Révolte du Parlement de Strasbourg contre le projet de budget européen

Le Monde.fr | 13.03.2013 à 13h51 • Mis à jour le 13.03.2013 à 13h56

Les chefs d'Etat et de gouvernement des Vingt-Sept pensaient avoir fait le plus dur. Après deux sommets – l'un, raté, en novembre 2012 ; l'autre, en février 2013, conclu à l'issue de vingt-six heures de discussions –, l'épineuse question du budget de l'Union européenne pour la période 2014-2020 semblait régée.

Au rabais, certes, avec un budget global en recul pour la première fois dans l'histoire de l'Union, mais le compromis était là, accepté y compris par leBritannique David Cameron, partisan d'une réduction drastique.

Mercredi 13 mars, le Parlement européen a totalement rebattu les cartes en adoptant massivement une résolution très critique du compromis trouvé le 7 février. Cette résolution, adoptée par 506 voix contre 161, indique que le Parlement, auquel le traité de Lisbonne de 2009 confère un droit de veto sur le sujet, "rejette sous sa forme actuelle" le projet de budget concocté par le Conseil européen.

U.S. officials warn N. Korea after it scraps armistice

By Anne Gearan and Chico Harlan,

The Obama administration bluntly warned North Korea on Monday that it will use military force if necessary to protect the United States and its allies in Asia from a North Korean nuclear strike or to prevent the impoverished North from selling nuclear weapons or expertise.

Washington announced fresh sanctions against North Korea on Monday amid rising tension on the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. military also began annual joint exercises with ally South Korea, over objections from North Korea and an announcement that it would nullify the 60-year armistice that ended the Korean War.

“Recently, North Korean officials have made some highly provocative statements,” White House national security adviserThomas E. Donilon told the Asia Society in New York. “North Korea’s claims may be hyperbolic, but as to the policy of the United States, there should be no doubt.”

New pope to inherit demystified office

VATICAN CITY — Papal conclaves historically created mystical figures, men transformed by divine authority into heirs of Saint Peter. But as 115 cardinals begin deliberations Tuesday to pick the next pope, observers say any successor to Benedict XVI is set to step into an office demystified by scandal and early retirement.

In other words, the magic might be gone from being pope.

For the most devout, the figure of the pope spoke with a nearly preternatural voice, vesting him with a transcending influence when, for instance, John Paul II called for the end of communism in the former Eastern bloc. But more than at any other point in recent history, Vatican watchers say the papacy has been brought back down to earth by Benedict’s unprecedented decision to step down and revelations of financial corruption in the Vatican and clergy sexual misconduct.

All of this could lead to a possible transformation for both the office of pope and the Roman Catholic church he leads.

By Marc Fisher, Thursday, March 7

They shut down the schools and the government for what turned out in much of the area to be light rain and a bit of a breeze.

But when “they” — beleaguered bureaucrats, politicians and educators — made that choice in the small of the night, all the experts were telling them that a big storm with an even bigger name was bearing down on the Washington region, preparing to snarl roads, snuff out power and cause all manner of chaos.

The pressure was enormous: Whether they called it Snowquester or Winter Storm Saturn, the nonstop media storm-mongering had raised expectations to supermarket-shelf-clearing levels. At 11 p.m. Tuesday, the dean of Washington weather forecasters, ABC Channel 7’s Bob Ryan, tweeted, “If any school in area is open tomorrow, somebody is nuts.”

Crowds Throng Caracas Streets to Salute Chávez

By WILLIAM NEUMAN

CARACAS, Venezuela — In a modest brown wood coffin covered in a Venezuelan flag, President Hugo Chávez was carried through the capital, Caracas, on Wednesday morning as crowds thronged the streets, cabinet ministers and top military officials walked alongside his black hearse, while hundreds of soldiers in green fatigues and other supporters followed in the yellow, blue and red caps of the national colors.

A priest said a prayer over the coffin before it was loaded on the hearse, and the national anthem was played. Mr. Chávez’s mother stood at one end with her head buried in a white handkerchief, overcome with tears. Along the route of the procession were thousands of people, many dressed in his movement’s characteristic red shirts, often crying and holding up cellphones to photograph the coffin as it passed from the hospital where he died to the military academy here in Caracas where he studied as a young, unheralded cadet.

He will lie in state there, in honor of a career that included a failed 1992 coup, a successful 1998 election campaign and then 14 years as the dominant, charismatic, divisive, beloved, reviled and three-times re-elected president of this oil-rich nation.

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Pour Hollande, la Grèce est sur la bonne voie

Par Nicolas Barotte

Le président français se rendra mardi à Athènes. Il compte adresser un message de confianceaux investisseurs étrangers, à l'heure où les réformes commencent à porter leurs fruits.

