Burkina Faso gunmen 'kill dozens' at cattle market in Kompienga

The security forces are struggling to end violence in Burkina Faso

Some 30 people have been killed in eastern Burkina Faso in a gun attack on a cattle market, reports say.

Gunmen on motorbikes fired into the crowded market in Kompienga town around lunchtime on Saturday, eyewitnesses and residents said.

It is unclear who was behind the attack, but Burkina Faso has seen a recent sharp rise in jihadist violence and inter-communal clashes.

The violence has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

Local media earlier reported 20 killed, while quoting sources as saying the death toll could be considerably higher. AFP news agency quoted local residents as saying 30 died.

On Friday at least 15 people were killed when suspected Islamist militants attacked a convoy of traders in the north, near the border with Mali.

The government blamed the attack on "terrorists", a phrase usually used to describe al-Qaeda and Islamic State-linked jihadists Burkina Faso has been battling in recent years.

Despite occasional government claims of success against the Islamist militants, the insecurity in the north and east of Burkina Faso has dramatically escalated.

Jihadists have often targeted schools, forcing about 300,000 children out of education.

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Coronavirus live updates: Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Ghana... cases, deaths and news, today

Africa Covid-19 update: on Thursday 28 May

According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 5,936,145 cases have been detected worldwide, with 358,067 deaths and 2,388,172 people now recovered.

Nigeria: 8,733 cases / 254 deaths
South Africa: 25,937 cases / 552 deaths
Ghana: 7,303 cases / 34 deaths
Uganda: 281 cases / 0 deaths (no data currently available)

 

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Rights Groups Sound Alarm Over Waning Press Freedoms in Nigeria

By Sahar Majid, Peter Cobus

FILE - Police officers pull a journalist during an anti-government protest in Lagos, August 5, 2019.

WASHINGTON - Nigeria is one of West Africa’s "most dangerous and difficult countries for journalists," an international media watchdog has said.  

Expanded state surveillance, the spread of disinformation, and arbitrary arrests of journalists who report critically on the ruling political establishment were cited as the main obstacles to press freedom by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).  

In its 2020 annual World Press Freedom Index, RSF ranked Nigeria 115 out of 180 countries, in which one is considered the freest. 

Other rights groups have also expressed alarm about conditions for the media in Nigeria over the past year.  

The Media Foundation for West Africa said Nigeria was among the countries in the region where journalists are assaulted, attacked, or have had equipment seized and destroyed while covering COVID-19, the respiratory ailment triggered by the coronavirus. 

 

Nigerian laws designed to safeguard press freedoms aren't being enforced, said Lagos-based freelance journalist Orji Sunday. 

“Nigeria enjoys relative press freedom... because we have very robust documents backing press freedom in the country — but, in reality, there's very little to defend the beauty of [those laws]," he told VOA. 

FILE - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari attends a press briefing after meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria, South Africa, Oct. 3, 2019.

Under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, reporting on corrupt politicians, police brutality, human rights abuses, or even the Boko Haram insurgency, he added, is not only logistically challenging, but potentially dangerous. 

"These are the kinds of stories that journalists find a lot of difficulty having access to the information that should guide their work every day," said Sunday, who regularly contributes to the Al Jazeera news site, the non-profit environmental publication Mongabay, and The Guardian newspaper.  

 "We've had journalists beaten, jailed, threatened, and their families humiliated, because they covered a story that a particular politician deemed to be very embarrassing.” 

In April, the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi questioned journalist Chijioke Agwu over a report about Lassa fever at a press conference and then ordered police to take him away. 

“Umahi then publicly accused Agwu of publishing ‘false and damaging’ information that violated Section 35 of Ebonyi’s new state law on COVID-19 and other infectious diseases,” said Jonathan Rozen, CPJ’s senior Africa researcher. Rozen said Agwu was released later without charge. 

In the early hours of May 9, Nigeria's Department of State Services (DSS) raided the Bayelsa state home of Naija Live TV founder Saint Mienpamo Onitsha, seizing his phone. 

