France

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy for a working lunch on Monday, February 22. After their meeting, Sarkozy reiterated his call for the creation of a "viable" Palestinian state, "in the frontiers of 1967, with an exchange of territory." He nonetheless remained cautious about reiterating foreign minister Bernard Kouchner's support for possible recognition of a state before negotiations with Israel are complete.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy acknowledged on Thursday, February 25 that Paris had made serious mistakes over the 1994 Rwandan genocide. President Sarkozy's trip was the first visit by a French head of state to the central African country in 25 years. At a press conference with his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagamé, Nicolas Sarkozy underscored his belief that the international community, including France, had suffered from "a kind of blindness" in its reaction to the genocide, in which 500,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis but also moderate Hutus, were massacred in frantic killing led by radical Hutus. Sarkozy did not, however, apologize for France's failure to intervene more effectively, as has been officially done by the U.S., under Bill Clinton, and by Belgium.

This week, Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport started using a full-body security scanner for people travelling to the U.S.  The decision to try out the new device for three months was prompted by security concerns after a man allegedly tried to ignite explosives hidden in his underwear on a Detroit-bound flight on December 25. People were scanned on a voluntary basis.

A strike by air traffic controllers disrupted flights from French airports this week. Five air traffic unions have called for a strike from February  23 to . 27 to protest Europe's single sky policy which partly aims to modernize air traffic control. Union members fear this restructuring plan would jeopardize their status and their jobs.

Men seen as likely to be violent towards their wives as a result of a past offense could be forced to wear an electronic tagunder a law being debated by the French parliament. The proposal is part of a draft law on conjugal violence that has gathered cross-party support and is expected to pass easily. Parliament is also considering outlawing psychological violence in the home, because it is seen by many as a precursor to physical violence. This bill has stirred some criticism, especially from lawyers and professionals in the field who think that proving psychological violence might be complicated in court.

United States

President Barack Obama urged Congressional Democrats and Republicans to focus on reaching an agreement during a six-hour televised debate on his healthcare overhaul on Thursday, February 25.   The two sides moved no closer to a compromise deal, France 24 reported. Republicans called the bills too costly, saying they would mean more taxes, more regulations and higher premiums for consumers. Obama and his fellow Democrats made it clear that they have no intention of starting from scratch, but Obama hopes to win over hesitant Democratic lawmakers and rally support among voters who have lost enthusiasm for the effort to reshape the U.S. healthcare industry. Democrats will consider trying to force  a bill through Congress using a procedure called reconciliation that would bypass the need for Republican support. Republicans denounced the idea.

An Afghan immigrant and self-confessed Al-Qaeda agent, Najibullah Zazi, pleaded guilty Monday, February 22 to attempting to blow up New York's subway system in protest against the war in Afghanistan.  U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, described the plot as one of the most "serious" terrorist threats since September 11, 2001. Prosecutors outlined how Zazi traveled to Afghanistan in August 2008 and how he was recruited by Al-Qaeda in Pakistan. The 25-year-old man  intended to set off bombs around the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Department of Justice said, but he left after receiving a tip that he was being watched by federal agents. Two other New York men were arrested and named as associates of Zazi.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and military leaders want Congress to hold off on lifting restrictions on homosexuals in the armed forces until a year-long review is completed, the Pentagon said on Thursday, February 25. "Taking action now would pre-empt the review process that everybody agrees is needed to do this smartly," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said. Gates, who said earlier this month that he fully supported Obama's decision to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which bars gays from serving openly in the military, has launched an internal review of the steps the U.S. military would have to take to integrate openly gay service members. Testifying before Congress earlier this week, top military leaders raised doubts about lifting the restrictions, citing the potential impact of such a change on a U.S. military under stress after years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The "don't ask, don't tell" policy was signed into law in 1993 by Democratic President Bill Clinton as a compromise after the military objected to his calls to open its doors to gays.

The U.S. Senate approved this Wednesday, February 24, a $15 billion job bill with a strong bipartisan vote of 70 to 28, with 55 Democrats, as well as 2 independents and 13 Republicans who sided with them to support the bill. The Democrats said that the bill is designed to create jobs by focusing on giving employers a temporary exemption from payroll taxes for hiring people who had previously been out of work for at least 60 days.  Dissenting Republicans argued that the bill would be too costly and just add to federal spending.

See also:

-  Analysis of U.S. Tea Parties by French commentator Anne-Lorraine Bujon de l'Estang for the Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri).

Business

Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda apologized to U.S. Congress on Wednesday, February 24 and ended the day in tears. Toyoda told lawmakers he was "deeply sorry" for accidents and injuries involving Toyota cars and acknowledged the company had lost its way in its pursuit of growth. The world's biggest carmaker has pulled more than eight million vehicles - mostly the Prius model - over accelerator and brake problems, and faces class-action lawsuits that could potentially cost them billions of dollars if the defects can be linked to more than 30 deaths. During the hearing, Toyoda vowed to rebuild shattered global faith in the firm.

For the second time in two weeks, Greeks were on strike on Wednesday, February 24 to protest against the austerity measures designed to save their country's economy.  More than 25,000 marched in Athens and Thessaloniki. In addition, flights were canceled, public transportation halted and schools closed, as Greece announced wage freezes, bonus cuts, a tax crackdown, pension reforms, and higher taxes on gasoline, alcohol and tobacco. The social government of Prime Minister George Papandreou is under growing pressure by the European Union to cut its public deficit of 12.7 percent of its gross domestic product.

Air France announced before its workers council on Thursday, February 25, 2010, that it would post  a 1.3 billion euro in loss for the fiscal year 2009-2010, an "historic" loss according to Le Figaro.

The Coca-Cola Company agreed on Thursday, February 25, 2010 to acquire Coca-Cola Enterprises, its North American bottler, valued at more than $13 billion, reversing a 24-year-old strategy of keeping bottling activities separate from its core soft-drink business.  The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter and should, according to Muhtar Kent, Coke chief executive, "create an unparalleled combination of businesses, which will serve as our passport to winning in the world's largest non-alcoholic ready to drink profit pool."

International

A NATO airstrike mistakenly killed at least 27 Afghani civilians - including women and children - in the southern province of Uruzgan on Sunday, February 21. The victims were erroneously  believed to be insurgents. The incident happened just as the U.S. has been trying to win over the local population by protecting civilians and telling them that they are safer with the coalition than with the Talibans.

Cuban political activist Orlando Zapata Tamayo died in a Havana prison 85 days into a hunger strike to protest conditions in the nation's jails. Cuban President Raul Castro made the rare gesture of lamenting the death of a political prisoner Wednesday, on February 24. Zapata, a 42-year-old plumber was imprisoned in 2003 and was serving a sentence for civil disobedience, among other charges. Zapata's death drew condemnation from Amnesty International and several countries, including the U.S., Spain and France.

Libyan leader Colonel Moamer Kadhafi called for a holy Islamic war on Switzerland on Thursday, February 25 after the Swiss government's recent decision to ban the construction of minarets. "It is against unbelieving and apostate Switzerland that jihad ought to be proclaimed by all means," Kadhafi said in a speech in the Mediterranean coastal city of Benghazi, according to AFP. "Jihad against Switzerland, against Zionism, against foreign aggression is not terrorism," he added. France, the United Nations and the European Union officials have condemned the call for a jihad against Switzerland.

Talks on Thursday, February 25, in New Delhi between the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan Nirupama Rao and Salman Bashir,  were an encouraging step towards restoring dialogue between the two governments. The discussions were the first since the assault on Mumbai by  ten Pakistani gunmen in November 2008 that caused the death of 166 people. The officials have agreed to maintain contact.

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