US president’s state visit to UK hailed a success following dinner at ambassador’s house held in honour of the Queen The US president bade farewell to the UK on Thursday with a brief wave before stepping on to Air Force One. Following what is being widely viewed as a successful state visit, Barack Obama stood on the runway at a blustery Stansted airport and gave his wife a peck on the cheek before leaving for the G8 summit in Deauville. Michelle Obama returns to the US separately. Last night, the Obamas hosted a dinner in the Queen’s honour as a thank you for Tuesday’s state banquet at Buckingham Palace. More than 50 guests were invited – including the prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha, footballer David Beckham, actors Colin Firth and Tom Hanks, and Harry Potter author JK Rowling – to the dinner at Winfield House in Regent’s Park, the official residence of the US ambassador to Britain, Louis Susman. During his two-day visit to the UK, Obama recast the ties between the UK and America as not just special but “essential”. The president and prime minister held talks at Downing Street, where they also hosted a barbecue for military service personnel and their families. Michelle Obama visited Christ Church college at the University of Oxford, where she met pupils from the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson school in north London. She first met the students in 2009 on a surprise visit to the school, where 54% of students receive free school meals, more than nine in 10 are non-white, and more than a fifth are from refugee families. In a moving talk to the girls she told them they could succeed. “We passionately believe that you have the talent, the drive, the experience to succeed here in Oxford and in universities just like it across the country and across the world,” she said. Barack Obama Michelle Obama United States Alexandra Topping guardian.co.uk
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Former Hutu militia leader Bernard Munyagishari, wanted on charges of crimes against humanity, arrested after 17 years A mastermind of the Rwandan genocide has been captured 17 years later in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, a United Nations court has announced. Bernard Munyagishari, a former Hutu militia leader, is wanted on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, including rape, the Tanzania-based international criminal tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) said. The fugitive, who had previously been a school teacher and football referee, was arrested by the Congolese army and an ICTR tracking unit “in difficult terrain”. Munyagishari, 52, featured in the US state department’s Rewards for Justice programme, with a reward of up to $5m (£3m) offered for his capture . The ICTR said Munyagishari was arrested in Kachanga, North Kivu in an operation involving the Congolese army and the ICTR’s tracking unit. He was being held in Goma awaiting transfer to the court in Arusha, Tanzania. “The prosecutor [Justice Hassan Bubacar Jallow] hailed the DRC authorities for their co-operation in executing the warrant of arrest despite the hurdles encountered in tracking down the fugitive in difficult terrain,” the court said. Ethnic Hutu militia and soldiers butchered 800,000 minority Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus over 100 days between April and June 1994. The victims were frequently described as “cockroaches”. The ICTR indictment says Munyagishari helped prepare and plan the genocide (pdf) . From 1992-94 he was secretary general of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development for Gisenyi city and president of the Interahamwe militia for the Gisenyi prefecture. Munyagishari is accused of co-founding and training the Interahamwe group in the Gisenyi region, distributing weapons to them, and exercising authority over them as they operated roadblocks in the city of Gisenyi and slaughtered Tutsis. He also allegedly created an arm of the Interahamwe with a mission of raping and killing women as a weapon of war. The court said: “The accused is alleged to have recruited, trained and led Interahamwe militiamen in mass killings and rapes of Tutsi women in Gisenyi and beyond, between April and July 1994.” During that time, according to the indictment, Munyagishari was seen armed with a pistol, Kalashnikov and club and sometimes wearing a military uniform, although he never became an official member of the Rwandan armed forces. The ICTR said that after Munyagishari’s arrest, nine of those most responsible for the slaughter were still at large. Since its establishment in late 1994, the court has delivered 46 judgments, of which eight were acquittals. Another nine cases are on appeal. Earlier this month the court sentenced the former army general Augustin Bizimungu, who prepared lists of Tutsis to be “exterminated”, to 30 years in prison . Augustin Ndindiliyimana, a former military police leader, was also found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. Rwanda Democratic