According to the CPJ, the DSS agents drove Onitsha around blindfolded for hours before bringing him to a local DSS office, where he was interrogated and later released without charge on May 12.  

Nigerian law says police may not detain any suspect for longer than 48 hours without a court order. 

Nigerian lawmakers are currently reviewing legislation that would criminalize spreading false information online and allow the government to order internet shutdowns and block access to social media sites such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter. 

The 2019 Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill, which carries penalties including up to three years in prison or fines of up to 300,000 naira (U.S. $770), doubles down on Abuja’s efforts to criminalize free speech. 

"Nigeria has criminal defamation on its books already, so this is just another example of the criminalization of speech," Rozen told VOA, adding that the draft legislation has been criticized by journalists and civil society groups for being overly vague. 

If passed, he said, it could become Nigeria's latest tool for suppressing journalists. 

"There's already a Cybercrime Act, which was passed at the very end of [former president] Goodluck Jonathan's term in 2015," he said.  Rozen said that legislation was similarly vague and "repeatedly used against the press." 

Journalists in Nigeria also risk arrest. While the number of imprisoned journalists across the continent has remained fairly steady over the past year, the CPJ reported that "freedom of expression is backsliding in... Nigeria, which does not bode well for journalists."  

Accusations of being anti-state are sometimes used against the media.  

FILE - Journalists and supporters surround Omoyele Sowore just outside Department of State Security headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, Dec. 24, 2019. (Timothy Obiezu/VOA)

Omoyele Sowore, founder of the U.S.-headquartered news site Sahara Reporters, was recently charged with treason after a legal dispute with Nigerian officials. 

Sowore, who ran against Buhari in Nigeria’s February 2019 presidential contest, was detained in August for organizing nationwide rallies against corruption and allegations of unfair elections. He was held until late December, despite multiple court orders for his release. 

"It is clear that the right to freedom of expression is increasingly under threat in Nigeria," said a PEN International commentary about Sowore, who is on bail but restricted from leaving the country. PEN is a global network of writers. 

Officials at Nigeria’s Washington embassy did not respond to VOA’s emailed requests for comment. 

Aside from legal risks, Nigeria has a poor record in securing justice for journalists murdered for their work.   

At least five journalists have been killed in relation to their work since 2010, according to CPJ, which ranks Nigeria 12th on its 2019 impunity index.  

"We've had journalists who have lost their lives also along the way reporting some of the most important stories,” Sunday told VOA. 

 

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Burundi opposition takes presidential election dispute to court

National Freedom Council's Agathon Rwasa files case in constitutional court, claiming evidence of fraud in May 20 polls.

 

 

Rwasa said if the court did not rule in his party's favour, the party would take the case to the East African Court of Justice in Arusha, Tanzania [Evrard Ngendakumana/Reuters]

 Burundi's main opposition party has filed a case in the country's constitutional court challenging last week's presidential election result, claiming there is evidence of fraud.

Burundi's election commission said on Monday the governing party candidate, retired General Evariste Ndayishimiye, had won the presidential election with 69 percent of the vote. It added that candidate Agathon Rwasa got 24 percent of the vote and the election was peaceful.

But Rwasa, the opposition leader of the National Freedom Council (CNL), while speaking to reporters on Thursday after filing the complaint, said "appalling errors were made across the country," adding that "no district or province was spared".

"We have provided evidence that there has been a massive fraud," Rwasa said. "The announced results are false."

The court will have until June 5 to decide the case.

Rwasa said if the court did not rule in the CNL's favour, the party would take the case to the East African Court of Justice in Arusha, Tanzania.

If the legal challenge is not successful, Ndayishimiye will be inaugurated in August for a seven-year term. 

Reports of political violence

The May 20 vote to replace President Pierre Nkurunziza had been preceded by reports political violence including the arrest, torture and murder of opposition activists, according to a local rights group and Amnesty International.

