Cyrus Vance Jr., a prosecutor very discreet

Bill Clinton was Kenneth Starr, Dominique Strauss Kahn, Cyrus Vance Jr. This will be 56 years attorney is charged with two deputies, John A. McConnell and Lisa Friel, to prove the guilt of DSK in sexual assault case that pitted him against a maid of the Sofitel New York. A trio of shock that will not favor or concession. "Everyone wants and deserves the same thing, a system that makes justice and is based on fairness": that is the credo of Cyrus Vance Jr. At the hearing Thursday in the court of the Supreme Court of New York, John A. McConnell, in any case, polished their arms to convince Judge Michael J.DSK shells that had sufficient wealth to flee if released on parole, citing his alleged escape attempt on the Air France after the alleged assault of Saturday, May 14 If the intervention of the prosecutor has as much weight is that the American system is based on the adversarial process. Unlike the French system where the judge is investigating the charge and discharge, the U.S. Attorney collects evidence that may prove the guilt of the accused. To do this, all means are good.The prosecutor's office joins the police in particular - in this case the Special Victims Bureau, which oversees the Sex Crimes Unit. "In such case, the prosecutor and his team work closely with the police, laboratories, scientists, photographers. In court, the prosecutor will have to prove the guilt of the accused, thanks to evidence and witnesses. He can ask all the incriminating evidence from the hotel, hospital ...", explains Eric Lisann, former United States Attorney.Cyrus Vance Jr., a regular spheres of power under the spotlight since the collapse of the DSK affair, which should capture for weeks or even months, Cyrus Vance Jr. is a regular, since very young, spheres of power. His father, Cyrus Vance, was in fact Secretary of State for the armies of the Kennedy administration and later Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jimmy Carter. But "Junior" has avoided the footsteps of his father, preferring the right policy. A graduate of Yale and Georgetown, he moved to Seattle in 1988, despite a promising start in New York office of the famous attorney at the time, Robert Morgenthau."Cyrus Vance Jr. spent part of his career in Seattle, where he built his reputation as a criminal lawyer. They say he did it to escape the shadow of his father, extremely experienced in New York" France 24 says Frederick T. Davis, counsel to the bars of Paris and New York and former federal prosecutor in New York. A prosecutor "fair and worker" In 2004, he returned to New York. Five years later, the station's popular "district attorney" (counsel for the State of New York) is free. At 90 years, Robert Morgenthau, district attorney of the city between 1975 and 2009, resolved to step down. Indeed, the United States, prosecutors are elected by universal suffrage for a term of four years.The requirement for candidates to campaign to win public opinion is seen as a guarantee of their independence. For Cyrus Vance Jr., is a dream of studying at your fingertips. He made a brilliant campaign in which he received the unanimous support of the press - the tabloids to The New York Times - and Robert Morgenthau, who said on television in April 2009: "I think Vance is by far the most qualified. C ' is a good lawyer, he is right. " In the middle of New York law, this impression is shared: they say discreet, hardworking and fair. "It is very well seen from the bar. It is a fair man, not arrogant and very open. It is more austere and hard as its predecessor, which was highly publicized.There is also a leading expert in criminal law, "Frederick T. Davis continues." The prosecutor is a political figure, but not an ideologue. It is supposed to act on behalf of the people, but is sworn to uphold the law and impartiality. Cyrus Vance Jr. is in this spirit ", adds Eric Lisann. Proponent of local justice, Cyrus Vance Jr. has launched the" community-based justice "based on cooperation between judges, police and social workers. It he cares to defend the poor and tackle crime "particularly in the field of domestic violence and intimate," he says on his website.Emerging "star system"? In November 2009, Cyrus Vance Jr. wins the election "district attorney" as a Democrat, and that with 91% of the vote. "A prosecutor built his career on big shots, he can benefit later. We judge a prosecutor at the rate of charge, in the same way that a lawyer becomes a tenor of the bar in terms of its number acquittals. We can talk about the phenomenon of star system, "said a corporate lawyer's office in New York who wishes to remain anonymous.Prosecutors become highly publicized trials of celebrities, even if they lose, as was the case with Marcia Clark in the case of OJ Simpson, acquitted, for Kenneth Starr, the special prosecutor's "Monicagate" Bill Clinton or Tom Sneddon, Michael Jackson accuser unfortunate. With a deal like that for DSK, Cyrus Vance Jr. could claim the same fame.

