Dozens of policemen injured in sectarian violence in Belfast

 

AFP – Forty-seven police officers were injured Sunday in sectarian violence in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, during a parade organized by supporters of a connection to the Ireland, according to a new report from the police announced Monday.

The previous record had reported 10 police officers injured.

Loyal members of the Protestant community, in favor of keeping Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, Sunday tried to disrupt a march organized by Republicans Catholic supporters of attachment to the Ireland. Both sides have attacked police who tried to keep them at bay.

The police were covered by bricks, stones and Molotov cocktails. Four were hospitalized and 43 were treated for minor injuries.

"I am both angry and sad that my men were targeted by an attack as important," said one of the police officers in Northern Ireland, George Clarke.

"The problems are not only the lives of people in danger, but (…) we are also wasting a lot of money that could be better used for schools and hospitals," he added. "Violence can not be a solution," he said, adding that calm had returned in the night from Sunday to Monday.

Northern Ireland has witnessed three decades of intercommunal strife that have some 3,500 dead. A peace agreement was signed in 1998, but sporadic violence still occur.

MARKET: Apple enters the market history of the United States

 

AFP – U.S. computer group Apple Monday beat the record for the largest market capitalization of all time, dethroning Microsoft fellow who held this title since 1999.

The Apple stock is rising sitting up 664.75 dollars, which, based on the number of shares outstanding, representing a total market capitalization of 623.14 billion dollars.

The previous record was in session held by Microsoft, which had reached 30 December 1999 market capitalization of 620.58 billion dollars, according to statistics agency Standard and Poor's. She has since largely melted, to 258.29 billion dollars.

Most Apple is currently only funded for the meeting. "The closing of this evening need to be at 657.50 dollars (beat) the record of closing capitalization", also owned by Microsoft since December 1999 with a slightly lower level, 616.34 billion, said an analyst with MS.

Around 4:40 p.m. GMT, Apple's stock was still well above that level, rising 1.95% to 660.75 dollars.

The title, which had been closed at the highest level ever Friday (648.11 dollars), is doped for several days of speculation about the upcoming release of new generations of the tee ; telephoning multifunction iPhone and iPad tablet computer, and a "iTV". 

Rated very optimistic investment bank Jefferies had fed the enthusiasm of the market Friday, raising its price target to $ 900.

The alleged gunman's Sikh Temple Oak Creek was a former soldier

 

AFP – U.S. authorities were investigating Monday to determine the motivations of the alleged perpetrator of the fatal shooting of a Sikh temple Sunday in Wisconsin (north), an ex- military white age 40.

The alleged gunman, named Wade Michael Page, had served in the U.S. Army as a specialist in psychological warfare from 1992 to 1998 as a private first class and received several dice ; decorations for good behavior, said Monday morning the Pentagon.

Sunday, he killed six people in a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, a suburb of Milwaukee, 15 days after the shooting in the first Batman movie in Aurora , Colorado (west), during which James Holmes, 24, killed 12 people. 

Both shootings were again revived in the U.S. debate on the possession of firearms. The right to own weapons is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

Joined the army at age 20, Wade Michael Page had left six years later without having been deployed on overseas operations . He had been particularly based in Fort Bliss, Texas (south) and Fort Bragg (North Carolina, southeast).

The work of Wade Michael Page, as a specialist in psychological warfare operations, was to gather information from people and to conduct operations designed to influence them in a direction favorable to integrated ; American interests.

"I'm really surprised. It was really a cool guy … "said a Monday morning at AFP neighbor Wade Michael Page, John Hoyt:" The only negative things I have heard, it was about war, about his girlfriend or President Bush – Bush Junior, because he had started the war ".

Wade Michael Page would have also ensured he was deployed twice to Iraq, which, according to the states of the alleged gunman revealed by the Pentagon , seems unlikely: he entered the army a year after the first Gulf War and has left long before the U.S. invasion Iraq in 2003.