There was also controversy over holding the election during the coronavirus pandemic, which critics argued posed a public health risk.

There were also no foreign observers present, as the government said they would have to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in the country.

The country's last election in 2015 was marked by violence, with hundreds of Burundians killed and hundreds of thousands exiled during the unrest, in which the opposition accused Nkurunziza of violating a peace deal by running for a third term.

Rwasa said the evidence in his filing showed that people had voted using dead voters' identities, that polling stations had used an electoral register that has never been published by the electoral body, and that ballot boxes had been stuffed.

While the East African Community, a regional body, gave the election a clean bill of health on Tuesday, the Conference of Bishops of Burundi criticised the conduct during the polling, saying observers from some parties had been chased from polling stations.

A joint statement issued by western diplomats on Wednesday made no reference to any irregularities and urged the opposition to pursue legal paths to contest the election outcome.

The electoral body's officials were not immediately reachable to comment on Rwasa's complaints.

Five other candidates also stood in the polls, in which 5.11 million registered voters were eligible to participate.

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The Latest: U.N. Chief Warns of Historic Levels of Famine

The United Nations chief is warning world leaders that the COVID-19 pandemic will cause “unimaginable devastation and suffering around the world,” with historic levels of hunger and famine and up to 1.6 billion people unable to earn a living unless action is taken now.

 

People prepare the terrace of their restaurant in Boulogne-Billancourt, outside Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2020. France is reopening its restaurants, bars and cafes starting next week as the country eases most restrictions amid the coronavirus crisis. Edouard Philippe defended the gradual lifting of lockdown up to now, saying the strategy was meant to avoid provoking a second wave. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

— U.N. chief warns of historic levels of famine.

— South Africa eases bans on alcohol sales, church services.

— Moscow tries to dispel doubts over nation's low virus deaths.

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UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations chief is warning world leaders that the COVID-19 pandemic will cause “unimaginable devastation and suffering around the world,” with historic levels of hunger and famine and up to 1.6 billion people unable to earn a living unless action is taken now.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a high-level meeting Thursday that COVID-19 could also lead to “a loss of $8.5 trillion in global output, the sharpest contraction since the Great Depression of the 1930s.”

Guterres called for Immediate and collective action in several critical areas: enhancing global financial liquidity; providing debt relief; engaging private creditors; promoting external finance; plugging leaks in tax evasion; money-laundering; and corruption. He also wants to make sure the recovery tackles the climate crisis.

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NAIROBI, Kenya -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said he scolded one of his sons for violating curfew by going out at night and endangering his grandmother’s health.

Kenyatta’s son is staying at his home in Mombasa. The coastal city, the nation’s second largest, is a center of infections, with a dusk-to-dawn curfew and ban on social gatherings.

The president told local media he asked his son if he would able to live with his actions if his grandmother became ill with COVID-19. Kenyatta said that as the East African country considers lifting restrictions, everyone must exercise responsibility.

Other Kenyans have not escaped curfew punishment lightly. At least 18 people have been killed by police for violating curfew, according to human rights activist Wilfred Olal of the Dandora Community Justice Center.

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PARIS — France is reopening its restaurants, bars and cafes starting next week as the country eases most restrictions amid the new coronavirus crisis.

All city parks will reopen and more children will be accommodated in schools with classes capped at 15 students.

French Prime minister Edouard Philippe also pledged to revive “cultural and sport life.”

Although life is returning closer to normal, public gatherings larger than 10 people are still banned, contact sports are not allowed, and night clubs will remain closed.

France, one of the world’s hardest-hit countries, has reported at least 28,596 coronavirus-related deaths.

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ROME — Italy registered 593 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, nine more than the previous day-to-day figure from the Health Ministry.

Lombardy in the north registered 382 new cases, nearly the same as a day earlier. All other regions registered far fewer than 100 new cases, most with fewer than a dozen.

There were 70 deaths in the 24-hour period ending on Thursday evening, raising the nation’s overall known death toll to 33,142. Italy has logged 231,732 known cases of COVID-19.

