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page 26 Six African countries vote in Super Sunday By Abdullateef Salau with agency reports Voters in Benin, Congo, Niger, Zanzibar and Cape Verde went to polls on Sunday to elect leaders who will pilot the affairs of their nations. Senegal held a referendum on reducing presidential terms. Elections in Congo was held under a […]

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Six African countries vote in Super Sunday

By Abdullateef Salau with agency reports

Voters in Benin, Congo, Niger, Zanzibar and Cape Verde went to polls on Sunday to elect leaders who will pilot the affairs of their nations. Senegal held a referendum on reducing presidential terms.

Elections in Congo was held under a media blackout and the tense vote is expected to see President Denis Sassou Nguesso prolong his 32-year rule over the oil-rich but poor nation.

Interior Minister Raymond Mboulou has ordered telephone operators to shut off telephone, internet and SMS services for 48 hours for “reasons of security and national safety”.

Voters in Benin cast ballots in a run-off election that pitted outgoing President Thomas Boni Yayi’s hand-picked successor against his former ally in a highly competitive race. Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou gained 28% just ahead of Patrice Talon’s 25% in the March 6 first round of voting.

The presidential run-off in Niger is expected to favour the incumbent President Mahamadou Issoufou after his jailed opponent, Hama Amadou, was flown out of the country for medical reasons and an opposition coalition called for a boycott. In February’s first round, Issoufou got 48% of the vote while Amadou came second with 17%.

In Zanzibar, the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) also urged its supporters to boycott the poll. October’s election was cancelled after CUF candidate Seif Sharif Hamad declared himself the winner before results were officially announced.

Senegal’s referendum aims to cut presidential mandates from seven to five years and would not allow a president to run for more than two consecutive terms in office.

Legislative election also held in In Cape Verde. The African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) and the Movement for Democracy (MFD) have dominated politics since independence from Portugal in 1975.

RWANDA

Genocide suspect Ntaganzwa flown to Rwanda for trial

Rwanda genocide suspect Ladislas Ntaganzwa has been flown to Rwanda from Democratic Republic of Congo for trial.

Arrested in eastern DR Congo in December, Mr Ntaganzwa, 53, is accused in a UN indictment of genocide, crimes against humanity and violating the Geneva Conventions.

He is alleged to have helped form a Hutu militia “to exterminate” Tutsis while mayor of the town of Nyakizu. Some 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, died in the 1994 genocide.

Militias from the majority Hutu ethnic group massacred Tutsis and moderate Hutus

The UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) says he “substantially participated in the planning, preparation and execution of the massacre”.

RUSSIA

Russia mourns plane crash victims as investigation begins

Relatives gathered to mourn the 62 victims of a passenger jet crash in southern Russia on Sunday and officials warned an investigation could take weeks to determine the cause of the downing.

At Rostov-on-Don airport about 400 people paid their respects to the 55 passengers and seven crew who died when the Boeing 737-800, operated by Dubai-based budget carrier Flydubai, crashed in the early hours of Saturday.

Bereaved relatives laid red and white carnations on a growing pile of flowers, candles and children’s toys, framed by photos of the dead. “We mourn,” read an inscription listing the victims’ names.

Russia’s airline regulator said work had started extracting information from the doomed plane’s flight recorders, which were badly damaged and are unlikely to reveal much data.

UNITED STATES

US election: Anti-Trump rally in New York, Arizona

Hundreds of protesters have rallied outside Trump Tower in Manhattan while demonstrators briefly shut down an Arizona highway leading to a campaign rally for Donald Trump.

At least one person was arrested at the tower on New York’s famous Fifth Avenue during a brief skirmish on Saturday, as demonstrators voiced their opposition to the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination.

“Donald Trump, go away, racist, sexist, anti-gay,” shouted the demonstrators who gathered at Manhattan’s Columbus Circle, near one of the billionaire real estate mogul’s luxury buildings overlooking Central Park.

Amid considerable police presence, protesters held up signs that read “Deport Trump” and “Build a wall around Trump”.

Earlier, demonstrators blocked a major road in Arizona in the latest attempts by opponents to disrupt the campaign of the top US Republican White House hopeful who staged a campaign rally on Saturday just days ahead of the Arizona primary.