Mr. Hoyt has also confirmed seeing – as reported witnesses to the shooting – a tattoo evoking Sept. 11 on the shoulder of Wade Michael Page.

A racist act?

Several U.S. media outlets, Wade Michael Page would have been a follower of the racist theories of the supremacy of the white race, an information that local and federal authorities n ' have not wanted to confirm.

On Sunday, on forums and racist sites American Internet users regretted the shooting perpetrated in Oak Creek could harm their cause.

"It's not all that good, guys", and commented after the announcement of the shooting a surfer named "Proud White Chap" ("Proud white guy"), the site reported Sunday U.S. specialty SITE. 

Officials speaking on condition of anonymity had said Sunday night that some details of the biography of the shooter gave the impression to an act of "domestic terrorism".

Sikhs, who wear a turban and beard, are often mistaken for Muslims and are the subject of racist attacks in this capacity in the U.S., especially since September 11. They are between 500,000 to 700,000 in the United States.

INDIA: Up to 300 million Indians without electricity after a power giant

 

AFP – A massive power outage Monday in northern India without power or water, up to 300 million people and caused chaos in urban transport, including in the capital New Delhi.

This is the worst "blackout" in India for eleven years, officials said.

The entire power grid in the north collapsed shortly after 2:00 in the night between Sunday and Monday (8:30 p.m. GMT Sunday) and could be partially restored as six hours later, said the Energy Minister, Sushilkumar Shinde.

According to preliminary investigation, an overload on the electrical system have resulted in supply disruptions cascade, said Mr. Shinde, regretting "an accident, failure".

This failure has disrupted rail traffic throughout the region, the subway in New Delhi and removed the traffic lights in major cities, causing countless traffic jams in the morning rush hour.

"The entire northern region", home to 28% of the population of 1.2 billion people, has been affected, according to the group in charge of network e electrical from northern India, Power System Operation Corp.. (PSOC).

For many people, there is no current has also created problems of water supply, pumps located on the roofs of buildings in major cities run by electricity.

The nine states concerned are Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttaranchal and Madhya Pradesh.

In New Delhi, the Metro was able to resume at 7:00 Monday morning but it was not working at 25% capacity. "We hope a return to normal within several hours," commented simply a spokesperson Anuj Dayal.

Hospitals and airports in the region have been able to function normally with generators, officials said.

According to the Minister of Energy, 60% of the electricity supply was restored at 11:00.

During the last major blackout in 2001, the electricity network in the north had collapsed for 16 hours, said the Minister stating that a committee of investigation would be established to identify causes of the blackout. 

According to group president of public power in Uttar Pradesh, Avinash Awasthi, quoted by NDTV, the network would collapse due to several states that have exceeded permitted capacity to meet the high demand during the summer, where temperatures tu 40 degrees.

Mr. Shinde said that this kind of blackout was not the prerogative of developing countries, citing the 2003 United States which could not be resolved until after "four days".

In India, an emerging country in search of new energy supplies to fuel its growth, power cuts are frequent but they usually last only brief moments .

India, which depends mainly on coal, seeks to portray the nuclear share in electricity production from 3% currently to 25% by 2050.

FRANCE: Balanced budget: Holland is close to Sarkozy

 

Francois Hollande may well have repeated, during his campaign and since his election to the French presidency, he would not make his horse a balanced budget of battle, yet it is this objective that is based on its economic policy. This is the conclusion in the report that the French Observatory of Economic Conditions (OFCE) presented this Thursday, July 26.

"If the choice to achieve deficit reduction are different from the previous government, Francois Hollande appears, in fact, the same commitment to discipline that Nicolas Sarkozy" confirms Timbeau Xavier, director of analysis and forecasting of the OFCE. A figure illustrates this trend: between lower spending and higher taxes, the government expects to achieve 105 billion savings over five years. "It is an effort of unprecedented austerity in France," said Xavier Plane, specialist of the French economy at OFCE.