Lombardy’s situation is concerning health experts ahead of a looming government decision on whether Italians can resume travel between regions and if people can arrive from abroad without having to quarantine.

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STORM LAKE, Iowa — A rural Iowa county that's home to two meatpacking plants has seen an increase of nearly 500 coronavirus cases in the past few days.

The state health department reported 697 cases Thursday in Buena Vista County, where Tyson Foods has pork and turkey processing plants. Health officials say the number of coronavirus cases in the county had jumped from around 250 on Tuesday as more testing has been done.

A Tyson pork processing plant in Storm Lake has had more than 550 employees out of more than 2,500 test positive, said Iowa Department of Public Health Deputy Director Sarah Reisetter.

Tyson Foods is in the midst of testing all employees at the two plants. Company officials say they plan to release results once the testing of the roughly 3,100 employees is completed sometime in the next week.

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LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced another easing of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions in England,.

Johnson said Thursday at the government’s daily press briefing that schools will start reopening Monday. He also said that some outdoor-based businesses can reopen, but social distancing guidelines have to be observed in all the changes.

Johnson said the limited changes are possible because the government’s five tests on easing the lockdown, in effect since March 23, have been met. Those include a sustained and consistent fall in virus infections and the daily death rate.

Though the number of people dying after testing positive for COVID-19 has fallen since the peak in early April. the U.K. still recorded another 377 deaths, taking the total to 37,837.

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CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- The South African government says it will allow people to buy alcohol and attend church services starting Monday as part of its phased relaxation of the coronavirus lockdown.

Both activities will be subject to restrictions in a country with the highest number of cases in Africa.

Alcohol sales, banned since March 27, will be allowed four days a week. No alcohol can be purchased on Fridays and over the weekend and bars remain closed. Alcohol may be consumed only at home.

Churches can reopen but must limit congregation size to 50 people. Churchgoers and officials must wear masks and maintain social distancing. For those entering church, hand sanitizing and screening will be compulsory.

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, also said cigarette sales remain banned but a national night curfew will be lifted, and outdoor exercise will be allowed at any time.

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MILAN -- The governor of Sardinia is urging Italy’s government to back a coronavirus testing regime that would give domestic tourists a greater sense of safety.

Borders between Italian regions are to reopen Wednesday after three months, and Sardinia is one of Italy’s most popular tourist destination. Italy’s minister for regional affairs opposes such a system of ‘’immunity passports,’’ saying none of the tests so far offers clarity.

But Gov. Christian Solinas said Thursday that while neither nasal tests to determine if someone is positive nor antibody tests indicating exposure offer ‘’certainty,’’ the island region would like an alternative ‘’to nothing.’’ He said testing arriving tourists’ body temperatures was not enough.

Sardinia’s insistence on a standardized testing regime has rubbed some the wrong way, with Milan’s mayor saying when he considers where to go for a break he will look elsewhere.

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BERLIN -- Authorities in northern Germany say at least 72 workers at a UPS center near Hannover have tested positive for the new coronavirus.

Officials said Thursday that COVID-19 cases at a daycare center and a school in Hannover were also linked to the outbreak at the logistics center.

Separately, authorities in Frankfurt say the number of COVID-19 cases linked to a Baptist church service on May 10 has grown to 200.

Despite loosening numerous restrictions amid falling case numbers, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Wednesday that “we are still living at the start of the pandemic.” She cited the cluster linked to the church service as an example of “how quickly infections can break out again.”

Germany’s Robert Koch Institute, the country’s disease control center, said there have been almost 180,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic and 8,411 deaths.

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LONDON — Since March, Britons have stood on balconies, doorsteps and sidewalks once a week to applaud care workers on the front lines of the pandemic.

But Thursday’s 10th weekly “Clap for Our Carers” could be the last. The woman who founded the ritual says that “to have the most impact I think it is good to stop it at its peak.”