Les efforts n'au­raient donc pas été vains. Ceux des Grecs pour redresser leur économie mais aussi ceux revendiqués par François Hollande pour éviter une sortie du pays de la zone euro, l'été dernier. C'est avec ces idées que le chef de l'État doit se rendre mardi à Athènes. Prévu depuis le mois de décembre, le déplacement n'avait pas pu être organisé jusqu'à présent pour des raisons d'agenda .
Face au premier ministre Antonis Samaras, le président de la République entend tenir un discours économiquement optimiste. Un exercice qui tranche avec le ressenti de la population (une nouvelle manifestation est prévue le 20 février) et l'ampleur de la récession qui touche le pays. Le PIB pourrait reculer en 2013 pour la sixième année consécutive.

Asteroid 2012 DA14 to pass close by Earth on today

* Nearest approach at 2:24 p.m. EST/1924 GMT on Friday

* No chance of impact, scientists say

* Encounter will cause asteroid's orbit to change

By Irene Klotz

BOSTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - A newly discovered asteroid about half the size of a football field will pass nearer to Earth than any other known object of its size on Friday, giving scientists a rare opportunity for close-up observations without launching a probe.

At its closest approach, which will occur at 2:24 p.m. EST/1924 GMT, the asteroid will pass about 17,200 miles (27,520 km) above the planet traveling at 8 miles (13 km) per second, bringing it nearer than the networks of television and weather satellites that ring the planet.

Although Asteroid 2012 DA14 is the largest known object of its size to pass this close, scientists say there is no chance of an impact, this week or in the foreseeable future.

Currently, DA14 matches Earth's year-long orbit around the sun, but after Friday's encounter its flight path will change, said astronomer Donald Yeomans, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

"The close approach will perturb its orbit so that actually instead of having an orbital period of one year, it'll lose a couple of months," Yeomans said. "The Earth is going to put this one in an orbit that is considerably safer," he said.

Meteorite hits Russian Urals Fireball explosion wreaks havoc, up to 500...

http://www.newsit.gr/default.php?pname=Article&art_id=192414&catid=7

Meteorite Fragments Are Said to Rain Down on Siberia

By ELLEN BARRY and ANDREW E. KRAMER

MOSCOW – Bright objects, tentatively identified as fragments of a meteorite, streaked through the sky in western Siberia early on Friday, accompanied by a boom that damaged buildings across a vast swath of territory. Around 500 people were reported to have been injured, most from breaking glass.

Emergency officials had reported no deaths by Friday afternoon but said that 14 people had been hospitalized.

Yelena Smirnykh, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Emergency Situations, told Ekho Moskvy radio that she believed the meteorite broke apart and fell in several places. Another government expert, who spoke to Moscow FM radio station, said he believed it may have been a bolide, a type of fireball meteor that explodes in the earth’s atmosphere because of its composition or angle of entry and can be observed from the ground.

However, the governor of the Chelyabinsk district reported that a search team had found an impact crater on the outskirts of a city about 50 miles west of Chelyabinsk, which would indicate the meteor did not explode in the atmosphere. An official from the Interior Ministry told Interfax that three large pieces of meteorite debris had been retrieved in the area and that 10,000 police officers are searching for more.

Joe Biden : «Les États-Unis appuient la France au Mali»

Par Philippe Gelie

INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVE - Le vice-président américain, qui est reçu ce lundi par François Hollande, détaille les priorités des réformes d'Obama pour son second mandat et met en garde l'Iran.

Joseph R. Biden, 70 ans, effectue une tournée en Europe qui l'a conduit ce week-end en Allemagne et qu'il achèvera au Royaume-Uni après une étape à Paris. Il a accordé une interview exclusive au Figaro.
LE FIGARO. - Quels sont les objectifs de votre tournée en Europe et de votre visite en France?
Joe BIDEN. - Les partenaires de l'Amérique de ce côté-ci de l'Atlantique restent nos plus vieux amis et nos plus proches alliés. En tant que vice-président, j'ai plus voyagé en Europe que dans aucune autre région du monde. Cela démontre la force du partenariat transatlantique et son importance pour les États-Unis. Ni l'Europe ni les États-Unis ne peuvent affronter les défis de notre temps l'un sans l'autre. Avec l'Europe, l'Amérique partage des valeurs communes, des intérêts, des capacités et des objectifs communs ; nous répondons plus efficacement aux mêmes défis globaux si nous agissons ensemble.
Il y a plus de deux siècles, les Français se sont tenus à nos côtés lorsque notre jeune nation aspirait à l'indépendance. L'histoire de nos deux Républiques est inextricablement liée. La France est notre plus vieil allié et je m'y rends aujourd'hui parce que nos destins et nos intérêts restent profondément entremêlés. De l'Afghanistan à la Libye, de l'Iran au Mali, de l'économie mondialisée au changement climatique, les États-Unis abordent les défis de notre époque ensemble avec la France.