Hemorrhage in the industry

For French think tank that focuses on the left, the worst is that austerity would not suffice to achieve the goal of returning to balanced budgets. Based on the scenario of the OFCE, rigor slow growth – which will then be less than the 1.5% forecast by the government for the next five years – which will result in lower tax revenues and, ultimately, a shortfall of 16 billion euros in 2017.

However, the report said, the cost saving measures will have an obvious adverse effect on employment. Over the period 2012-2017, France could lose more than 200,000 jobs, with hemorrhage particularly important in industry where they are 377,000 jobs that could disappear. The unemployment rate, which is close to 10% today, projected to rise to 11%, remained there.

These poor figures could have been worse. Measures being developed, such as contract generation (exemption of charges for hiring a young and retention of an employee aged 55 to less) and subsidized contracts should contribute to the creation of nearly 200,000 jobs. These bills with a social is the main difference with the previous government, "insists Eric Heyer, deputy director in the Department and specialist analysis and forecasting labor market .

Throughout Europe in tune

The pessimistic scenario of the OFCE assumes that France and other countries in the euro area are keen to return to a deficit below 3% of GDP to meet the criteria Maastricht. "Paris and other governments are so keen to reduce the budget because they think as if the euro area was not in crisis," Xavier Timbeau sorry.

"Rising unemployment is the price of this illusion of a Euro not yet in crisis based fiscal policies being implemented," slice Philippe Weil, director of the OFCE. For the observatory, it is essential to challenge the race to deficit reduction. The sooner the better because this austerity widespread in Europe "increases the risk of disintegration of the euro area," said Xavier Timbeau calling the French government to make concessions on austerity and convince other countries to do likewise.

FOOTBALL: Laurent Blanc will be fixed on his future within 48 hours

 

REUTERS – The President of the French Football Federation (FFF), The Christmas Graët, and Laurent Blanc met Thursday and decided to give within 48 hours of additional reflection about the future of coach of the Blues.

The contract of Laurent Blanc, who has met the goal it had set the pattern of French football to qualify for the quarterfinals of Euro 2012, expires on Saturday.

"We were given 48 hours to consider it. We have many common views, "he told reporters the former Bordeaux coach after his interview with The Christmas Graët at the headquarters of the FFF, which lasted several hours.

"We do not stop on a decision. We will talk again in the weekend, "said Lawrence White.

The fitness trail halftone of the Blues to the Euro, and especially the controversy arose in public opinion about the behavior of several players make the delicate negotiations. Another sticking point is on the staff of Laurent Blanc, The Christmas Graët judge bloated and expensive.

FORMULA 1: Fernando Alonso won the European Grand Prix

 

AFP – Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) won Sunday in Valencia, before his audience, a European GP who will return for sure in the annals of Formula 1, Kimi before the Räikkö ; nen (Lotus-Renault) and Germany's Michael Schumacher (Mercedes).

Three world champions are on the podium after the race conducted at a cracking pace, neutralized the 28th to the 33rd lap, and then marked by the abandonment of the German Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) and French Romain Grosjean (Lotus), both on mechanical failure. 

Last shot of theater, Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) finished 56th in the rail and the penultimate lap, after a clash with Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado (Williams), then he was third and Alonso could have done as a good move in the championship of the world.

This is the second victory of Alonso this season, after Malaysia, while the first seven races had ended with many different winners.  

Party of the 11th on the grid, the Spanish double world champion Grosjean jumped to double by the end of neutralization, then took the abandonment of Vettel to take the lead and to leave.

It is also the first podium of Schumacher, seven times world champion, since the end of his sabbatical three years (2007-2009) and his return in early 2010, Mercedes.

Assange why he seeks political asylum in Ecuador?

 

New twist in the case Assange. In the twilight of a long legal battle of 18 months – in which the cyber-warrior pledged to fight his extradition to Sweden – the founder of Wikileaks has created the stunning asking for political asylum in Ecuador Tuesday after having taken refuge in its embassy in London.