Republic of the Congo Human rights Africa David Smith guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Former Hutu militia leader Bernard Munyagishari, wanted on charges of crimes against humanity, arrested after 17 years A mastermind of the Rwandan genocide has been captured 17 years later in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, a United Nations court has announced. Bernard Munyagishari, a former Hutu militia leader, is wanted on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, including rape, the Tanzania-based international criminal tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) said. The fugitive, who had previously been a school teacher and football referee, was arrested by the Congolese army and an ICTR tracking unit “in difficult terrain”. Munyagishari, 52, featured in the US state department’s Rewards for Justice programme, with a reward of up to $5m (£3m) offered for his capture . The ICTR said Munyagishari was arrested in Kachanga, North Kivu in an operation involving the Congolese army and the ICTR’s tracking unit. He was being held in Goma awaiting transfer to the court in Arusha, Tanzania. “The prosecutor [Justice Hassan Bubacar Jallow] hailed the DRC authorities for their co-operation in executing the warrant of arrest despite the hurdles encountered in tracking down the fugitive in difficult terrain,” the court said. Ethnic Hutu militia and soldiers butchered 800,000 minority Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus over 100 days between April and June 1994. The victims were frequently described as “cockroaches”. The ICTR indictment says Munyagishari helped prepare and plan the genocide (pdf) . From 1992-94 he was secretary general of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development for Gisenyi city and president of the Interahamwe militia for the Gisenyi prefecture. Munyagishari is accused of co-founding and training the Interahamwe group in the Gisenyi region, distributing weapons to them, and exercising authority over them as they operated roadblocks in the city of Gisenyi and slaughtered Tutsis. He also allegedly created an arm of the Interahamwe with a mission of raping and killing women as a weapon of war. The court said: “The accused is alleged to have recruited, trained and led Interahamwe militiamen in mass killings and rapes of Tutsi women in Gisenyi and beyond, between April and July 1994.” During that time, according to the indictment, Munyagishari was seen armed with a pistol, Kalashnikov and club and sometimes wearing a military uniform, although he never became an official member of the Rwandan armed forces. The ICTR said that after Munyagishari’s arrest, nine of those most responsible for the slaughter were still at large. Since its establishment in late 1994, the court has delivered 46 judgments, of which eight were acquittals. Another nine cases are on appeal. Earlier this month the court sentenced the former army general Augustin Bizimungu, who prepared lists of Tutsis to be “exterminated”, to 30 years in prison . Augustin Ndindiliyimana, a former military police leader, was also found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. Rwanda Democratic Republic of the Congo Human rights Africa David Smith guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Former Hutu militia leader Bernard Munyagishari, wanted on charges of crimes against humanity, arrested after 17 years A mastermind of the Rwandan genocide has been captured 17 years later in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, a United Nations court has announced. Bernard Munyagishari, a former Hutu militia leader, is wanted on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, including rape, the Tanzania-based international criminal tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) said. The fugitive, who had previously been a school teacher and football referee, was arrested by the Congolese army and an ICTR tracking unit “in difficult terrain”. Munyagishari, 52, featured in the US state department’s Rewards for Justice programme, with a reward of up to $5m (£3m) offered for his capture . The ICTR said Munyagishari was arrested in Kachanga, North Kivu in an operation involving the Congolese army and the ICTR’s tracking unit. He was being held in Goma awaiting transfer to the court in Arusha, Tanzania. “The prosecutor [Justice Hassan Bubacar Jallow] hailed the DRC authorities for their co-operation in executing the warrant of arrest despite the hurdles encountered in tracking down the fugitive in difficult terrain,” the court said. Ethnic Hutu militia and soldiers butchered 800,000 minority Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus over 100 days between April and June 1994. The victims were frequently described as “cockroaches”. The ICTR indictment says Munyagishari helped prepare and plan the genocide (pdf) . From 1992-94 he was secretary general of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development for Gisenyi city and president of the Interahamwe militia for the Gisenyi