Burundi crisis: Allegations against Rwanda 'unfounded'

The report, which has been seen by the Reuters news agency, is based on evidence from 18 Burundian fighters. 

Similar allegations have been made by Burundi's government.

A political crisis in the country, sparked by President Nkurunziza's decision to run for a third term last April, has led thousands to flee.

Seventy thousand of the 240,000 Burundians who have left the country since the crisis began are living in Rwanda.

"The unfounded allegations come from the fact that Rwanda has been hosting refugees considered hostile to [the government in Burundi's capital] Bujumbura," Rwanda's Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said in a statement emailed to the BBC.

The UN experts behind the report gathered the evidence in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they are monitoring UN sanctions.

The Burundian fighters told them that they had been recruited in May and June last year and given two months of military training by the Rwandans, and then given fake identity cards to cross into DR Congo, Reuters reports.

They also said there were four companies, each made up of 100 Burundian rebels, still in Rwanda.

In dismissing this evidence, Ms Mushikiwabo said the crisis in Burundi was of the country's "own making" and people should focus on that rather than "look for scapegoats".

On Wednesday, Burundi's ruling CNDD-FDD party accused Rwanda's President Paul Kagame of plotting to overthrow Mr Nkurunziza. 

The BBC's Prime Ndikumagenge in Bujumbura reports that Burundi's Foreign Minister Alain Nyamwite told journalists that the leaked UN report provided further evidence of what the government had been saying. 

Last July, Burundi's government said that Rwanda had allowed rebels to cross into the north-west of the country.

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Burundi's deepening crisis:

• April 2015: Protests erupt after President Pierre Nkurunziza announces he will seek a third term in office.

• May 2015: Constitutional court rules in favour of Mr Nkurunziza, amid reports of judges being intimidated. Tens of thousands flee violence amid protests.

• May 2015: Army officers launch a coup attempt, which fails.

• July 2015: Elections are held, with Mr Nkurunziza re-elected. The polls are disputed, with opposition leader Agathon Rwasa describing them as "a joke"

• November 2015: Burundi government gives those opposing President Nkurunziza's third term five days to surrender their weapons ahead of a promised crackdown.

• November 2015: UN warns it is less equipped to deal with violence in Burundi than it was for the Rwandan genocide.

• December 2015: 87 people killed on one day as soldiers respond to an attack on military sites in Bujumbura.

• January 2016: Amnesty International publishes satellite images it says are believed to be mass graves close to where December's killings took place

Here Are All The Legal Cases Plaguing Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby’s image as “America’s Dad” was tarnished after dozens of women accused the former TV star of drugging and sexually assaulting them. Cosby’s defense team was dealt a blow Wednesday when a judge said a sexual assault case against the embattled comedian could go forward. Here’s a list of all the legal cases plaguing Cosby:

Andrea Constand
More than 50 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, however, he has only been criminally charged in one case. The 78-year-old comedian was arrested in December and charged with aggravated indecent assault over the alleged drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office. Constand, a former Temple University employee, said she was drugged with multiple pills and then assaulted at Cosby’s Pennsylvania home in 2004.

Cosby’s defense attorneys had tried to get the charges dismissed, saying their client was protected under a 2005 agreement Cosby had made with the Montgomery County District Attorney that Cosby would “never be prosecuted” in Constand’s case if he gave deposition testimony. In the deposition, Cosby admits he gave his accuser the drug Quaaludes, the Associated Press reports. A judge on Wednesday refused to throw out the case, rejecting the immunity defense, according to the AP.

Judy Huth
Judy Huth claims Cosby sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974 when she was 15 years old, her lawyer Gloria Allred told TIME on Thursday. Huth alleges that Cosby gave her alcohol and then molested her in a bedroom suite, according to a December 2014 court filing. Cosby, who was first deposed in the case in October 2015, was ordered on Tuesday to give a second deposition in Huth’s civil lawsuit, Allred said. Allred has 29 clients who allege they are victims of Cosby, but Huth is the only one who has sued the entertainer.

Janice Dickinson
Model and reality TV personality Janice Dickinson is suing Cosby for defamation in California. Last month, the California Courts of Appeal ruled that Dickinson cannot depose Cosby until she has proven that she has sufficient evidence under California law to move forward with her defamation claim, Cosby’s lawyer Monique Pressley said in a statement. Dickinson said Cosby drugged and raped her in 1982 in Lake Tahoe, but she did not tell police for fear of retaliation, according to Reuters.

Kristina Ruehli
Kristina Ruehli, 72, of New Hampshire, filed a defamation lawsuit against Cosby last November in federal court in Massachusetts, according to the New York Times. Ruehli says Cosby falsely accused her of lying when she came forward last year and said he raped her in 1965 at his Los Angeles home.

Seven Other Accusers
Seven women say Cosby sexually abused them decades ago and then later defamed them, according to a civil lawsuit they filed last November in federal court in Springfield, Mass. Tamara Green, Therese Serignese, Linda Traitz, Barbara Bowman, Joan Tarshis, Louisa Moritz and Angela Leslie claim Cosby’s representatives defamed them by issuing public statements in 2014 saying their accusations were not true, the AP reported.

