Nov 17, 2009

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali pirates on Tuesday freed a Spanish tuna fishing boat hijacked last month and said a $3.5 million ransom had been paid for the vessel and its crew.

The release of the Alakrana, seized along with its 36 crew in the Indian Ocean on October 2, came soon after news that pirates had captured another ship, a Virgin Islands-owned chemical tanker heading for Mombasa.

"The sailors of the Alakrana are free and will be coming home," Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told a news conference in Madrid.

One of the pirates said the hijackers had left the ship, which had now set sail.

"Our last colleagues left the ship and it was freed," the pirate, who gave his name as Nor, told Reuters. "I think it has sailed away now. The crew is safe and said goodbye to us and to Somali waters."

The European Union naval force said the Alakrana had made contact with two Spanish warships in the area and confirmed that all pirates had disembarked and it had enough fuel on board.

"The captain also reported that the crew of 36 were in good health," a naval force statement said. "The Spanish warships will escort Alakrana to safety."

Nov 17, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia should investigate allegations that local officials are keeping food aid from opposition members to force them to join the ruling party ahead of national elections, a British aid minister said on Tuesday.

An opposition coalition last week said its members were being refused places on a long-running food-for-work scheme for more than 7 million hungry people to force them to join the governing party before the elections in May next year.

"I have heard allegations from the international community about distribution of food aid and the (food-for-work) programme and I have already raised those accusations with the deputy prime minister," Gareth Thomas, Britain's state minister for development, told a news conference in Addis Ababa.

"These allegations should be investigated thoroughly. The government said if evidence is produced that they would investigate and that was encouraging."

Thomas said Britain had made no decision to suspend aid to Ethiopia -- one of the world's poorest countries -- but that it could take "tough decisions" if necessary.

Britain donated 71 million pounds to the food-for-work scheme this year, making it the second largest donor after the World Bank.

The Ethiopian government says 6.2 million people will need emergency food aid this year and has appealed to the international community for help. With 7 million also on the food-for-work scheme, that means that more than 13 million of Ethiopia's 80 million people rely on aid to survive.

Ethiopia's national elections will be held on May 23.

Nov 17, 2009

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - A priest accused of genocide and crimes against humanity during the 1994 Rwandan genocide has been acquitted, the second release in as many days, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda said on Tuesday.

The U.N. court ordered the immediate release of Father Hormisdas Nsengimana, who was a priest at a Catholic secondary school during the three months of slaughter of some 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus in 1994.

The trial chamber said it could not conclude that Nsengimana, 55, was guilty of any of the crimes, which included killing Tutsi priests, a judge and other Tutsi victims.

"The Chamber did not find a sufficient factual and legal basis for concluding that Nsengimana was guilty of any of the crimes," the tribunal said.

The prosecution said Nsengimana was at the centre of a group of Hutu extremists that planned and carried out targeted attacks and participated directly in killings.

Nsengimana has been in prison since his arrest in Cameroon in 2002. He is the second indictee to be released by the ICTR, based in Arusha in northern Tanzania, in as many days.

On Monday an appeals chamber acquitted Protais Zigiranyirazo, known as "Mr. Z", of genocide and extermination after he was previously sentenced to 20 years.

Judges reversed the conviction citing several serious factual and legal errors.

Nov 17, 2009

ROME (Reuters) - The pace at which investors in richer countries have been buying farmland in developing nations has slowed with the fall in food prices this year from peaks hit in 2008, United Nations farming experts said on Tuesday.

The surge in food prices fuelled large-scale purchases of farmland by rich countries including Gulf Arab states, a trend that drew criticism for harming the interests of local people.

Now the drop in food and agriculture commodities prices, their volatility and the bad publicity the land acquisitions generated is putting off buyers, especially short-term investors, U.N. food and farm agencies experts said at an international food security forum.

"Those who have been targeting food production may be reducing (investments) now," Jean-Philippe Audinet, acting director of policy division at the U.N. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), told Reuters at the forum.

"Maybe some of them don't want to take this political risk, reputational risk and economic risk," Audinet said.

Under increasing pressure from critics for limiting land access for local farmers in poor countries, investors have been turning to other ways to ensuring steady supplies, David Hallam, deputy director of trade and markets division at U.N. Food and Agriculture (FAO) told reporters.

Such alternatives to what critics describe as "land grabs" have included setting up joint ventures or reaching long-term supply deals, Hallam said.