Queen Elizabeth II to visit historic and highly monitored in Dublin

Queen Elizabeth II Tuesday began a historic visit to Ireland under surveillance, the first movement of a British monarch since independence in 1922 was troubled by the threat from dissident republicans.

The police are on the warpath in both London and Dublin and Belfast, fearing that Republican dissidents opposed to the peace process in Northern Ireland will build upon the movement to attempt a resounding action.

No fewer than 10,000 police and troops deployed in Ireland for a visit and several people were arrested in recent days, suspected of belonging to the dissident republican movement.

On Monday, a bomb threat from dissident Irish republicans caused a commotion of battle police in London. The "Mall" that leads to Buckingham Palace was closed for several hours after an alert, which proved unfounded.

The fear of an assassination of a dissident group was reinforced by threats brandished late April by a masked man at a rally in Londonderry, Northern Ireland."The queen is not welcome," he had started, saying speak on behalf of the Real IRA who is credited with the recent increase of attacks in Ulster, including the murder of a police officer in April.

The tumultuous relationship between Irish and British have largely subsided since the peace accords of 1998 and the first visit by a British monarch since 1911 figure is a gesture of reconciliation.But resentment still against the former colonial power.

At the time of the independence of Ireland, London has retained in her lap the province of Northern Ireland, mostly Protestant.

Sinn Féin, often accused of links with the IRA (Catholic separatists), found the visit "premature," before acknowledging that it represented a "unique opportunity" to establish "a new relationship based on equality and mutual respect ", joining the majority sentiment.81% of Irish people are friendly to visitors, according to a survey.

Tuesday, Elizabeth II is to lay a wreath at the "Garden of Remembrance (Memorial Garden), erected in honor of victims of the war of independence," a powerful symbol of reconciliation, "the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.

She must decide Wednesday night a highly anticipated speech, joined for the occasion by Prime Minister David Cameron and the head of British diplomacy, William Hague. The movement will end Friday.

UNITED STATES: The flood of the Mississippi force load shedding to prevent the flooding of New Orleans

U.S. authorities have opened a valve unloader on the Mississippi River in Louisiana (south), which recorded a historic flood in order to prevent further flooding of New Orleans, six years after Katrina.

The body of Engineers U.S. Army had previously announced it would open gradually from 3:00 p.m. (2000 GMT) the overflow channel of Morganza, Louisiana, to avoid a "wall of water "in the words of the governor of this state, Bobby Jindal, does descend on thousands of homes located along the Atchafalaya River.

"It may be more a marathon than a sprint," said Gen. Michael Walsh at a news conference in Morganza, stating that "enormous pressure weighing on the entire system."

The valve was opened when the river flow reached 42,500 cubic meters per second.This is only the second time since its construction in 1954 that emergency channel is open.

If all the floodway gates were open, the flow would reach a rate of 17,000 cubic meters per second, three times the volume of water that falls daily from Niagara Falls.

To avoid such a destructive flow, a single valve was opened Saturday to pass 280 cubic meters per second, one or two others could be Sunday.

Load shedding, which will supply water into the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to cause flooding of 1.2 million hectares but will save Baton Rouge and New Orleans, the martyred city of Hurricane just who is recovering from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005, Governor Jindall.

New Orleans is protected by dikes upstream from six yards but the water has already reached 5.2 meters, and the worst floods in 70 years-that struck the central United States follow the course of the Mississippi south .

They have so far destroyed thousands of homes, farms and roads in Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi.

