At least four members of Colombian security forces were killed in the attack, described as "heavy fighting" a spokesman for the Colombian Ministry of Defense. ;

Six people were missing, including Romeo Langlois, according to the commander of Military Region. But the Colombian army announced Sunday that it had found the five soldiers who had disappeared with the journalist, it is no news at this time

.

Four other soldiers were also injured during the operation that does lead to the destruction of five laboratories manufacturing cocaine, according to a spokesman for the Ministry Colombian Defense.

"Concerned"

Romeo Langlois, who lives in Colombia for years, has produced many reports in the region. "We know it is a dangerous region. We are of course worried, but we trust that Romeo knows the area well and has lots of experience. So we hope he is safe, "said Nahida Nakad, editorial director of the Audiovisual outside of France (AEF).

Simone Bruno, also FRANCE 24 correspondent in Colombia, interviewed by telephone on Sunday, was to accompany the mission was postponed several times due to bad weather. "We were in a military base camp until the operation was to begin Tuesday, then was postponed to Wednesday, Thursday, Friday … So, I left but remained Romeo says Simone Bruno. The last time I talked to him it was Friday night and he told me that the operation would start at 4 am on the night of Friday to Saturday. He had to send me news on his return. "

In the day Saturday, when he heard about the attack in the region, Simone Bruno made several attempts to contact Romeo for news: "At first, the information e ; taient very confused, he says. Then the commander [of the military region] told us that Romeo was missing and they were looking for him. "

Ransom and drug trafficking

Created in 1964, the Farc is one of the last groups of Marxist revolutionary South American continent. The splinter group has been waging for decades of kidnapping campaigns, whose ransoms, parallel to the drug trade, have become their main sources of income. Ingrid Betancourt, French-Colombian politician, was selected for more than six years before being released in 2008.

In recent months, the Colombian security forces have nevertheless won some victories against the rebels, mainly in the north. Weakened by the campaign by the Colombian military with the support of the United States, the FARC freed some hostages and announced they would no longer benefit from Remo movements.

If the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, saw a "step in the right direction," he nevertheless expressed doubts about the willingness of the FARC abandon kidnapping as a source of income or to negotiate lasting peace. An analysis confirmed by the experts who agree that the peace negotiations, even informal, will probably not any results before the 2014 elections.

The military seized power in Guinea-Bissau and leaders of the former opposition agreed Sunday to "dissolve all the institutions" and create a "Transitional National Council" ( CNT), announced Fernando Vaz, spokesman for the party.

The composition of the CNT, the number of people who will sit there and his term will be determined at a meeting Monday of political parties, who then present their proposals for the coup, said Mr. Vaz.

These decisions were made at a joint meeting between leaders of the coup and 22 parties of the former opposition.

Pending the effective implementation of CNT, two committees were created, one charge of "business diplomacy" and the other "social affairs".

The Committee will meet Monday a diplomatic delegation from the States Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) that should come to Bissau to request a return to constitutional order and the continuation of the electoral process interrupted by the coup of April 12.

A second round of presidential elections between Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior and his main opponent Kumba Yala was planned April 29. Mr. Yala, supported by candidates eliminated in the first round of March 18, had decided not to participate after reporting "fraud" in the first round …… ..

Carlos Gomes and President ad interim, Raimundo Pereira, members of the former ruling party, were arrested during the coup. Since then nothing is known of their fate.

The Chief of Staff of the Army, General Antonio Indjai, has also been arrested, according to the junta, but a minister and observers to ; Bissau feel it is behind the coup.

Benedict XVI on Saturday denounced the "threat" to the contemporary man that is "the dark about God and values", when his immense knowledge gives it a " incredible power "at the Easter Vigil marking the entry into the Easter holiday.

"If God and values, the difference between good and evil remain in the dark, all other lights, which give us an incredible power, not only progress but also threats that threaten us and the world, "ruled the pope theologian, concentrating his meditation on" light "of the Resurrection of Jesus.  

"The darkness really threatening for humans is that it is able to view and search for things tangible, material, but does not see where the world is and where he comes, "he observed on a pessimistic note.

Benedict XVI illustrated his point by an image: "Today, we can illuminate our cities in a way so dazzling as the stars of heaven are no longer visible. (…) On the material things we know we can and incredibly much, but that goes beyond this, God and the good, we fail to identify more ".  

Ratzinger said he was worried the "no" to the contemporary Western man to transcendence, just as in the West most people no longer adhere to the major religions are searching.

"The raw material of the world", he said, "is good, the very being is good. Evil does not come from being created by God, but are under negation. It is + not + ", he decided.

"With the resurrection of Jesus, the light itself is created in a new way" to enlighten man, pleaded the head of the Church Catholic.

Benedict XVI also spoke of the necessary unity of the Church, torn by many currents, by using another image, that of the paschal candle wax.  

In wax, "working bees", "comes in all creation, creation becomes the bearer of light", he argued.

"The cooperation of the living community of the faithful in the Church is almost similar to the work of bees (…) We can see in the wax is a reminder to us-me and my and our communion in the church community, it exists so that the light of Christ can enlighten the world, "the Pope recommended.