U.N. experts said they did not have precise data on the slow down in large-scale investments in foreign land and cited information from private investors and international institutions such as the World Bank.

Nov 17, 2009

ROME (Reuters) - A U.N. food summit failed to tackle the domination of global food markets by large agri-business corporations, and was vague on biofuels and commodity speculation, the U.N. food envoy said.

In a speech to the summit released on Tuesday before delivery, Special Rapporteur Olivier De Schutter criticised the leaders' declaration, saying it was silent on a number of crucial issues.

He said private agri-business corporations operated "without any sort of control and with often extremely high levels of concentration that represent a serious market failure".

"The declaration is entirely silent about how to address this," he said. "And it is silent about the right of agricultural workers to a living wage."

At a U.N. forum to drum up private sector support in the fight against hunger last week, food and agriculture majors said they were already investing millions of dollars in sustainable farm development to secure reliable supplies, cut costs and boost positions on new markets.

Participants at the forum, which included Nestle, Unilever, Cargill , Bunge and Syngenta, said the investments were not charity, but part of their business strategy.

But De Schutter that big groups were often "tempted" to cut agricultural labourers' wages and this undermined efforts to support small-scale and sustainable farming.

He also said the summit declaration was weak on the production and use of biofuels and on commodity market speculation, despite the impact of both on prices.

Nov 17, 2009

ROME (Reuters) - President Robert Mugabe called on Tuesday for the West to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe, saying "neo-colonialist enemies" were trying to make his land reform fail and his country dependent on food imports.

Mugabe, speaking at a U.N. food summit in Rome, denounced what he called the "punitive policies of certain countries" whose interests he said were opposed to the success of his farm and food policies.

But compared with his firebrand attacks on the United States and Britain, he struck a relatively moderate tone in his speech.

"We face very hostile interventions by these states which have imposed unilateral sanctions on us," Mugabe said.

"This has had a negative impact on our farmers who, according to our neo-colonialist enemies, must fail as to damn the land reforms we have undertaken," he added, without naming any country.

He added that Zimbabwe had also "seen a wish to make us dependent on food imports as opposed to enhancing our capacity for production".

Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, has long been a pariah in the West. Critics blame him for plunging his country, once the bread basket of southern Africa, into poverty through mismanagement and corruption.

NOUAKCHOTT, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- A former Central Bank governor of Mauritania is asked to return 95 million U. S. dollars stolen between 2001 and 2002, police sources said on Monday.

The former governor, Sid'Elmoctar Ould Nagi, is suspected of fraud in which the money was transferred by the bank under his instructions.

Ould Nagi was asked by the police unit in charge of fighting economic crimes to return this money which, according to investigators, was transferred without leaving behind any traces in the plan to bail out some of Nouakchott's primary banks and went to renown companies and prominent businessmen.

The former governor and minister under the regime of Maouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya (1984-2005) has been held by the police since Friday.

In an inquiry that has been expedited by the police to eradicate economic crimes, several businessmen and Mauritanian bank directors were questioned on Sunday evening.

Ould Nagi was also Mauritania's ambassador to Paris between 2003 and 2005 after occupying several ministerial posts.

LAGOS, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has expressed optimism that the political crisis in Guinea would soon be resolved, the News Agency of Nigeria reported on Tuesday.

Yar'Adua gave the assurance at a joint media briefing at the end of the meeting he held with the visiting President of Burkina Faso Blaise Compaore at the presidential villa in Abuja on Monday.

According to him, the meeting which centered on the situation in Guinea was very fruitful and thanked Compaore for his untiring efforts toward addressing the Guinean problem.

"President Compaore, who is the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mediator and facilitator for the crisis in Guinea, came for a consultation meeting regarding the situation in Guinea," he told reporters.

"And in the course of that meeting, he has come to consult with me as chairman of ECOWAS and we have had very fruitful discussions," he said, "He outlined his plans and I am confident that what he is doing will achieve our desired objectives, by the grace of God."

Earlier, Compaore said he had already held consultative meetings with all the stakeholders in the Guinean crisis and had come to brief Yar'Adua as the chairman of ECOWAS.

"I have been able to establish dialogue among them and bring stability to the country," he said.

"Following my meetings with the stakeholders of both the government and the opposition, I have been able to intimate the ECOWAS chairman about how far we have gone; I was able to give him how we intend to proceed and achieve our objectives," he added.