In view of downloading, the authorities have carried out evacuations in rural areas will be affected, a sacrifice which the mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu, said he was conscious.

"It's a tragic situation for everyone in America and of course for people who live in the Atchafalaya Basin and Morgan City.We wholeheartedly with them, "he said, noting that it would save his city.

Cindy Prejean, a resident of Gibson, a town a hundred miles from New Orleans, expects to see its home swim in 1.5 meters of water.

"What gives them the right to inundate us? Here there are so many neighborhoods, businesses and farms," ​​she told AFP.

According to forecasts, the opening of the channel load shedding could lead to peak at 4.5 meters in some neighborhoods.

The army said it would focus more on individuals than on the property.In anticipation, the American Red Cross has prepared thousands of places for evacuees.

Economically, the activity of the Port of New Orleans are continuing normally but 2,200 oil wells were threatened by floodwaters.

FRANCE: "The RSA is not a salary but a safety net

With his proposed reform of Revenue solidarité active (RSA), the French Minister for European Affairs, Laurent Wauquiez, caused an uproar on the left and right, and even within the government.

Sunday, the minister, speaking as leader of the club "The social right", proposed to cap the accumulated social benefits to 75% of the minimum wage (SMIC) or requesting five hours Weekly social service recipients of the RSA in exchange for payment of their allowance. Objective: to fight against the "cancer of the assistantship" in the words of the minister.

Immediately, several government figures have stood the initiative of Laurent Wauquiez.On Tuesday, Prime Minister Francois Fillon flew to the aid of this speech establishment in May 2007 under the leadership of Martin Hirsch, then High Commissioner for Active Solidarity against Poverty. "Thanks to the RIAA, return to work is more attractive than the dependence of solidarity, said the head of government in the National Assembly.The RSA is an advance over the RMI [minimum integration income, ed]. "

For Helen Perivier, an economist at the French Observatory of Economic Conditions (OFCE), the tracks of reform Laurent Wauquiez upset the very nature of social assistance and, therefore, the French social model.

FRANCE 24 - How would the Minister Laurent Wauquiez they trigger such an outcry?

Helen Perivier - Currently, people who touch the RSA must actively seek employment. They are supposed to be covered either by social workers or through outplacement services as the employment center, or both, so that it can work again as soon as possible.Jobs in assisted contracts in the nonprofit sector is the major route of reintegration into employment of recipients of welfare benefits.

However, these jobs are more or less general interest in the work recommended by Laurent Wauquiez [monitoring outside schools, cleaning, reception in public services, Ed]. This statement is therefore to stigmatize people who touch the RSA but does nothing in terms of stimulating the job market or re-employment in this population. The danger would be to move from a logic of solidarity, which is based on social assistance in France, a logic of "workfare" pure, ie reimbursement of aid paid by a few hours.The RSA is not a salary as a salary provides access to social rights (pensions, unemployment insurance, etc..), But a guaranteed minimum income, which represents a last safety net.

F24 - It is therefore to change the nature of the French social model ...

HP - Everything is a question of balance between the idea of ​​merit and solidarity. In France, it is clear that the solidarity prevails, but this assay is moving in time. With the implementation of RSA, it has already moved the cursor to the merits, since moved to supplement the wages first by a grant once the unemployed back into employment.

F24 - Are there other countries in cases of "social service" as proposed by Laurent Wauquiez?

HP- United States, for example, welfare is clearly based more on the concept of merit than on solidarity. This logic has hardened in the 1980s with President Ronald Reagan, and "workfare", which means "work for your welfare" ["work for your own wealth"] was true act in the mid- 1990 with the reform of social assistance. Some states, like Indiana, have a very strict and follow a logical allocation of reimbursement by a community service.

SYRIA: The army occupies Banias, at least six protesters killed

At least six people were killed Saturday in the coastal city of Banias (northwest), a hotbed of protest in Syria, invested at dawn by the army and where gunfire rang out at the end of the day .