Annemarie Plas, a 36-year-old Londoner, was inspired by an idea from her native Netherlands. The event quickly took off, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and members of the royal family taking part, and news channels broadcasting the applause live from around the country.

But there was criticism as some people broke social distancing to take part. And some say the gesture deflects attention from serious government failings in providing testing and protective equipment to medics and care workers.

Plas also was concerned the gesture was becoming “politicized.” She hopes it will become an annual event on the last Thursday in March each year.

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NICOSIA, Cyprus -- Cyprus is advising doctors to curtail the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine on some coronavirus patients amid renewed concerns the drugs could trigger heart problems and put lives at risk.

The Health Ministry urged doctors Thursday to be “particularly vigilant” and to even stop administering the drugs to COVID-19 patients with pre-existing heart conditions.

The announcement came after the World Health Organization said it would temporarily drop hydroxychloroquine from its global study into experimental COVID-19 treatments.

Cyprus’ health minister said last month the country was among the first nations to approve use of the anti-malaria drug to treat COVID-19 patients.

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MOSCOW -- Health officials in the Russian capital have updated numbers on coronavirus deaths, trying to dispel doubts about the nation’s remarkably low COVID-19 mortality.

Moscow’s Health Department said Thursday the coronavirus mortality index for April varies from 1.4% to 2.8% depending on the calculation. The results are significantly lower than those from London, New York and other capitals.

On top of previously reported 636 deaths directly caused by the coronavirus, it added 756 deaths of those who tested positive for the virus but died of other causes and 169 deaths of those who tested negative but likely died of the virus according to autopsies.

Previously, the department counted only deaths directly resulting from the virus, leaving other “excess” deaths that represented a hike over the same period last year unexplained.

That has drawn suspicions from Russian and Western experts, who contend authorities in Moscow and other parts of Russia may have been under-reporting coronavirus deaths for political needs.

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ZAGREB, Croatia -- Croatia plans to reopen borders for the citizens of 10 European Union nations as part of efforts to revive tourism after the new coronavirus lockdown.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at a government session Thursday that travel restrictions will be lifted for citizens of Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. He says the list of countries will be expanded.

Croatia, with one of the weakest economies in the EU, is largely dependent on tourism along the country’s stunning Adriatic Sea coast. The country hopes to salvage as much as possible the summer tourism season after suffering losses the past months.

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MOSCOW -- Residents of Russia’s capital will be able to go for a stroll under relaxed coronavirus regulations, but they’ll have to check an online map to find out when they can do it.

The mayor’s office said Thursday that it is developing an interactive for the walks that can start on June 1. It says a resident will have to enter his home address and the map will show days and times that walks are allowed.

Under current restrictions, residents are supposed to stay home except for going to grocery stores, pharmacies, doctors or jobs that require their presence.

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LONDON -- British police say Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings likely violated rules by traveling from home during lockdown, but the force has “no intention” to pursue the matter.

Cummings has acknowledged driving 250 miles (400 km) to his parents’ house in Durham, northeast England, during the lockdown, and later taking another drive to a scenic town 30 miles (50 kms) away.

Durham Constabulary said Thursday that the second drive, to the town of Barnard Castle, was probably a “minor breach” of lockdown rules that would have “warranted police intervention had he been caught in the act.” But police say there is “no intention to take retrospective action.”

Johnson has resisted calls to fire Cummings for apparently flouting restrictions the government imposed on the rest of the country.

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NEW DELHI -- India’s top court has ordered free train rides and food and water for hundreds of thousands of migrant workers returning to villages in blazing heat after losing city jobs because of the pandemic.

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that state governments shall oversee the registration of migrant workers and ensure that they board the train or bus at an early date.

Television images have shown desperate and hungry migrants looting food carts on railroad stations and highways. Several migrants have died while travelling on the trains this week, with day temperatures rising to 113 degrees (45 Celsius).

After imposing a countrywide lockdown March 25 to contain the spread of COVID-19, the government stopped trains, buses and other transit.