NOUAKCHOTT, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- General Ahmed Abdallah, a senior military official of Libya, is on a visit in Mauritania to discuss Nouakchott's participation in the African Union's peacekeeping force, security sources said.

The Libyan general arrived here on Monday for talks with Mauritanian officials on the establishment of inter-African common defense and intervention force in case of conflicts, a mechanism proposed by Libyan leader Moummar Gaddaffi during the last African summit held months ago in Syrte.

For Libya, this force is supposed to help in "peace consolidation on the continent," the Libyan official told local media.

Mauritanians are currently preoccupied by security within their own territory due to the infiltration of Islamic extremists.

BRAZZAVILLE, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group, has accorded a five-year loan of 40 million U.S. dollars to Central African countries to help with the regional small and medium-sized companies.

"Through this loan, IFC will contribute to the development of local capital markets and support long-term funding in local currencies for the local companies," IFC Vice President Nina Shapiro declared on Monday in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo.

This loan, which is going to be listed on the regional stock exchange, will be exempted from taxation within the six member countries of the regional bloc, including Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Chad and Equatorial Guinea.

The loan, which was unveiled in mid-November, will be officially launched in December.

ABIDJAN, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Cote d'Ivoire Football Federation dropped Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou out of this weekend's World Cup qualifier against Guinea for improper conduct.

He could also miss Wednesday's friendly against Germany in Gelsenkirchen, according to the national soccer governing body's website.

The forward had an altercation with teammate Abdoulaye Meite during training on the eve of Saturday's 3-0 win in Abidjan and has been disciplined.

Saturday's victory, however, has ensured an unbeaten run for the country's national team in their 2010 qualifying campaign and earned them the berth to next year's World Cup in South Africa.

HUNDREDS of homeowners are working against time to spruce up their homes in the hopes of cashing in as much as R14000 a day from renting them out to scores of tourists expected to flock to Nelson Mandela Bay for the World Cup.

Homeowners in Port Elizabeth will make anything from R4000 to a whopping R14000 a day in rentals, with most expected to make between R5000 and R7000 a day for the 46 days of the soccer showpiece.

In the Southern Cape, which is expected to host several teams, homeowners can expect to get between R600 and R1000 per person per day, property experts say.

However, Pam Golding Properties Port Elizabeth manager Richard Wright has warned that property owners hoping to climb on the bandwagon should take insurance into account. “Once you move out of your home and bring short-term tenants in, then your insurance is substantial.

You need to cover your items and the people who are in your home. I foresee a lot of damages and losses over that period.”

Wright said his company was letting high-end properties for World Cup tourists in Cape Town only.

“We have received a lot of calls but we are not doing this anywhere else.”

Seeff Port Elizabeth manager Avril O’Leary said she had had about 200 requests from local residents and was still getting up to 10 calls a day from people hoping to let their homes to World Cup visitors.

She said former footballer and soccer commentator Gary Bailey had entered into a joint venture with Seeff to ensure foreign visitors received quality accommodation at the best possible prices.

Prices were determined on the home’s features and number of beds, and its proximity to the stadium.

“Some people who own two homes will live in their second home during the World Cup. Some plan to go overseas and others are moving in with family.

“Some will even stay in one room and let out the rest of their home to visitors.

“A condition we set is that there is someone there to clean up, change the linen and do the cooking.”

O’Leary said tourists were waiting for the all-important pool draw on December 4, when it would also be decided in which cities the games would be hosted.

Port Elizabeth resident Keith Wattrus has also entered into a joint venture with Seeff, to ensure that tourists renting homes in Redhouse, Amsterdamhoek and Swartkops are kept entertained while staying in the area.

Riverside Living, as the venture has been named, will see rowing, fishing, watersports, deep sea diving and excursions to game reserves available to the tourists.

Seeff Properties Eastern Cape and Garden Route chairman Alan Evans said he had already placed 60 homes in the Knysna area on the rental database, and expected the same number in George, Mossel Bay and Plettenberg Bay.

Just Letting franchisee Pam Young said the company was offering overseas clients a service by compiling a database of homes available for renting during the tournament. She said prices ranged from R400 to R2500 per room per day.

A R400 room was very basic, with no television set, while the upper end room had a double bed, en suite bathroom, TV and other features.

“We will visit the home and take pictures, and give its proximity to the stadium or the beach, and send the information to our head office, which will then take the decision as to whether or not we will use the home.”

Young said breakfast had to be served and the rooms cleaned daily, and towels and linen replaced every second day.