Four women demanding the release of detainees were killed in the afternoon by the security forces, according to a militant and two people were in the late afternoon, according to a report given by the Syrian Observatory of Human Man who was unable to specify the origin of fire.

Heavy gunfire were heard in four districts of the city, as an activist for human rights and a witness.The clashes took place near the Corniche, at the southern entrance, the entrance to the souk and the bridges Marqb and Ras el-Nabe, the sources said.

Security forces fired on a procession of women

"There were two killed and several wounded by gunfire, but we do not know who are the perpetrators," he told AFP an official of the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights.

According to the activist and the witness, the army "safe" neighborhoods, one after the other, and the security services then entered it, making dozens of arrests. The witness said snipers were deployed on buildings.Earlier, four women who demonstrated at the entrance to the city demanding the release of detainees were killed by members of security forces, told AFP an activist.

He said the security forces asked 150 women gathered on the highway between Banias Latakia to leave. "When they refused to comply, they opened fire," he added.

According to activists, the tanks came at dawn to Banias, a town of 40,000 inhabitants on the shores of the Mediterranean, where communications and electricity were cut.Vessels patrolling off the army, facing the southern districts, and tanks surrounded the nearby village of Baida.

Calls for jihad were launched from the minarets of mosques and people took to the streets, witnesses said.

"Units of the army and security forces continued today with members of terrorist groups to Banias (northwest) and around Deraa (south) to restore security and stability," announced Meanwhile a military source.

Soldiers and police have "arrested wanted persons and laid hands on a quantity of weapons that these groups have used to attack the army and citizens," the army said.The regime accuses groups "criminals" or "terrorists" being responsible for violence in the country since mid-March.

INTERNET: A Chinese man opens the waltz of IPOs social media

It moves to the front of social media in China. While Facebook negotiate its presence in the former Middle Kingdom, a local actor made a great leap forward stock. RenRen, the main social network made in China with 140 million users, arrived on Wall Street Wednesday. This "Chinese Facebook" even became the first player in the social web in the world to put both feet on the financial markets.

And the operation looks juicy. The IPO, which will be sealed off Thursday, RenRen must value to nearly $ 5 billion, or 67 times the real income of the company (77 million in 2010). A large gap which must be the envy of the little world of social media. Even Facebook can not generate such enthusiasm.The market value of the king of this universe 2.0 is estimated at nearly $ 70 billion or "only" 25 times its revenues. What then explains the success of RenRen? It is in three words: Facebook, Social Media and China.

The comparison with the American big brother does not stop only at the social network dimension. Like Facebook, the Chinese site was created in December 2005 as a portal for students. Subsequently, he conquered a wider audience, led by its CEO Joe Chen who copied each feature of Facebook (Connect, Places, Groups etc..).

Still, differences exist. First, the site must comply with the state censorship and will probably never be a vehicle for revolution as Facebook could be in Arab countries.RenRen but is also much less dependent on advertising, which represents only 40% of its revenues against 70% for Facebook. The rest comes home games that are a hit among users of the site.

The first in a long series

And RenRen is Chinese. "The company may be overvalued, but people will buy shares whatever happens [because it is Chinese]," said Darren Fabric, the director of an investment fund in Chicago on Tuesday Bloomberg . The dozen Chinese companies new technologies that have an IPO in recent months have all passed their time.The course of some companies - such as the Chinese equivalent of Dangdang Amazon - even won 50% in a few days after their initial quotes.

Investors are also attracted by the growth potential of RenRen. The social network has won 19% of new entrants in a year. And with a population of 400 million Chinese Internet users, has yet RenRen margin.

Finally, everything related to social media seems to hold gold in the eyes of investors. So much so that a true bubble seems to have formed the Silicon Valley (American mecca of new technologies).RenRen as a leading player in this sector to do its IPO, carries the hopes of all those who bet on social media.