prefecture. Munyagishari is accused of co-founding and training the Interahamwe group in the Gisenyi region, distributing weapons to them, and exercising authority over them as they operated roadblocks in the city of Gisenyi and slaughtered Tutsis. He also allegedly created an arm of the Interahamwe with a mission of raping and killing women as a weapon of war. The court said: “The accused is alleged to have recruited, trained and led Interahamwe militiamen in mass killings and rapes of Tutsi women in Gisenyi and beyond, between April and July 1994.” During that time, according to the indictment, Munyagishari was seen armed with a pistol, Kalashnikov and club and sometimes wearing a military uniform, although he never became an official member of the Rwandan armed forces. The ICTR said that after Munyagishari’s arrest, nine of those most responsible for the slaughter were still at large. Since its establishment in late 1994, the court has delivered 46 judgments, of which eight were acquittals. Another nine cases are on appeal. Earlier this month the court sentenced the former army general Augustin Bizimungu, who prepared lists of Tutsis to be “exterminated”, to 30 years in prison . Augustin Ndindiliyimana, a former military police leader, was also found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. Rwanda Democratic Republic of the Congo Human rights Africa David Smith guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Former Hutu militia leader Bernard Munyagishari, wanted on charges of crimes against humanity, arrested after 17 years A mastermind of the Rwandan genocide has been captured 17 years later in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, a United Nations court has announced. Bernard Munyagishari, a former Hutu militia leader, is wanted on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, including rape, the Tanzania-based international criminal tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) said. The fugitive, who had previously been a school teacher and football referee, was arrested by the Congolese army and an ICTR tracking unit “in difficult terrain”. Munyagishari, 52, featured in the US state department’s Rewards for Justice programme, with a reward of up to $5m (£3m) offered for his capture . The ICTR said Munyagishari was arrested in Kachanga, North Kivu in an operation involving the Congolese army and the ICTR’s tracking unit. He was being held in Goma awaiting transfer to the court in Arusha, Tanzania. “The prosecutor [Justice Hassan Bubacar Jallow] hailed the DRC authorities for their co-operation in executing the warrant of arrest despite the hurdles encountered in tracking down the fugitive in difficult terrain,” the court said. Ethnic Hutu militia and soldiers butchered 800,000 minority Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus over 100 days between April and June 1994. The victims were frequently described as “cockroaches”. The ICTR indictment says Munyagishari helped prepare and plan the genocide (pdf) . From 1992-94 he was secretary general of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development for Gisenyi city and president of the Interahamwe militia for the Gisenyi prefecture. Munyagishari is accused of co-founding and training the Interahamwe group in the Gisenyi region, distributing weapons to them, and exercising authority over them as they operated roadblocks in the city of Gisenyi and slaughtered Tutsis. He also allegedly created an arm of the Interahamwe with a mission of raping and killing women as a weapon of war. The court said: “The accused is alleged to have recruited, trained and led Interahamwe militiamen in mass killings and rapes of Tutsi women in Gisenyi and beyond, between April and July 1994.” During that time, according to the indictment, Munyagishari was seen armed with a pistol, Kalashnikov and club and sometimes wearing a military uniform, although he never became an official member of the Rwandan armed forces. The ICTR said that after Munyagishari’s arrest, nine of those most responsible for the slaughter were still at large. Since its establishment in late 1994, the court has delivered 46 judgments, of which eight were acquittals. Another nine cases are on appeal. Earlier this month the court sentenced the former army general Augustin Bizimungu, who prepared lists of Tutsis to be “exterminated”, to 30 years in prison . Augustin Ndindiliyimana, a former military police leader, was also found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. Rwanda Democratic Republic of the Congo Human rights Africa David Smith guardian.co.uk