Next year will be the second time Mount Croix couple Sue and Gary Hagemann invite World Cup tourists into their home. They also offered accommodation during the cricket World Cup in 2003.

Sue said they would be making service excellence a priority for their guests.

“I will be doing the cooking and we will be making their stay is as comfortable as possible. We are totally geared and ready for them, and we have a real interest in people.

“It is wonderful meeting new people and we are still in contact with those who were here for the cricket.”

She said she did not have any confirmed guests as yet and that the rental price, which was set by Seeff, was still being negotiated but she expected it to be about R1000 per person per day.

Many homeowners are also applying for their homes to be rezoned as businesses in order to open guesthouses for the World Cup, which is expected to see thousands of tourists arrive in South Africa next year.

One Port Elizabeth couple said they had applied in February for rezoning but were still waiting for the go-ahead from the municipality.

“They say there is a shortage of beds in Port Elizabeth, but we have waited 10 months for our application. We are going to go ahead with the construction in the meantime but I do think the municipality should be making this one of their priorities,” said Dean Watson, of Parsons Hill.

“We are not doing this exclusively for the World Cup. I think there will still be a market for visitors after it is over.”

Watson said he was building on five rooms to their home and they would have at least seven beds for the World Cup.

According to Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism, the metropolitan area currently has 392 facilities, with 6650 rooms and 15815 beds. Of these facilities, 29 are hotels, 85 self-catering apartments, 98 bed and breakfasts, 113 guesthouses, nine resorts, four camping and caravaning facilities and 13 lodges.

There are also 10 backpackers’ facilities and six cottages, and the university’s accommodation is also included.

Municipal spokesman Kupido Baron said the municipality would only be able to estimate the number of visitors after the selection draw in Cape Town on December 4.

“That is when you will know who is coming to which town and which teams will be playing in each town.

“If there is a major team coming to Nelson Mandela Bay, then you can estimate the number of spectators who will arrive by looking at past tournaments.”

Baron said Nelson Mandela Bay’s stadium would be hosting eight matches as well as a quarter-finals game and third place play-off.

“We will also be looking at towns just outside Nelson Mandela Bay, like Humansdorp and Jeffreys Bay. For fans coming from all over the world, the drive from nearby towns to watch a match will be nothing.

“This way the nearby towns can also benefit from the World Cup, instead of just the cities where the matches will be held.”

theherald

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader and Western Cape Premier Helen Zille led a large group of residents of Atlantis on the West Coast last night in a protest march against crime and drug abuse.

The leader also took the opportunity to endorse DA candidate, Barbara Rass, for the upcoming by-election tomorrow in ward 32 in Atlantis. She says Rass has been a good leader in the community and has fought tirelessly for the rights of abused women and children.

Rass was also described as an activist and crusader against crime and drug abuse. Zille urged the community to stand together tomorrow and give Rass the opportunity to show what she can do in the area. She said the march with the community was to show that they are united in the fight against crime.

“We have been working in this area for many years and we are marching together against crime. But, you need the right representative to help in the fight against crime,” says Zille.

Last week, President Jacob Zuma became the first South African head of state to acknowledge that crime in South Africa was the most violent in the world while justifying changes to the law on the use of lethal force in the National Assembly.

Opposition leaders who have made similar suggestions have been slapped down, particularly by former President Thabo Mbeki, who insisted that there was no qualitative difference between crime in South Africa and elsewhere in the world.

sabcnews

ARMED with crowbars, hammers and a bulldozer, housing officials yesterday demolished the first of about 20000 shoddy RDP houses in the Eastern Cape.

A total of 40000 houses will be flattened nationally and rebuilt in the coming months at a cost of R1,3- billion – about 10% of the national Housing Department’s annual budget. The Eastern Cape will need R359-million. In Nelson Mandela Bay, the government will spend more than R33-million rebuilding and repairing 1852 houses.

These include RDP homes in Mathew Goniwe township, Soweto-on-Sea, Veeplaas, Motherwell and Walmer.

Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale told a group of about 100 East Bank residents in East London, where the programme kicked off with the demolition of 330 houses, that the defective houses were a “national shame”.

Sexwale was accompanied by Special Investigations Unit (SIU) head Willie Hofmeyer and senior government officials.

During the rebuilding, which will take a month to complete, occupants of the houses will stay in temporary structures on the property.

Sexwale said the SIU had already charged 800 government employees who had received housing subsidies illegally.