After RenRen, other groups known to Western audiences more, must soon pass not turn the stock market. The professional social network LinkedIn, the giant video game on Facebook's site Zynga and bulk purchase Groupon are expected on Wall Street this year. The head honcho of the sector, Facebook, has hinted that he contemplated an IPO until next year

SYRIA: Dozens of protesters killed during the "Friday of Wrath

At least 62 civilians were killed Friday in Syria during demonstrations against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, mostly Deraa in the south, said the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights. In a first assessment, the organization spoke of 48 dead.

The Observatory has reported 35 deaths in the province of Deraa (south), 15 in the Homs (center) and one in Latakia (northwest). Later, it was reported that Syrian security forces had opened fire on the crowd Rastan (center), killing 13 protesters and wounding 45.

A Deraa, home of the dispute, at least thirty-five people were killed and dozens others injured by shots fired by security forces at the entrance to the city, told AFP the militants Human Rights.Tens of thousands of people defied the ban on demonstrations by marching in several cities demanding the regime fell.A week ago, Friday, April 22, repression killed more than 80 dead.

Meanwhile, a military spokesman quoted by the official SANA news agency said that four Syrian soldiers were killed at dawn and kidnapped two others in Deraa in an attack by "armed terrorist group".

The demonstrators in the streets of Deraa, Damascus, Homs and Banias

Six weeks after the start of an unprecedented protest movement against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, "the Syrian youth revolution" had called on Facebook to "Friday of Wrath" in solidarity with Deraa, cradle of the revolt , besieged by the army since Monday.

Responding to this call, 2.000 demonstrators gathered in Midane, a district of Damascus, said militants told AFP.And several thousand people gathered in WQAS, near the capital.

In the industrial city of Homs (center), thousands of people shouted "Down with the regime," according to videos filmed by militants and released for the first time in real time on the internet.

At Banias, nearly 10,000 people demonstrated, chanting "Freedom, solidarity with Deraa," according to activists of human rights.

At Deir Ez-Zor, 460 km northeast of Damascus, a thousand of protesters emerged from mosques and Al-Farouk Al-Othman were dispersed "with sticks and electric cables" by security forces, has told AFP Nawaf al-Bashir, a militant human rights.

And Ar Raqqa, 540 km northeast of the capital, 300 to 400 people shouted "God Almighty, let the siege be lifted to Deraa," said Abdallah al-Khalil, a member of an association of defense of human rights.

In the predominantly Kurdish region of northern Syria, 15,000 people marched without incident in Qamishli and three surrounding communities, according to Kurdish officials for Human Rights.

Unauthorized demonstrations despite the end of emergency rule

The authorities, however, reiterated the ban on protests: "In current circumstances, the Interior Ministry calls on citizens to refrain from conducting demonstrations or sit-in under any slogan, without official permission" according to a statement carried by the official Sana agency.

"Existing laws will be enforced to ensure safety of citizens and the stability of the country", added the ministry.

On 19 April, Mr.Assad issued a decree requiring event organizers to obtain prior official authorization in this country ruled with an iron hand by a single party, the Baath, since 1963.

Four soldiers killed by "terrorists" or protecting the demonstrators?

The army said that four Syrian soldiers were killed and two others abducted at dawn Friday in an attack against a military post in Dera (south) by an "armed terrorist group".

Earlier in the day, an activist in Deraa, Abazid Abdallah, told AFP that four soldiers were "killed while defending the people."

"We are peaceful people, at no time have we borne arms against the army or cons or security services," said Abazid.

On Monday, the army had launched an unprecedented offensive to quell the revolt Deraa where, according to a report of the Observatory of Human Rights, 50 people were killed.

Since the beginning of the protest, more than 500 people were killed across the country, as the "Committee of the martyrs of 15 March", close to opponents.But the military spokesman denied that figure, saying 148 people had been killed - 78 soldiers and policemen and 70 civilians.

The Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations held in Geneva on Friday a special session on Syria at the request of the United States who wish to adopt a resolution condemning the crackdown.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the main opposition group in the country, accused the regime of committing "genocide" and called on people not to succumb to the "tyrants" in reference to Mr. Assad.