 

[UN]

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Ex-mayor in Rwanda sentenced to life imprisonment for role played in 1994 genocide

Ladislas Ntaganzwa convicted for plotting to exterminate Tutsis and ordering the killing of more than 25,000 people.

Ladislas Ntaganzwa handed life term for his role in the genocide in which more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and Hutus who tried to protect themselves were killed [File: Cyril Ndegeya/AFP]

A Rwandan court has handed a life sentence to a former politician found guilty of orchestrating the killing of tens of thousands of people during the 1994 genocide in the country, a court spokesman said.

Ladislas Ntaganzwa, a former mayor of Nyakizu in southern Rwanda, was indicted in 1996 by the Arusha, the Tanzania-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, on charges of direct and public incitement to commit genocide, murder and rape.

"Ladislas Ntaganzwa was today sentenced to life imprisonment over genocide crimes committed during the genocide against Tutsi in 1994," court spokesman Harrison Mutabazi said on Thursday.

According to the indictment, he addressed the surrounded Tutsis and told them to lay down their arms. Then he gave the order for the massacre to begin, "whereupon the gendarmes and communal police shot at the crowd".

The tribunal's indictment accused Ntaganzwa of plotting to exterminate Rwanda's Tutsi population and personally ordering the massacre of more than 25,000 Tutsi civilians in his town in April 1994. It then passed the case to a Rwandan government court.

The tribunal closed five years ago and was replaced by a successor body, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, with offices in Arusha and The Hague, Netherlands.

About 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus were killed during the genocide, which took place during the last four months of the Rwandan Civil War.

Alexis Musonera, Ntaganzwa's lawyer, said he planned to appeal the ruling.

"We plan to appeal because evidence in the hearing was based on witnesses' testimony but that was not enough as some witnesses were contradicting themselves. We are not happy about this lengthy life jail term," Musonera told the Reuters news agency. 

The judgement was announced via video conference while Musonera used Skype to follow it with Ntaganzwa at Mpanga prison in the country's southern province.

Ntaganzwa was arrested in December 2015 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rwanda took him into custody in March 2016.

RELATED:

French court rejects request to release Rwandan genocide suspect

The United States had offered up to $5m for information leading to his arrest.

The sentencing comes shortly after Felicien Kabuga, the top-most fugitive from the genocide, was arrested in France last week after 25 years on the run.

The wealthy businessman is accused of supplying machetes to the killers in the genocide and broadcasting propaganda urging mass slaughter.

On Wednesday, Kabuga appeared in a French court and denied the charges. His request for bail was denied. He seeks trial in France and not in Africa.

The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals also announced last week that it had concluded that former Defence Minister Augustin Bizimana, another of the most-wanted fugitives, had died.

The remaining high-profile genocide suspect at large is Protais Mpiranya, a former commander of the Presidential Guard of the Rwandan Armed Forces.

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French court rejects request to release Rwandan genocide suspect

Felicien Kabuga, arrested in Paris on May 16, told a court he did not 'kill any Tutsis' but was 'working' with them.

A French court has rejected a request to release Rwandan genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga under court supervision.

The court on Wednesday denied his lawyer's argument that Kabuga should be released on bail because of poor health, saying continued detention ensured he would not abscond. Kabuga can appeal the decision.

The genocide suspect, meanwhile, told the court the international charges against him were "lies".

Kabuga, who was arrested near Paris earlier this month after more than 20 years on the run, is accused of financing and arming the ethnic Hutu militias that slaughtered some 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus in 1994.

The one-time tea and coffee tycoon was seated in a wheelchair at the front of the court, with his hands folded in his lap, wearing a blue shirt and dark blue trousers as well as a face mask.

Asked if he understood the charges made by a United Nations tribunal, Kabuga told the court through an interpreter: "All of this is lies. I have not killed any Tutsis. I was working with them."

He confirmed his identity saying he was born in 1933, rather than 1935 as stated in court documents.