Last week, he said his department would carry out a national audit of all government housing.

The audit followed an assessment of the ministry, which showed problems like inferior construction and workmanship on low-cost housing, hiring of incompetent contractors and the illegal occupation of RDP houses, among other things.

Speaking during an inspection of one of the houses to be demolished, Sexwale sympathised with 73-year- old Nomfundo Ntwanana, the owner.

“Look what they did to our mother. A crook was involved here. How can you do this to this woman? Look how defenceless she is. It’s a shame,” Sexwale said.

Ntwanana said she had moved into the house in 2003. “We left early last year because of rain,” she said.

Her neighbour, Maureen Jordan, said her house also needed to be fixed.

“The windows don’t open and the roof is leaking. There are cracks in the house and the toilet doesn’t flush,” she said. .

Sexwale said at the beginning of the month that a national audit would be done.

“We are investigating. The SIU has charged 800 government people. I’m not talking about those crooks out there who must also be dealt with. I’m talking about people we trust and to whom we give government jobs.”

He said the R1,3-billion was money “down the drain” because the government could have used it to build new houses.

Eastern Cape Human Settlements MEC Nombulelo Mabandla said her department had already created an anti-corruption unit that would look at all the defective houses.

Eastern Cape Housing Department head Nandipha Sishuba said the rebuilding of the houses would be closely watched. – Daily Dispatch

theherald

South African workers could be facing a very bleak Christmas. Thousands of jobs have already been shed this year and it seems the pain is far from over.

The economic slowdown has slowed demand for natural resources. The result is that thousands of mine workers in South Africa have lost their jobs with gold miners probably the worst off. Not only are they facing a global recession, but many mines are also nearing the end of their lives. Harmony Gold, one of the world's biggest gold mines, is planning to shut down six shafts next year. This means 2 100 workers will be without jobs.

Many companies are trying to find ways to become more cost effective to survive. Cellphone giant MTN said yesterday that about 400 of its permanent work force will have to go. An unknown number of temporary staff will also be cut off.

Gradual slowdown

However, economists say things will get better. Economist Azar Jamine says, “We are likely to see a gradual slowdown in retrenchments in the economy. But, by the latter part of next year, you might start seeing some employment creating – but, not on the scale of hundreds of thousands as the kind that we saw back earlier in the decade.”

Yesterday, the Democratic Alliance (DA) accused President Jacob Zuma of misleading people with his promise that Government would create 500 000 new jobs before December. The party said it was as clear then as it is now that the promise would not be fulfilled.

According to newspaper reports, Zuma admitted to the ANC's National Executive Committee last week that Government was nowhere near meeting the target. The DA's Athol Trollip said Government is not doing enough to cut the high unemployment rate.

sabcnews

(Xinhua) -- An Egyptian foreign ministry official summoned Algerian ambassador in Cairo on Monday to verify security measures taken by Algerian authorities after attacks against Egyptian workers in Algeria.

A wave of violence against Egyptian workers swept Algeria on Monday after local dailies published reports alleging that an Algerian football fan has been beaten to death in Cairo following the defeat of his country's soccer team in the World Cup qualifier game.

"Cairo needs assurances that Algerian authorities are doing everything necessary to ensure safety of Egyptian nationals working in Algeria," Egypt's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab Affairs Abdel Rahman Salah told reporters.

Salah stressed the importance of putting an end to escalation following the World Cup qualifier match in which Egypt grasped the last chance with a last minute goal to keep itself alive for a play-off with Algeria through a 2:0 victory.

On the other hand, Abdelkader Hadjar, Algeria's ambassador told reporters that the Algerian authorities are making all efforts to protect Egyptian nationals in Algeria.

Algerian soccer fans on Monday attacked the headquarters of several Egyptian companies working in Algeria, including the Arab Contractors, Orascom and Egypt Air and hurled stones and Molotov bombs on Egyptian workers.

Muraad Azmi, director of Orascom project, said nine Egyptian workers have been wounded in violent acts by Algerians before the arrival of anti-rioting police, which finally managed to control the situation around the company premises.

Meanwhile, Algerian ambassador to Egypt told the country's television in which he denied the death of any of the Algerian fans in Cairo following the match.

The two teams would meet in a play-off on Wednesday in Sudanese Capital Khartoum. The winning team will be qualified to the World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

Nov 16, 2009

MADRID (Reuters) - Two Somalis suspected of being part of a pirate gang which hijacked a Spanish fishing boat and its crew in the Indian Ocean could be tried in Spain within a month, judicial sources said on Monday.