To believe his lawyers, who are now trying to justify his actions, taking refuge at the Embassy of Ecuador was not a ploy to evade justice Swedish – who wants to hear in a case of sexual crimes. Rather it was the only way to escape had Assange U.S. courts. The Internet fugitive, afraid indeed over-all that Sweden does not extradite to the United States, a country in which it might incur the death penalty for "espionage", since the online via its website Wikileaks of hundreds of thousands of confidential documents U.S..

"The embassy most impervious to U.S. pressure"

But why choose to hide in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London? Because that country had already provided support to Assange late 2010, offering him asylum? "Perhaps indeed that this outstretched hand has not been forgotten by the fugitive," said Jean-Jacques Kourliandsky, Latin America specialist at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS). But according to the expert, it is mainly due to the fiercely anti-American position of Quito that Assange turned to the "diplomatic sanctuary".

"He went to the only embassy that will not put it back in the United States. One that is more impervious to U.S. pressure. He could not, for example, take refuge in the Mexican Embassy or Colombian. One is a member of NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement], the other is a great ally of the United States. They would not hesitate to give it to Washington after a few days ", he develops.

Rafael Correa, the Ecuadorean head of state, has in fact never hidden his contempt for the United States, a country he considers the political and economic influence dice ; sastreuse for his country. "Recently, Correa has not digested the Chevron [the name of the U.S. oil company responsible for an ecological disaster in the Amazon, Ed ]. And Ecuador is a member of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), a group of states very critical of the U.S. presence in the region, "the specialist. Two months ago, Quito had even refused to attend the Summit of the Americas, Colombia, because of the absence of Cuba "countries that had not been invited" .

"Welcome to the club of the persecuted"

In addition to these political reasons, the decision to Assange turning to Ecuador could it also be related to the affect? For cyber-warrior and the socialist president of Ecuador are not really strangers to one another. On May 22, Assange, then host of a talk show for Russia Today – a Russian channel in English sponsored by the Kremlin – had interviewed from London Rafael Correa. The latter had, it seems, took a liking to this man "persecuted, slandered," victim, like himself, he believes, a campaign lynching conducted by the United States. "Welcome to the club of the persecuted," had he included launching.

"For Correa, Assange embodies in its own way a form of resistance in the United States," the specialist IRIS. And no matter if the revelation in 2010 of diplomatic cables Wikileaks had not spared Ecuador, accused of corruption and violation of freedom of the press . "The opinion of Ecuador somewhat forgotten the existence of these revelations," said Jean-Jacques Kourliandsky. "Only now has the symbolic fight that could lead Ecuador against Washington because of this new diplomatic weapon," concludes the researcher. Provided, of course, that Quito gives a favorable response to the request of Assange …

FRANCE: The new circular on foreign students greater flexibility to stay

 

The new circular on foreign students, published Tuesday, repeals the controversial circular Gueant and slightly softens rules on their condition of stay in completion of their studies in France.

Contacted by AFP, the Ministry of Higher Education could not be reached Tuesday afternoon.

The circular, which covers "access to the labor market for foreign graduates", was written after a collaboration between Ministries of Interior, Labor, and the Higher Education and Research. 

It repeals Gueant circular of 31 May 2011 and Supplementary Circular of January 12, 2012, "according to the commitments of President of the Republic", under the new circular to pre FETs.

The review asks prefects to "priority review cases filed since June 1, 2011" and "grant the applicants a temporary residence permit for six months, not renewable, with a work permit, or, for those who have a job offer, a receipt with a work permit during the investigation of their case. " 

After the publication of the circular Gueant, the name of former interior minister, many foreign graduates, including some very qualified, who had e ty recruited in French companies, could not get a change of status from student to employee.

Employers had to give up the hire and several students found themselves in an irregular situation, under the threat of deportation.

The new text is the result of consultation with student organizations, the Conference of Grandes Ecoles and the Conference of University Presidents. 