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Government target of bringing down migration figure to tens of thousands by the next general election now in doubt Net migration to Britain has unexpectedly jumped by nearly 100,000 in the past year to 243,000, jeopardising the government’s target of bringing down the figure to “tens of thousands” by the next general election. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures published on Thursday morning show that net migration – the numbers coming to live in Britain for more than 12 months minus those going to live abroad – has risen in the 12 months to last September from 147,000 to 243,000. The sudden leap in net migration appears to have as much to do with a slump in the numbers leaving the country, which have fallen by 50,000, as a resumption in immigration, which has risen by 50,000. The ONS said that net migration from Poland and other eastern European countries had increased to 43,000 in the latest figures compared with a fall of 12,000 in the year before. The numbers coming from Poland and other new EU states has risen from 45,000 to 72,000 while those going home have fallen from 57,000 to 29,000. This takes net migration from Poland back to the levels last seen in September 2008. The official statisticians add that immigration to Britain for work-related reasons was little changed in the year to September 2010 but the numbers of those coming to study had risen by 30%. The home secretary, Theresa May, has announced a series of crackdowns on the work and student routes as part of her drive to reach the Conservative election pledge of getting net migration down to below 100,000 by the time of the general election. But the latest figures now place new doubts on that happening. Matt Cavanagh, associate director of the Institute of Public Policy Research, predicted that the government would now take even tougher measures: “It is time the government admitted that setting a target for ‘net migration’ makes little sense, and can’t be achieved without damaging Britain’s economy. “When they set the target in opposition, the Conservatives clearly hadn’t planned for emigration continuing to fall. Today’s figures show that emigration of British nationals is down by more than 25% since 2008. “This means the government will have to take even more drastic measures to try to meet their chosen target,” said Cavanagh. “They can’t control immigration from the EU. Today’s figures show net migration from eastern Europe up over 50,000 from last year. They will find it difficult to reduce family immigration. So they will have to tighten up even further on students or skilled workers coming from outside the EU – the most valuable kinds of immigration for our economy.” Immigration and asylum Population Europe Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
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Government target of bringing down migration figure to tens of thousands by the next general election now in doubt Net migration to Britain has unexpectedly jumped by nearly 100,000 in the past year to 243,000, jeopardising the government’s target of bringing down the figure to “tens of thousands” by the next general election. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures published on Thursday morning show that net migration – the numbers coming to live in Britain for more than 12 months minus those going to live abroad – has risen in the 12 months to last September from 147,000 to 243,000. The sudden leap in net migration appears to have as much to do with a slump in the numbers leaving the country, which have fallen by 50,000, as a resumption in immigration, which has risen by 50,000. The ONS said that net migration from Poland and other eastern European countries had increased to 43,000 in the latest figures compared with a fall of 12,000 in the year before. The numbers coming from Poland and other new EU states has risen from 45,000 to 72,000 while those going home have fallen from 57,000 to 29,000. This takes net migration from Poland back to the levels last seen in September 2008. The official statisticians add that immigration to Britain for work-related reasons was little changed in the year to September 2010 but the numbers of those coming to study had risen by 30%. The home secretary, Theresa May, has announced a series of crackdowns on the work and student routes as part of her drive to reach the Conservative election pledge of getting net migration down to below 100,000 by the time of the general election. But the latest figures now place new doubts on that happening. Matt Cavanagh, associate director of the Institute of Public Policy Research, predicted that the government would now take even tougher measures: “It is time the government admitted that setting a target for ‘net migration’ makes little sense, and can’t be achieved without damaging Britain’s economy. “When they set the target in opposition, the Conservatives clearly hadn’t planned for emigration continuing to fall. Today’s figures show that emigration of British nationals is down by more than 25% since 2008. “This means the government will have to take even more drastic measures to try to meet their chosen target,” said Cavanagh. “They can’t control immigration from the EU. Today’s figures show net migration from eastern Europe up over 50,000 from last year. They will find it difficult to reduce family immigration. So they will have to tighten up even further on students or skilled workers coming from outside the EU – the most valuable kinds of immigration for our economy.” Immigration and asylum Population Europe Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