Euro, shares recover as European worries recede

By Richard Hubbard

(Reuters) - European shares and the euro steadied on Tuesday, a day after a sharp selloff caused by rising political risks in southern Europe, as new data confirmed the region's economy is showing clear signs of recovery.

The euro, which had taken the brunt of the selling and fallen from a high of over $1.37 at the end of last week to below $1.35 on Monday, recovered to be up 0.1 percent at $1.3530.

European shares which have tracked a similar path from closing near two-year highs on Friday to shedding most of the year's gains in Monday's sell-off, also staged a modest advance.

Most analysts see this week's gyrations as a necessary correction to a rally linked to signs of increasing euro zone economic stability and an improving global outlook, underpinned by the easier monetary policies of major central banks.

"What we are looking at, at the moment, is a correction, a consolidation or even a 'baby risk-off'," said Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets in Brussels, referring to investors selling higher risk assets.

"Nevertheless our working hypothesis remains that, after the correction, the trends in place before will continue, as the two main drivers are still there - namely central banks continuing to inject liquidity and more and more proof of an economic recovery," he added.

Lawmakers to unveil new assault weapons ban

Posted by Ed O'Keefe

Democratic lawmakers plan to formally reintroduce a bill Thursday that would ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, the most ambitious — and politically risky — element of proposals unveiled by President Obama to limit gun violence.

The “Assault Weapons Ban of 2013″ is similar to one passed in 1994 that expired with little protest in 2004. The measure will be unveiled Thursday morning by a slate of Democratic co-sponsors, led by longtime gun control advocates Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (N.Y.), who have pushed for the ban before in part because of their personal histories with gun violence.

The bill is a far-reaching attempt to rein in the use of such weapons by prohibiting the sale, transfer and manufacturing of more than 100 specific weapons, including certain semiautomatic rifles, handguns and shotguns that can hold detachable magazines or hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Aides said Wednesday that sponsors were still sorting out specific details of the bill to make the package as politically tenable as possible.

Netanyahu's Gov't Coalition Could Take A ‘Step to the Right’

By Chana Ya'ar

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu could form a coalition that is more right-wing than centrist, if he so chooses -- but it will require somefancy footwork.  If all three religious parties presented a united coalition, the sum of the bloc’s seats would nearly equal those of Likud-Beytenu (31), automatically creating a religious-right coalition government. 

Including what has become the country's second-largest party, centrist Yair Lapid's "Yesh Atid" (There is a Future) would of course seal the deal, with the 19 seats Lapid won Tuesday night, and also give Netanyahu much more room to maneuver with the fractious religious factions.

The three religious parties – Jewish Home (11), the hareidi-religious Sephardic Shas party (11), and the Ashkenazi hareidi-religious United Torah Judaism (7) – see eye-to-eye on few issues. Nevertheless, they appear to agree on foundational issues that relate to the Land of Israel, the status of Jerusalem, the importance of ensuring that Israeli families get what they need, and security.

Not all the votes have yet been counted: another 250,000 ballots from soldiers in the field, and votes from people in hospitals and inmates from prisons around the countryhave yet to be added to the final tally, expected Thursday.

Dubbed “double envelope votes,” these ballots are listed in the army base or hospital as well as in the voter’s home town. The Central Elections Committee must double-check to ensure the voter did not cast his ballot twice, hence the “double envelope vote” appellation, and the delay in calculating the polls.

It is possible that these numbers may yet change the picture, and could bring Otzma L’Yisrael (Strong Israel), led by MK Michael Ben Ari, back into the Knesset, or add a seat for Kadima, led by former IDF Chief of Staff-turned-MK Shaul Mofaz.  

The ballots add up to a total of six or seven seats in the Knesset to various parties, but are counted a day later than the official tally, which came Wednesday night.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/164525#.UQD8Gx2IG85

David Cameron's Europe speech – the key points

Andrew Sparrow

• Cameron said that if the Conservatives won the next election they would hold an in-out referendum on Britain's membership of the EU before the end of 2017. He had been dropping strong hints about including a referendum in the 2015 manifesto for some months, but his speech officially confirmed that, as well as details about the timing and a clarification that it would be an in-out referendum on membership, not just a referendum on whether or not to approve the new terms of membership.

• He set out his broad aims but avoided going into details about what he would demand as part of the planned "new settlement" with the EU. He did suggest, however, that the working time directive should be abandoned.

• He called for a full EU treaty renegotiation. But he said that if this did not happen he would seek to achieve the reforms he wanted through other means.

