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.

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.

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.

SPECULATION: Banks fingered in rising food prices

The food market would be better off without the investment banks? Undoubtedly, "replied the British NGO World Development Movement (WDM) - the equivalent of Transparency International for all economic development issues - which on Tuesday released a new study of the impact of speculation on rising food prices whose level reached today than in 2008, during the riots. "Banks have depleted plunged into famine and millions of people in developing countries," says FRANCE 24's and Murray Worthy, head of WDM strategies.

Since the financial crisis, banks have certainly become easy targets, but figures provided by the NGOs are talking.British bank Barclays, for example, collected 383 million euros in 2010 by simply betting on rising food prices. "It's an estimate that we made from public figures from Barclays Capital [the investment bank Barclays, Ed] and data market," said Murray Worthy. Barclays declined to respond to these assertions.

This taste of the British bank for speculation in these markets has no equal in Europe. Only U.S. banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the strongest.Thus, according WDM, Goldman Sachs dominates this small world of speculators with a billion dollars (684 million) collected per year in these markets.

After the subprime

Speculation on food are certainly since the early 20th century, but has reached dangerous levels at the dawn of the 2008 food crisis. In 2003, she was indeed the order of $ 3 billion per year ... against 55 billion in 2008, said Olivier De Schutter, the UN special rapporteur for the right to food. "2011 should be another record year," warns Murray Worthy.The amount of speculative trading on commodity markets (food, energy, metals) is expected to reach $ 400 billion this year, against 300 billion in 2008, the UN says.

The appetite of investment banks for food grew after the collapse of the subprime bubble. "They have sought a new home which was not yet regulated in which to invest too quickly," Murray decrypts Worthy.They were then reminded that the U.S. had deregulated the marketing of foodstuffs in the early 2000s.

Bubble

Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs and others have then imported and developed financial products that made the heyday of the U.S. housing market ... before driving to his loss. "These banks have transformed the property market is often vital for people in financial market," laments Murray Worthy. Barclays Capital has even created the equivalent of CDOs ("Collateralized Debt Obligation") for raw materials, these highly sophisticated financial products which have played an important role in the subprime crisis.They allowed players who have no connection with the purchase and sale of maize, wheat and other grains - such as pension funds - to invest their money in these markets, denounces World Development Movement.

The NGO acknowledges that speculation is only one element among many of soaring food prices. The OECD estimates that the weather conditions, the development of biofuels and the current instability of the Arab countries have a greater impact. But for WDM, speculation escape increasingly out of control. "The bubble is now grow very quickly," warns Murray Worthy.The NGO estimated that it would limit the amounts that banks can invest in the markets for food products and better frame the nature of transactions. Recommendations already made by the European Commission in 2008 ...

FOOTBALL: The Elephants for peace in Cote d'Ivoire

He has done everything that the Ivorian presidential election last November takes place in a climate of serenity, creating a media campaign around the Elephant and the democratic process, but these are the weapons that will ultimately have the last word. Regis Lemon, president of the association Foot'Attitude, did not let down either.Laurent Gbagbo to stop, Regis Lemon gave football to the heart of its action for the process of reconciliation between the supporters of former president and his successor, Alassane Ouattara, is set in the best possible conditions.

"For now, players do not have much voice in the media because the situation is still very unstable here and we want to avoid the danger that their words will be misinterpreted. But they are very involved," says Regis Lemon who lived through the dark hours of the battle of Abidjan since his residence in the district of Cocody in Abidjan.

"All the players are aware of the role they can play peacemaker in the process of reconciliation that is in place.The next action Foot'Attitude be held in early June for the return match against the Beninese, "promises Regis Lemon who hopes that his message, this time it will of course.

These photos were taken during the match Ivory Coast-Benin accounting for the qualifications of the CAN-2012. This meeting should be played March 27 in Abidjan, but it was finally relocated to Accra in Ghana. Foot'Attitude hopes this experience will be renewed in the second leg on June 3 at Porto Novo.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Chelsea-Manchester United, a duel between English clubs showing shifts

The game 100% English between Chelsea and Manchester United as a poster of the quarterfinals of the Champions League, which the draw took place Friday at UEFA headquarters in Nyon (Switzerland).

The Red Devils, who won the Blues on penalties in the final of the 2008 edition, will have to find the heart of Londoners after their last league match on 1 March. The Red Devils were so inclined on the pitch at Stamford Bridge (2-1) on a penalty issue, triggering the wrath of Alex Ferguson, coach of MU.Result: The main person was handed a five-game suspension and 35,000 euro fine for attacking the referee.

Real Madrid - Barcelona in the semi-finals?

Those who attended the draw will not failed to notice the hypothetical encounter between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona looming in the semifinals of the event.

Indeed, if Madrid beat the Londoners Tottenham in the quarter and if Barcelona do not fall into the trap of Shaktar Donetsk, the two Spanish giants could well play their fourth face-to-face for the season. Because the two clubs will meet in the final of the King's Cup, scheduled April 20, after the two Clasico of the season - the first of which was won 5-0 by Barca, while the second is scheduled April 17.A week later, on 25 or 26 April, the two clubs could therefore still compete in the Champions League ... What a little stoke the rivalry between the two clubs.

The other match of these quarters will pit the defending champions, Inter Milan, Schalke 04 of Spanish striker Raul. A meeting also doubtful for the team from the Ruhr for the Lombards, who defeated another German team in the knockout finals: Bayern Munich. But with the worst difficulties ...

The draw:

Real Madrid - FC Tottenham

Chelsea - Manchester United

FC Barcelona - Shaktar Donetsk

Inter Milan - Schalke 04

Matches go on 5 and 6 April, leg matches on 12 and 13 April.