The priority given to the review of cases filed since June 1, 2011 "was the main point of our discussions with speakers from the three departments," he told AFP Fatma Chouaïeb, spokesman for the Collective May 31 very advanced in opposition to the circular Gueant.

The new circular "aims to repair the immediate damage of the circular Gueant. There are about 300 people that are within the scope of this text, but this figure does not reflect reality, "she added.

If the tone of the new circular "changes quite radically, in essence, legally, this is roughly the same thing and it can not be different because the legal texts and regulations (on the situation of foreign students) are the same, "said Serge Slama, professor of public law at the University of Evry Val d'Essonne, questioned by AFP.

Circular Guéant "does not change the situation of foreign students. It was a measure of display in a particular context where Claude Gueant announces 20% drop in immigration work. She represented the symbol of this closure and that is why it was challenged, "he added.

However, "the practice of prefectures and Directions of employment have been harder" in reviewing the files of foreign students, said Mr. Slama.

The circular asked the prefects Gueant teaching "rigorous" applications for work permits for students, and to exercise a "thorough check" of requests for change of status of e ; foreign students (from student to employee).

The new interior minister "Manuel Valls was asked to be sympathetic, to thin the game but not to change the rules of the game It's not his role, "concluded Serge Slama, spinning the football metaphor.

SCIENCE: The Solar Impulse goes to Madrid

 

AFP – Swiss experimental aircraft Solar Impulse solar flew Thursday without a drop of fuel from Payerne (Switzerland) to Madrid (Spain), the first phase of its first intercontinental flight to Morocco before a world tour pre ; seen in 2014.

Thursday at midday, this device was unique to the south of Clermont-Ferrand, Toulouse en route to cross in the early evening the Pyrenees, main obstacle in his path.

The aircraft flown by André Borschberg, a commercial pilot co-leader of this operation with Bertrand Picard, began his ascent to 9000 m at 1:20 p.m. (11H20GMT), some 40 minutes ahead on its plan flight. The flight was followed from the control center established on the military airport of Payerne (western Switzerland) where Solar Impulse took off Thursday morning. His dialogue was seen live on the website http://www.live.solarimpulse.com.

Andre Borschberg met regularly live to televisions or radios.

"I spent the first few hours to create a living environment in this small space in anticipation of a flight of nearly 20 hours," he said, stressing its " ; extraordinarily strong confidence in this technology that can fly day and night ".

After takeoff at 8:24 (6:24 GMT), delayed nearly two hours on the program because of fog, the aircraft had almost recovered schedules scheduled for early afternoon.

It is powered by four electric motors, a power of 10 hp each, powered by 12.000 photocells covering its huge wing. Energy is stored in batteries, allowing the aircraft to fly at night.

Solar Impulse has the wingspan of an Airbus A340 (63.4 meters) but weighs only 1,600 kg, the weight of an average car.

The entire first part of the flight took place around 3000 meters above sea level, thereby not using the onboard oxygen, restricted for reasons of weight .

The landing will be done at the airport of Madrid-Barajas at 2:00 (0000 GMT) Friday morning. The organizers reserve the right to cancel the flight in weather conditions.

This flight-by-step is necessary because the device is not large enough to allow a longer trip. The stopover in Madrid will also carry out technical checks before departure for Morocco, expected no earlier than Monday.

The explorer and other co-founder of the project, Bertrand Piccard, will then take over to bring the unit over the Strait of Gibraltar to its final destination, Rabat.

This flight, which will cross for the first time the Mediterranean, should serve as a "rehearsal for the final world tour in 2014," the organizers said. The tour will also allow the team to test the device as part of international air traffic and major airports. Seven years of work went to a team of 70 people and 80 partners to build this airplane made of carbon fiber.

The construction of a second device, intended to sail around the world without fuel in 2014, has already begun. The unit will be larger, have a larger cockpit as well as new batteries and new engines. The aircraft must be ready in 2013 for a first test flight in the same year.