• He sidestepped questions about whether he would be willing to recommend a no vote in the referendum if he failed to achieved what he wanted in the renegotiation.

• He implied that, if the Tories had to form another coalition after the election, he would make a referendum an essential condition of a coalition agreement. There would be a referendum if he were prime minister, he said.

• He said he hoped a referendum would settle the issue of Britain's relationship with the Europe for at least a generation. There was a parallel with the need to have a referendum in Scotland to settle the independence question, he said.

• He insisted that Europe as a whole, and not just Britain, would benefit from the EU being reformed.

• He said the EU should abandon the commitment to "ever-closer union" included in its founding treaty.

• He dismissed the idea that Britain would do better being outside the EU, like Norway or Switzerland.

• He said "much more" needed to be done to make the European court of human rights more acceptable to Britain.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jan/23/david-camerons-europe-speech-points?intcmp=239

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Tepid Vote for Netanyahu in Israel Is Seen as Rebuke

By JODI RUDOREN

TEL AVIV — A weakened Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuemerged Wednesday from Israel’s national election likely to serve a third term, according to preliminary results and political analysts, after voters on Tuesday gave a surprising second place to a new centrist party founded by a television celebrity who emphasized kitchen-table issues like class size and apartment prices.

For Mr. Netanyahu, who entered the race an overwhelming favorite with no obvious challenger, the outcome was a humbling rebuke as his ticket lost seats in the new Parliament. Over all, his conservative team came in first, but it was the center, led by the political novice Yair Lapid, 49, that emerged newly invigorated, suggesting that at the very least Israel’s rightward tilt may be stalled.

Mr. Lapid, a telegenic celebrity whose father made a splash with his own short-lived centrist party a decade ago, ran a campaign that resonated with the middle class. His signature issue is a call to integrate the ultra-Orthodox into the army and the work force.

Perhaps as important, he also avoided antagonizing the right, having not emphasized traditional issues of the left, like the peace process. Like a large majority of the Israeli public, he supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but is skeptical of the Palestinianleadership’s willingness to negotiate seriously; he has called for a return to peace talks but has not made it a priority.

President Obama takes second oath of office at inauguration

Ricky Carioti/Washington Post

And then there was Stonewall, a reference to 1969 riots in New York City that were considered the spark that created the modern gay-rights movement. The Stonewall Inn was a bar made famous by a police raid. Obama seemed to be saying that this unlikely place belongs among the hallowed spots of American history.

“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law,” Obama said. “For if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”

Sitting in a reviewing stand near the White House was Jody Huckaby, the executive director of the activist group Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. “It’s monumental. It’s historic,” he said afterward. The message, as he saw it: “The American promise . . . this administration is serious about it for everyone.”

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Christmas World

                                          Christmas greece

St. Nicholas is important in Greece as the patron saint of sailors. According to Greek tradition, his clothes are drenched with brine, his beard drips with seawater, and his face is covered with perspiration because he has been working hard against the waves to reach sinking ships and rescue them from the angry sea. Greek ships never leave port without some sort of St. Nicholas icon on board. To members of the Eastern Orthodox Church, as are most Greek Christians, Christmas ranks second to Easter in the roster of important holidays. Yet there are a number of unique customs associated with Christmas that are uniquely Greek. On Christmas Eve, village children travel from house to house offering good wishes and singing kalanda, the equivalent of carols. Often the songs are accompanied by small metal triangles and little clay drums. The children are frequently rewarded with sweets and dried fruits.

                                         Christmas france

Nearly every French home at Christmastime displays a Nativity scene or creche, which serves as the focus for the Christmas celebration. The creche is often peopled with little clay figures called santons or "little saints." An extensive tradition has evolved around these little figures which are made by craftsmen in the south of France throughout the year. In addition to the usual Holy Family, shepherds, and Magi, the craftsmen also produce figures in the form of local dignitaries and characters. The craftsmanship involved in creating the gaily colored santons is quite astounding and the molds have been passed from generation to generation since the seventeenth century. Throughout December the figures are sold at annual Christmas fairs in Marseille and Aix.

                                            Christmas Australia

For the majority of Australians, Christmas Downunder has all the glitter, tinsel and razzmatazz of a Christmas in New York, London Paris or Vancouver. The major difference is one of WEATHER....Christmas Down Under is never White. Snow has rarely fallen if ever on this date, Down Under. We have during past Christmases experienced all the seasonal variations of a Summer Down Under.....electrical storms, floods, hailstorms, cyclones and bushfires. But 80% of the time we are blessed with blue skies and depending on our Australian location, temperatures ranging from 25-38 degrees centigrade. Currently it is Summer Down Under and daily temperatures range from 30-40 degrees centigrade on the mainland. Tamania is always slightly cooler.

http://www.the-north-pole.com/around/