BAHRAIN: The opposition demanded the resignation of government

A senior Bahraini Shiite opposition, Abdel Jalil Khalil Ibrahim, Saturday demanded the resignation of the government and the withdrawal of forces from the streets of Manama in response to the offer of dialogue made the previous day by the crown prince of Bahrain.

"To consider the dialogue, the government must resign and the army must withdraw from the streets" of the capital, saidIbrahim, leader of the parliamentary bloc of Wefaq, the main Shiite opposition group.

"We are not witnessing a language of dialogue, but that of arms," he added, referring to the army shooting Friday night against the demonstrators, who were 95 injuries, including "three in a state of clinical death, "he said.

These shootings were occurring while the Crown Prince Salman Ben Hamad Al-Khalifa, speaking on state television to promise a dialogue with the opposition once calm was restored.

"I make no distinction between a Bahraini and another and what is happening now is unacceptable," said Prince Salman."Bahrain is currently experiencing a state of division and that's unacceptable," he said.

King Hamad Ben Issa Al-Khalifa immediately instructed his son, Crown Prince, to conduct a "dialogue with stakeholders and communities without exception", ensuring through cooperation "sincere", "Bahrain will come out stronger ".

This offer of dialogue "is not serious," said the elected Wefaq, demanding that the authorities "serious and sincere measures that meet the requirements of the current situation."

"The situation is complicated and I fear it spirals out of control," warned Mr.Ibrahim, whose group has withdrawn from Parliament, where he has 18 of the 40 elected House of Deputies, to protest against the bloody crackdown on Thursday at the dawn of a sit-in anti-regime instead of Pearl in Manama.

Bahrain, a small kingdom populated predominantly Shiite, has ruled since the 18th century by a Sunni dynasty.

The head of Wefaq, Sheikh Ali Salman, told AFP Thursday that the opposition wants a "new government is proposing political reforms, we can revise the Constitution, which enshrines the principle of peaceful transfer of power and establish a constitutional monarchy. "

The Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the king's uncle, is in the position since Bahrain's independence in 1971, while the sovereignty ministries are held by members of the royal family.

ITALY: Justice will request the immediate return of Berlusconi in court

AFP - The three judges, investigators of the case Wednesday Rubygate send their request for immediate judgments against the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Tuesday the chief prosecutor in Milan.

"This afternoon we will make a final meeting" to determine if the demand for immediate trial will focus on the two charges against Mr. Berlusconi or single, told the press Edmondo Bruti Liberati.

The Milan prosecutor's office has almost completed the investigation in which Mr.Berlusconi is suspected of engaging in prostitution of a minor and abuse of office, paid for the services of a young Moroccan called Ruby, and be acted as Chairman of the Board for her release last May.

According to judicial sources, prosecutors would head to a request for immediate judgments only for the crime of abuse of office.

Once the request is sent, the investigating judge who will have five days to decide whether or not the holding of a trial.

The trial is now an expedited Italian Penal Code which is based on a "clear" evidence and could lead to a trial before the summer cons M.Berlusconi.

The prosecution has claimed to have "evidence" on the organization of unbridled celebrations in the homes of Cavaliere, where young women are prostitutes in exchange for money and free housing.

For the part of the investigation into the prostitution of minors, judges may follow the normal procedure which provides a preliminary hearing and a trial.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of people gathered in Milan, Umberto Eco, whose writers and Roberto Saviano, demanding the resignation of Berlusconi and his protest against "outrages upon personal dignity of women."

MIDDLE EAST: Hillary Clinton suggests a risk of "chaos" and "storm" in the region

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Saturday that the movement towards democracy in the Middle East, she continued, had nevertheless "risks of chaos," holding that the situation there was "perfect" for a hurricane ".

"Without progress towards open and accountable systems, the gap between peoples and their governments will increase instability and worse," she said at the 47th Security Conference in Munich (Southern Germany).

"Throughout the region," Middle East "there must be a clear and substantial progress towards systems transparent, honest and responsible," she pleaded.

"Currently, in some countries the transition is advancing rapidly, in others it will take more time," she said in a clear reference to different contexts of contestation in Tunisia, which ousted President Ben Ali and Egypt, where President Hosni Mubarak refused to leave immediately.

"Of course there are risks, risks caused by the transition to democracy," noted the U.S. Secretary of State.

"This may cause chaos and instability in the short term, or worse, and we observed that in the past, the transition can cause a regression to a different regime as authoritarian," as citizens of a country tried to kill, stressed Ms. Clinton.

In the Middle East, the situation is "perfect" for a hurricane, she said, marking the high stakes.

CYCLING: Alberto Contador is appealing his suspension for doping

AFP - The cyclist Alberto Contador said Friday he had "never doped" and would "appeal" and fight to the end to prove his innocence at his first press conference after announcement of his suspension for one year.

"I'm going to appeal, where it will be necessary to defend my innocence to the end," Contador said at a news conference in Puigpunyent, near Palma de Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain).

"During these ten days I'll work up with my lawyers to see justice done," said Tour de France 2010.

"I never doped myself, I am an example of cleanliness," he said.

Contador, 28, underwent 21 July 2010 in Pau, at a rest day of the Tour de France, a positive drug test that revealed trace amounts of clenbuterol, a product that stimulates lung function and also has anabolic effects.

The three-time winner of the Tour de France has always defended by claiming to have been a victim of food contamination.

He faces a one-year suspension, sanction proposed by the Spanish Cycling Federation, and the loss of his Tour victory in 2010.

The final sanction, subject to appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is to be known until mid-February.