The pontiff administered the baptism, pouring water on their heads, eight adult catechumens. These three men and five women, of German, Italian, Albanian, Turkmen, American, Slovakian and Cameroon, wearing white jumpers, then received the sacraments of confirmation and communion.

The long ceremony had started two hours and a half earlier with preparation for the paschal candle in the atrium.

The pope was then brought in the huge basilica lit in darkness, advancing on a platform on wheels, in silence.

A proclamation of "Lumen Christi" ("Light of Christ"), the basilica was lit to symbolize the transition from death and sin to that of truth and life, that celebrates the ancient Christian tradition of Easter.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) met in Abidjan Thursday, April 5 (Coast Ivory) to discuss the sending of a regional military force in Mali, cut in half since the capture of Timbuktu, April 1, by the Tuareg rebellion. Having declared Monday a "total embargo", economically, financially and diplomatically, against the ruling junta in Bamako, the regional organization has decided to raise tone.

But she means to deploy a force? "Military intervention is feasible, tells France24.com, Gilles Yabi, Project Manager West Africa at the International Crisis Group based in Dakar, Senegal. Ecowas has made much progress in recent years to establish a military holding force with substantial resources in terms of men and material. "

Looking for support

The armed wing of the organization West African ECOMOG, has already recorded several interventions. This force, which counted up to 20,000 men, was especially deployed in Liberia in 1990 and Sierra Leone in 1997. Through its President, Ivorian Alassane Ouattara, Ecowas announced on 31 March "the immediate establishment of the force holding the Ce Ao ", composed of 2 000 to 3 000 men" already on alert. " Nigeria, the most populous states of the organization, would probably be the main contributor to the force, his army being the most powerful in the region.

"The time of mobilization are important, this force is not immediately available. And I do not think Ecowas alone could throw as many men on the ground in a week or two, says Gilles Yabi. Weather conditions and distances to the north, which have caused problems in the Malian army, would also be a challenge for the force of ECOWAS. "Where the need for logistical support and equipment outside. During its history, with the exception of Liberia in 1990, the ECOWAS has never been able to operate without support.

Former colonial power in Mali, France has already announced that it would not intervene militarily in the country. Interviewed Thursday on FRANCE 24, the French Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe, however, said logistical support to ECOWAS, especially for transport troops, was "quite possible".

To define a term

The likelihood of military intervention in the near future remains subject to numerous other factors. "We can not imagine a military operation in Mali without explicit support of the African Union and UN, international law requires," said Gilles Yabi.

Moreover, if the MNLA announced Thursday the end of military operations in the North and has no desire to continue fighting to the south, the situation on the ground is complicated with the proliferation armed Islamist groups that have not formally renounced conquer the entire territory of Mali in order to establish Sharia. It should clearly define the mission of ECOMOG in Mali: interposition force, intervention (in order replace Amadou Toumani Toure, President filed by the coup March 22) or confrontation with northern rebels (to preserve the integrity of the country and ensure the safety of civilians)?

If an intervention was decided upon it would be unprecedented: the armed forces of ECOWAS had not previously deployed only at the request of a State engaged in a civil war. "Traditionally, we are in a schema with a Member State of ECOWAS intervention and request that the regional organization which is pronounced" says Gilles Yabi. Here, the junta leader, Captain Amadou Sanogo, called for international intervention "emergency" to preserve the territorial integrity, but not in Bamako. But then, since the coup, Mali has been excluded from Ecowas, like the African Union and the United Nations, called the military to relinquish power .

In the absence of legitimately recognized authority in place, Gilles Yabi believes that ECOWAS would be rather tempted to pursue a political solution leading to the "restoration of an authority ; legitimate Bamako "before sending any armed force.

At least six people were killed Thursday in two bombings in Nigeria against the newspaper offices in the capital Abuja and Kaduna (north), reported the police, rescue and correspondents of the AFP.

In Abuja, an explosion rocked the building housing the printing and drafting of national daily ThisDay private, which also seemed to have been referred to Kaduna. This is one of the most influential newspapers and most important of the country.

"Three people were killed, including the assailant," in Abuja, told AFP a relief official who requested anonymity.

Shortly before, the spokesman for the National Emergency Agency (NEMA) was reported injured and felt it was a bomb.

The explosion "took place within the confines of the national newspaper ThisDay. Currently, rescuers from different agencies are on hand to assist and evacuate the victims to hospitals, "said Yushau Shuaib had in a statement.

"A preliminary investigation suggests that the explosive device had been stored somewhere inside" the perimeter offices ThisDay, "he added .

He then said the phone that this scenario was not confirmed and witnesses said a car had forced his way up the printing of the newspaper , before exploding.

In Kaduna, an AFP correspondent heard an explosion outside a building housing the editorial boards of several journals including ThisDay and another national daily, also private, The Sun. 

It seemed that a car had crashed into the building and then has exploded.

"Three (persons) are killed immediately," he told AFP an official of the local organization of emergency, Zakari Adamu Abubakar.

A spokesman for police said a suspect had been arrested, suspected member of the Islamist group Boko Haram.

Boko Haram is responsible for almost daily attacks with explosives or firearms, mostly in the north. More than 1,000 people have been killed since mid-2009 in violence attributed to the group.