KENYA

Kenya says its forces kill 34 al Shabaab fighters in Somalia

Kenyan troops killed 34 al Shabaab militants in two separate incidents on Saturday and Sunday in Somalia and two of its own soldiers were killed in an ambush, a military spokesman said.

On Saturday, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) killed 21 of the insurgents in the southern town of Afmadow in the ambush in which the two soldiers died.

David Obonyo, spokesman for KDF, said in a statement that on Sunday, Kenyan troops killed a further 13 fighters just north of Ras Kamboni, also in southern Somalia.

“The KDF soldiers pursued them following information of an intended probe attack. Following the incident, a middle level al Shabaab commander has been detained, 13 militants were killed,” Obonyo said, referring to a reconnoitre attack by al Shabaab.

He said from the two incidents, KDF troops had recovered 27 AK 47 rifles, five rocket propelled grenades, a pistol, two PKM machine guns and ammunition.

GREECE

EU-Turkey deal fails to stem refugee flight to Greece

Refugee boats continued to arrive in Greece in the eastern Mediterranean, despite a recent deal between the EU and Turkey – whereby refugees will be deported back to Turkey – coming into effect.

At least five boats, carrying more than 30 refugees each, arrived from Turkey between Saturday midnight – when the agreement came into force – and Sunday morning. The majority of the refugees who arrived were from Syria.

Under the deal struck on Saturday, for every Syrian returned, the EU will resettle one from a Turkish refugee camp. But people who managed to reach Europe’s shores were hopeful they would not be turned back.

The EU-Turkey deal aims to strangle the main route used by refugees travelling to the EU and discourage people smugglers, but it has faced criticism from rights groups and thousands took to the streets of Europe in protest.

UKRAINE

Ukraine calls for immediate release of Savchenko detained in Russia

By Abdullateef Salau

The Government of Ukraine has demanded immediate and unconditional release of a Ukrainian pilot, Nadiya Savchenko, who is detained in Russian prison.

Ms Savchenko, a member of Ukrainian Parliament, is accused of directing mortar fire that killed two Russian state TV journalists, Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin in Ukraine in 2014, a claim she denies. In protest of her illegal detention in Russia and the postponement of her final hearing in court, she stated a hunger strike.

Ukraine, in a statement made available to Daily Trust through its embassy in Abuja, said it is concerned by Savchenko’s deteriorating health situation due to her hunger strike.

The statement condemned the continued illegal detention of Savchenko, saying everyone involved in her illegal imprisonment and detention bears highest legal and moral responsibility for her life.

It, therefore, called on the international community to step up the pressure on Russia to free its citizen. “We count on support of Nigeria in this important issue,” it said.

FRANCE

Paris attacks: Abdeslam to sue French prosecutor

Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam’s lawyer says he plans to take legal action against a French prosecutor for breach of confidentiality.

The Paris prosecutor told reporters that Abdeslam had admitted he wanted to blow himself up during the attacks on 13 November but then changed his mind.

The bombings and shootings, claimed by the so-called Islamic State (IS), left 130 people dead and dozens injured.

Abdeslam was arrested in Belgium last week after four months on the run.

The Belgian authorities have charged him with terrorism offences. He has decided to fight extradition to France, which could take up to three months.

SPAIN

Spain Erasmus student bus crash ‘kills 13’

At least 13 people have been killed after a bus carrying foreign students crashed on a Spanish motorway between the cities of Barcelona and Valencia.

Most of the 57 people on board the bus were students on the Erasmus programme who were returning to Barcelona after a trip to a fireworks festival.

Footage from the scene shows a white-roofed coach lying on its side, surrounded by emergency vehicles. The accident occurred near Freginals, 150km (93 miles) south of Barcelona.

The nationalities of those killed and the 43 people injured have not been confirmed, nor has the cause of the accident.

TURKEY

Turkey blames Islamic State for Istanbul bombing

The suicide bomber who killed four people in Istanbul’s main shopping street belonged to so-called Islamic State (IS), the interior minister says.

Efken Ala named the man as Mehmet Ozturk. He told reporters that five people had been questioned so far.

Mr Ala announced a review of security measures and curfews in seven Turkish provinces.

Three Israelis – two with Israeli-US nationality – and an Iranian died in the attack. Another 36 were injured.

Eleven Israelis were among the injured. Two Irish citizens, one national each from Germany, Iceland, Dubai and Iran were also injured.