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Regulator also announces 999 text service and rules to ensure quick transferral of mobile numbers between providers Three-year broadband and phone contracts have been banned by the communications regulator Ofcom , with providers now only able to offer maximum contracts of two years. They must also make 12-month contracts available under the new regulations which bring the UK in line with EU telecoms law. The regulations also require mobile providers to transfer customers’ mobile phone numbers to a new provider within one working day. Providers must now pay “reasonable compensation” to customers should they not do so, or if there is an abuse of the process. Ofcom is allowing providers to design their own compensation schemes, but will review them after 12 months to make sure they are adequate. In addition, for those switching landlines steps have been introduced to prevent “slamming”, where a customer is switched to another provider without their permission or knowledge. Ofcom has also introduced an emergency SMS scheme which allows registered users to text the details of emergencies to the emergency services instead of calling 999. The scheme, which has been running on a voluntary basis since 2009, already has around 14,500 users and is predominantly used by hearing and speech-impaired people who find it difficult to use the phone. Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards said: “These changes to the regulations should make it easier for consumers to take advantage of the wide range of competition in the UK communications market. The emergency SMS scheme has proved very successful. It is right that this service should be made permanent in order to safeguard it for the people who depend on it.” Ernest Doku, technology expert at uSwitch.com , said the rules were good news for consumers: “These longer 36-month mobile phone contracts were effectively handcuffing consumers, preventing them from getting the latest phone and saving money for three years. In such a rapidly evolving market nobody can afford to be tied down like this. Ofcom has put the power back into the hands of the people. “Three-year contracts came as a result of the sharp increase in smartphone take-up, which in some cases are worth up to £600. Now providers are required to offer 12-month contracts by law, we are likely to see providers claw back handset costs through higher contract charges.” It also emerged this week that the price of broadband has risen for the first time in five years, as a result of companies encouraging customers to switch to bundles including home phone and digital TV rather than take out stand-alone broadband. Research from Broadbandchoices.co.uk indicates that while headline broadband speeds have increased by 29% since 2010, the cost has also risen by 11% – twice the rate of inflation. Stand-alone broadband now costs £126.49 a year, or £10.54 a month for the first year, compared with £114.18 and £9.51 in 2010. At the same time, broadband speeds have increased from 14MB to 18MB. Michael Phillips of Broadbandchoices.co.uk said: “It is disappointing to see the cost of stand-alone broadband increase after so many years of broadband providers delivering price cuts to consumers. The VAT rise and effects of inflation are taking their toll, but providers are clearly placing a premium on broadband-only deals in their drive to sign up more customers to their bundled packages. “Bundles for broadband, home phone, digital TV and mobile phone services do offer excellent value to consumers but those customers who simply want a broadband-only deal should not be penalised. Broadband has become an essential utility to the majority of households across the UK, and if prices continue to rise we may see a worrying downward trend in broadband subscription across the country – denying access to essential information, communication and financial services that many consumers now rely upon to conduct their lives.” The website said the cheapest broadband and phone bundle is with TalkTalk , which charges a first-year fee including line rental of £190.20; while the cheapest provider of a broadband, phone and TV package is Virgin Media , charging £345.88 for the first year including line rental. However these recommendations do not take customer service into account. Internet, phones & broadband Household bills Family finances Consumer affairs Broadband Internet Mobile phones Telecoms Ofcom Mark King guardian.co.uk