"It's a major arrest but of course we must respect the presumption of innocence," Etienne Nsanzimana, a Rwanda genocide survivor, told the media. 

"He was one of the main figures of the old Rwanda and he was wanted on several charges - so it's a huge relief he has been caught."

According to an indictment from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Kabuga chaired the notorious Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) and used it to incite hatred between Hutus and Tutsis.

The indictment alleges RTLM "incited the commission of genocide through broadcasts that expressly identified persons as Tutsis, provided their locations, described them as the enemy, and called for their elimination".

Kabuga also agreed with others to create and fund a militia in the capital, Kigali, with the aim of stirring up ethnic hatred and committing genocide against Tutsis, according to the indictment.

Extradition

Should the Paris Court of Appeal approve Kabuga's extradition, it will order him to be handed over to the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.

The mechanism tries Rwandan cases in neighbouring Tanzania, but prosecutors are asking that Kabuga be held temporarily at The Hague, in the Netherlands, in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Kabuga's lawyers, however, have said the suspect wishes to be tried in France where he was living for several years, Al Jazeera's Natacha Butler reported from Paris. 

"They say he is elderly, he is 84 years old, and his health is frail, and extraditing him would simply be too much for a man that age," she said.

It is likely Kabuga will first be transferred to The Hague and then to Arusha, Tanzania, for trial, Grace Farvel, a Paris-based lawyer told the media.

However, Farvel added: "It is still possible that the validity of the arrest warrant would be challenged, and the court would accept that argument." 

The international arrest warrant for Kabuga was issued in August 1999.

"I imagine one of the issues will be that the information that was gathered then was still valid," Nicola Palmer, a senior lecturer at King's College, told Al Jazeera from London.

"This will be a very hard argument to sustain. Before the UN tribunal closed, it took a number of interviews to make sure it retained the initial evidence that it had gathered. And I think this is unlikely to go forward now that trial will go before this residual mechanism, which is really about completing the work of the UN International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda, which has been in existence since 1994."

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Biden calls Trump ‘absolute fool’ for mocking mask use

Joe Biden attacked US President, Donald Trump, as an “absolute fool” Tuesday for belittling his election rival over recently wearing a mask, an issue that has become a partisan flashpoint during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Democratic Party’s presumptive 2020 presidential nominee had a series of choice words for the Republican incumbent, telling CNN in his first in-person interview since March that Trump has become increasingly erratic.

The interview, conducted in Biden’s garden and with social distancing measures in place, followed Memorial Day ceremonies Monday in which Biden wore a mask and Trump was bare-faced.

Trump retweeted a photograph of Biden and an accompanying message that mocked the former vice president for wearing a mask.

“He’s a fool, an absolute fool, to talk that way,” Biden said. “Every leading doc in the world is saying you should wear a mask when you’re in a crowd.”

Asked whether wearing a mask projected weakness or strength, Biden chose a different description.

“It presents and projects as leadership,” Biden said. “Presidents are supposed to lead, not engage in folly and be falsely masculine.”

Trump, who is 73, and Biden, 77, are both at high risk from COVID-19 because of their age.

Trump has refused to appear in public wearing a mask, and many of the Americans who are bare-faced at demonstrations calling for states to immediately reopen are supporters of the president.

“This macho stuff,” Biden added, has “cost people’s lives.”

An hour before the interview aired, Trump questioned why Biden would wear a mask outdoors, in “perfect conditions, perfect weather,” while he does not wear a mask in his home with his wife.

“So I thought it was very unusual that he had one on,” Trump said at the White House.

Trump has repeatedly mocked Biden as too old or gaffe-prone to wrest the White House from him in November’s election.

Biden said he did not want to engage in name-calling with a president who is all-too-willing to do so, but he did not hesitate to point out Trump’s apparent anxiety over slippage in the polls.

“He seems to get more erratic, the more he feels like he’s behind the curve,” Biden said.

On Tuesday Biden changed the profile image on his Twitter feed to a photograph of him wearing a black mask.

[AFP]

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