Judge Santiago Pedraz charged Cabdullahi Cabduwily, known as Abdu Willy, and Rageggesey Hassan Aji, with armed robbery and the kidnapping of 36 crew members, a court document showed.

A charge of conspiracy was dropped, meaning the suspects could be deported if found guilty, since the remaining charges carry prison sentences of fewer than six years.

The presence of the suspected pirates in Spain has turned into a headache for the government since the gang holding the crew of the tuna boat Alakrana want the Somalis freed before they will release the Spanish crew, even if a ransom is paid.

Family members of the hijacked crew have criticised the decision to bring the Somalis to Spain after the Spanish navy captured them on October 2.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero met relatives to update them on the negotiations amid allegations the government was mishandling the affair and that ministers were divided.

Earlier this month, the first mate of the Alakrana said he believed the pirates had won a promise to have the two suspects freed, however the government has said all options are being considered.

The suspects could be tried in Spain but serve any prison sentence in Somalia or a third country, media reports have said.

Nov 16, 2009

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's opposition parties on Monday called for a nationwide two-week extension to register voters for the first multi-party elections in 24 years, accusing elections officials of being ill-prepared for the vote.

The former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and 20 opposition parties said an information black out and last-minute preparations by the election commission was preventing Sudanese from registering to vote.

"We are asking the National Elections Commission to extend the registration period for two weeks," Abdel Gayoum Awad from the Sudanese Congress Party said in a joint news conference.

The SPLM signed north-south peace deal in 2005 ending more than two decades of civil war. But delays in implementing the deal have raised tensions with less than five months until the multi-party elections which will be followed by a referendum on southern independence in 2011.

The opposition parties have previously said they would boycott the elections if a package of democratic laws they see as necessary for the vote was not drafted and passed by November 30.

And on Monday they accused President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP) of widespread registration fraud.

The NCP has denied any irregularities and accused the SPLM of arresting its members in the semi-autonomous south.

Many Sudanese have said that NCP officials have either taken their registration slips or recorded the numbers, as well as calling with offers to buy their votes.

Nov 16, 2009

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The United States wants Kenya to hand over a Rwanda genocide suspect it believes the east African nation has been harbouring for years, President Barack Obama's war crimes envoy said on Monday.

Stephen Rapp, U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, said the fact Kenya had not delivered the suspect to the Rwanda war crimes tribunal was part and parcel of the impunity prevalent in east Africa's biggest economy.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) said last year Kenya was failing to act against Felicien Kabuga -- despite evidence of his entry into the country, application for residency, visa approval and opening of a bank account.

Kabuga is Rwanda's most-wanted man and the United States has put a $5 million bounty on his head.

A Hutu businessman, Kabuga is accused of funding the militias that butchered some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus over a span of 100 days in 1994.

"I've seen pictures of him in Kenyan neighbourhoods, the ICTR has continued to press with Kenyan authorities for effective action to bring about his arrest. Even arriving last night, I received fresh information of his presence in Kenya," Rapp told a news conference in Kenya's capital.

Kenya froze Kabuga's assets in May this year, but has questioned whether the genocide suspect is still in Kenya.

Rapp said the latest government response was that Kabuga had now left Kenya, but it was still looking for evidence to confirm his departure.

Nov 16, 2009

HARARE (Reuters) - A senior official in Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party pleaded not guilty on Monday to terrorism charges in a trial that has raised tensions in the unity government formed early this year.

Roy Bennett, treasurer-general in the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was arrested in February on charges of illegal possession of arms for purposes of committing terrorism, insurgency and banditry.

Bennett's lawyer said he viewed the case as "political persecution".

Bennett is the MDC's nominee for the post of deputy agriculture minister but President Robert Mugabe has refused to swear him in, saying he should be acquitted first.

Asked on Monday by High Court Judge Chinembiri Bhunu how he pleaded to the charges, Bennett said: "Not guilty, my Lord."

Attorney General Johannes Tomana told the court that Bennett, together with accomplice Peter Hitschmann, were involved in an anti-government plot to destabilise the country between 2002 and May 2006.

Tomana said Bennett was the chief financier, at one time depositing $5,000 in Hitschmann's account to purchase arms, including rifles, eight machine guns, ammunition and grenades.

"The grand plan included assassinating certain individuals in government," Tomana said.