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Pakistan asks US to reduce military footprint in a sign of its annoyance over how raid that killed Bin Laden was carried out The US is reducing its military force in Pakistan at the request of Islamabad after US special forces killed Osama bin Laden , the Pentagon has said. More than 200 American troops are in the country helping to train the army in counter-insurgency, but there are also said to be intelligence and special forces there. No details have been given on the size of the reduction, the type of troops involved, nor whether Pakistan has set a new limit on US numbers. Pentagon spokesman Colonel David Lapan said: “We were recently (within the past two weeks) notified in writing the government of Pakistan wished for the US to reduce its footprint in Pakistan. Accordingly we have begun those reductions.” The request will be taken as a sign of Islamabad’s annoyance that the raid on Bin Laden’s compound at Abbottabad was carried out without its knowledge. There have been suspicions in Washington that some in Pakistan knew the al-Qaida leader’s hideout. But Pervez Musharraf , the former president of Pakistan, denied that the country’s ISI intelligence service knew, at any level, of the presence of the world’s most wanted man in the garrison city. However, in an interview with BBC’s Newsnight on Wednesday , he admitted that it was “very difficult to prove non-complicity”. Musharraf said he had been surprised and shocked to discover where Bin Laden had been hiding. He added that neither he nor senior government officials had colluded in providing refuge for the fugitive while he was in power between 1999 and 2007. “I can’t imagine in my wildest dreams that the intelligence agency was doing something without telling me, so therefore there was no complicity at the strategic level.” However, the intelligence service had demonstrated “negligence, ineptitude and failure” in its failure to detect Bin Laden, he said. US military Pakistan United States Osama bin Laden Pervez Musharraf James Meikle guardian.co.uk
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US orders all non-essential diplomats to leave and urges all Americans to depart country as security conditions deteriorate The US has ordered all non-essential diplomats to leave Yemen and urged all Americans there to depart as security conditions deteriorate, with the country’s embattled leader refusing to step down. The decision to tell most non-essential personnel and the families of all American staff at the US embassy in Sana’a to leave was a sign of Washington’s increasing concern about the situation in Yemen, where street battles between supporters and opponents of the Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, raged for a third day. The clashes have left at least 41 dead and dozens badly injured. “The security threat level in Yemen is extremely high due to terrorist activities and civil unrest,” the US state department said in its advisory. “There is ongoing civil unrest throughout the country and large-scale protests in major cities.” It noted that violent clashes were occurring in Sana’a, the capital, and “may escalate without notice”. The “ordered departure” notice came in a new travel warning for Yemen released as the Obama administration stepped up calls for Saleh to transfer power under an agreement negotiated by neighbouring Gulf states. Speaking in London earlier on Wednesday, the US president, Barack Obama, called on Saleh to “move immediately” to implement the agreement. Saleh has reneged three times on verbal commitments to step down. The earlier US travel alert for Yemen issued in March had allowed non-essential embassy staff and their families to leave at government expense. It had also urged Americans not to go to Yemen but had only told those already in the country to consider leaving. The new alert followed a defiant message from Saleh, who vowed not to step down or allow Yemen to become a “failed state”. His stance, combined with renewed fighting, sharply increased chances that Yemen’s three-month uprising could turn into a militia-led revolt after Arab mediation failed to end Saleh’s 32-year rule. “I will not leave power and I will not leave Yemen,” a spokesman, Ahmed al-Soufi, quoted Saleh as saying. He also took a direct swipe at US-backed efforts to negotiate his exit. “I don’t take orders from outside,” said Saleh’s statement, read by the spokesman in a meeting with tribal allies. “Yemen will not be a failed state. It will not turn into an al-Qaida refuge,” the statement added in another respone to western fears that chaos in Yemen would open the door for an al-Qaida offshoot to expand its operations. The Yemen-based cell, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, is linked to the attempted Christmas Day 2009 bombing of an airline over Detroit and explosives found in parcels intercepted last year in Dubai and Britain. Despite his tough talk, Saleh’s statement also promised he would try to keep the latest violence from “dragging the country into a civil war.” The clashes began on Monday after Saleh’s troops tried to storm the compound of the head of Yemen’s largest tribe, the Hashid. Hundreds of tribal fighters then responded with fierce attacks on government forces. United States Yemen Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest guardian.co.uk
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