Brazil: a second term strewn path for Dilma Rousseff

A high security investiture after narrowly re-election and in a tense and difficult climate for Dilma Rousseff. A second term for the former guerrilla 67, "heir" of Lula Da Silva, there are four years old, had benefited greatly advanced the Workers Party in power for twelve years. But this time, it is almost that Dilma Rousseff is not re-elected in a country the economy and at half eaten by a wide corruption scandal.

So it is, for Gilberto Braga economist, not really a blank check that received the president. "The message of the polls, he said, is that the government must maintain its social programs, get people out of poverty and improve their quality of life, but it takes the same time to focus on how to find resources for these programs, and thus create the conditions that will stimulate investment, will control inflation and manage public money. "

If the unemployment rate continues to decline since 2010, reaching its lowest at 4.5% historical inflation, however, is bullish since 2013. Consumer prices rose 6.5% in August This directly affects the purchasing power of the middle classes. Finally, growth is the weak point of the balance sheet. After closing 2014 to negative growth, 2015 will be the fifth year of slow growth with a forecast of 0.5%.

The economy and social should therefore still be at the heart of the mandate of Rousseff. So far it has benefited from the social programs implemented by his predecessor, who have forty million Brazilians out of poverty and many have feared losing.

In addition, other challenges await the Brazilian President, like cleaning in the public oil giant Petrobras, immersed in a corruption scandal that splashes politicians of the party workers and allied parties. Although none of them has been prosecuted for the moment. The challenge is threefold: to prevent the oil giant - the first company in the country - sees its downgraded by the rating agencies, restore the confidence of Brazilians, but also the credibility of the country to foreign investors.

New Year: wishes for peace and against slavery Pope Francis

St. Peter's Square in Rome, full of people, on the first day of the year. Tens of thousands of faithful came to listen to the wishes of Pope Francis.

"Today is World Day of Peace," said he said, "do not be longer slaves but brothers. This is the message of the day. Because war makes us slaves. This message affects everyone. We are all called to fight against all forms of slavery and to build brotherhood. Remember well that peace is always possible, and as roots of peace there is always prayer. "

Prayers for the Christians of Iraq addressed to the thousands of families forced to flee persecution and violence. 2014 was a particularly challenging due to the advance of Islamic state group. More generally, this year has been the deadliest in the country for seven years.

Shanghai in shock after a stampede that left 36 dead

The emotion and grief in Shanghai after the huge stampede that left at least 36 dead and forty wounded. Residents laid flowers on the square Chen Yi, where thousands of people gathered last night to celebrate the New Year. Shortly before midnight, a crowd movement has transformed into a nightmare evening. The victims, mostly young women, were trampled.

This man calls into question the authorities: "There was not enough police. It was poorly organized, he said. It is sad to see that in a city as big as Shanghai. I hope that such a tragedy will not happen again in the future. ''

The causes of this stampede remain unclear. Witnesses indicate that coupons, similar to dollars, were thrown from a nightclub, overlooking the famous Bund promenade. Others emphasize the enormity of the crowd at the scene.

Shanghai had not experienced such a tragedy from a burning building in 2010.

The euro anchor a little more in the West Lithuania

Lithuanian euros have arrived, but they arrived with seven years late. The litas was linked to the euro since 2002 and the changeover to the euro was originally planned in 2007, but the crisis has just delayed. Lithuania and the last of the three Baltic republics to adopt the single currency. Estonia did in 2011 and Latvia in 2014. The positive experience of its two neighbors had a reassuring effect and encouraged Vilnius to walk in their footsteps.

Now, the eurozone has 19 of the 28 countries of the European Union. In other words, 337 million Europeans share the same currency. In Lithuania, they are three million.

To balance its public accounts and restart growth, Lithuania has resorted to severe budget cuts, forcing some 150,000 Lithuanians to emigrate, particularly to Britain.

Today, growth of the projections are again largely in the green. GDP is expected to grow by 2.9% in 2014. The 2009 vertiginous fall is a bad memory. The adoption of the euro could make the Lithuanian GDP up 1.3% in the long term. The single currency will also benefit the Lithuanian exports, 60% of which are to the EU.

But there are other consequences as the analyst IG Market Alastair McCaig: "There obviously has, historically, a sense of insecurity felt by many in the Baltic countries that lie between Russia and West, and I think that any strengthening of their ties to the world of Western business contributes to reassure them. "

To distance itself from Russia through energy independence, an obsession for Lithuania. The arrival in late October of a floating liquefied natural gas is expected to contribute, as it will allow this small country in the coming months, to import gas from Norway.

Syria: Assad orchestrated surprise visit in a war zone

The new year did not change the habits of some dictators. In Syria, the state television relayed with music moving Bashar al-Assad on the front.

Syrian President inspected strategic positions Jobar in the east of its capital coming to greet his troops. The day in this area, at least 25 Syrian soldiers and pro-regime militiamen were killed in fierce fighting against Islamist insurgents and al-Qaida branch in Syria, the Al-Nusra Front.

Bashar al-Assad even shared a meal with his men on continuous civil war background since mid-March 2011.

According to the UN, nearly 200 000 people have been killed since the start of hostilities. Most of them civilians, including women and children, and nothing that in 2014, more than 33,000 of them have been victims of war. Of all the past year, more than 76,000 people were killed, the bloodiest since 2011, according to NGOs.

Egypt: new trial but no release for journalists Al Jazeera

Imprisoned for a year in Cairo, the three journalists from Al-Jazeera will receive a new trial before a different court. This is the verdict Thursday in cassation. In June, Australian Peter Greste, the Egyptian Mohamed Fadel Fahmy-Canadian and Egyptian Baher Mohamed were sentenced to 7 to 10 years in prison, accused of distributing "false information" in support of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Today there is hope.

"The prosecutor of the Supreme Court requested a new trial, and underline certain fundamental elementals" said Rajaa Awni, one of the defense lawyers, "as the errors in the application of the law and the fact that the defense has been neglected, concluding quickly as anyone working with Al-Jazeera belong to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is not at all logical. "

Mixed reaction between optimism and frustration for the families of the accused. They hoped the release of their relatives, while political relations between Qatar and Egypt have recently warmed.

"I hope that reconciliation between Egypt and Qatar will continue and have a positive impact," said Adel Fahmi, brother of one of the defendants, "the journalists are oppressed. They are professionals, they do not belong to any terrorist group and can not in any way undermine the security of Egypt "

A trial date has not been set. Meanwhile journalists will remain in custody.

"Today's decision is seen as a very positive signal," says our correspondent in Cairo

Shaikhibrahim Mohammed, "a sign of optimism for the upcoming trial, which also means that the case will start from scratch."

AirAsia: rescuers move slowly

Search operations were continuing on Thursday off the island of Borneo to find the wreckage of AirAsia, which crashed last Sunday at sea with 162 people on board, mostly Indonesians.

The bad weather conditions complicate the work of rescuers who believe they have located a fuselage. A large dark mass was indeed identified about forty meters deep, but the signal from the boxes remains silent.

'The ship involved in the research is fitted with underwater locator beacons capable of detecting a black box, says the head of operations. It is also provided with a multi-beam sonar that detects the metal and provides underwater images in three dimensions. '

Families of the missing began arriving in the Indonesian city of Surabaya where the remains of victims are transported. Only seven bodies were recovered at this time. Most wore clothes, suggesting that the plane was not up in flight. Experts now believe that the device could have managed an emergency landing before sinking.