Counter-Lawsuits
Cosby fired back against those seven specific accusers, filing a counter defamation lawsuit against them last December in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. Cosby’s lawyers called the women’s lawsuit an intentional bid to “assassinate his character” for money. He also said it brought him emotional distress and caused “substantial injuries” to his reputation. Cosby later filed another defamation lawsuit in the Superior Court of California against another accuser, Beverly Johnson, who made similar claims. Cosby’s lawyers said in a statementthat Johnson’s accusations that he drugged her were “entirely fabricated” and “nothing more than an opportunistic attempt to resuscitate her own career.”

Dropped Cases

Chloe Goins, a former model who said Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 2008, ditched her civil lawsuit against him, the AP reported Tuesday. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office had declined to file criminal charges in the case. Goins, 25, was the youngest and most recent of Cosby’s accusers, according to USA Today.

Another defamation case against Cosby filed in October by Renita Hill was also dismissed last month “with prejudice,” Cosby’s lawyers said in a statement. A federal judge ruled that Hill, 48, cannot try to amend and re-file her suit. “None of the facts alleged by (the) plaintiff supported her claims for defamation, false light or intentional infliction of emotional distress under Pennsylvania law,” Pressley said.

Here Are All The Legal Cases Plaguing Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby’s image as “America’s Dad” was tarnished after dozens of women accused the former TV star of drugging and sexually assaulting them. Cosby’s defense team was dealt a blow Wednesday when a judge said a sexual assault case against the embattled comedian could go forward. Here’s a list of all the legal cases plaguing Cosby:

Andrea Constand
More than 50 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, however, he has only been criminally charged in one case. The 78-year-old comedian was arrested in December and charged with aggravated indecent assault over the alleged drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office. Constand, a former Temple University employee, said she was drugged with multiple pills and then assaulted at Cosby’s Pennsylvania home in 2004.

Cosby’s defense attorneys had tried to get the charges dismissed, saying their client was protected under a 2005 agreement Cosby had made with the Montgomery County District Attorney that Cosby would “never be prosecuted” in Constand’s case if he gave deposition testimony. In the deposition, Cosby admits he gave his accuser the drug Quaaludes, the Associated Press reports. A judge on Wednesday refused to throw out the case, rejecting the immunity defense, according to the AP.

Judy Huth
Judy Huth claims Cosby sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974 when she was 15 years old, her lawyer Gloria Allred told TIME on Thursday. Huth alleges that Cosby gave her alcohol and then molested her in a bedroom suite, according to a December 2014 court filing. Cosby, who was first deposed in the case in October 2015, was ordered on Tuesday to give a second deposition in Huth’s civil lawsuit, Allred said. Allred has 29 clients who allege they are victims of Cosby, but Huth is the only one who has sued the entertainer.

Janice Dickinson
Model and reality TV personality Janice Dickinson is suing Cosby for defamation in California. Last month, the California Courts of Appeal ruled that Dickinson cannot depose Cosby until she has proven that she has sufficient evidence under California law to move forward with her defamation claim, Cosby’s lawyer Monique Pressley said in a statement. Dickinson said Cosby drugged and raped her in 1982 in Lake Tahoe, but she did not tell police for fear of retaliation, according to Reuters.

Kristina Ruehli
Kristina Ruehli, 72, of New Hampshire, filed a defamation lawsuit against Cosby last November in federal court in Massachusetts, according to the New York Times. Ruehli says Cosby falsely accused her of lying when she came forward last year and said he raped her in 1965 at his Los Angeles home.

Seven Other Accusers
Seven women say Cosby sexually abused them decades ago and then later defamed them, according to a civil lawsuit they filed last November in federal court in Springfield, Mass. Tamara Green, Therese Serignese, Linda Traitz, Barbara Bowman, Joan Tarshis, Louisa Moritz and Angela Leslie claim Cosby’s representatives defamed them by issuing public statements in 2014 saying their accusations were not true, the AP reported.

Counter-Lawsuits
Cosby fired back against those seven specific accusers, filing a counter defamation lawsuit against them last December in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. Cosby’s lawyers called the women’s lawsuit an intentional bid to “assassinate his character” for money. He also said it brought him emotional distress and caused “substantial injuries” to his reputation. Cosby later filed another defamation lawsuit in the Superior Court of California against another accuser, Beverly Johnson, who made similar claims. Cosby’s lawyers said in a statementthat Johnson’s accusations that he drugged her were “entirely fabricated” and “nothing more than an opportunistic attempt to resuscitate her own career.”

Dropped Cases

Chloe Goins, a former model who said Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 2008, ditched her civil lawsuit against him, the AP reported Tuesday. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office had declined to file criminal charges in the case. Goins, 25, was the youngest and most recent of Cosby’s accusers, according to USA Today.

Another defamation case against Cosby filed in October by Renita Hill was also dismissed last month “with prejudice,” Cosby’s lawyers said in a statement. A federal judge ruled that Hill, 48, cannot try to amend and re-file her suit. “None of the facts alleged by (the) plaintiff supported her claims for defamation, false light or intentional infliction of emotional distress under Pennsylvania law,” Pressley said.

Hillary Clinton Talks Campaign Battle Ahead

TIME political columnist Joe Klein sat down with Hillary Clinton on Tuesday in Hampton, N.H., to about her campaign and the state of the presidential race. To read more about their interview, see the cover story for the Feb. 18 issue of TIME. The following is an edited and condensed transcript of their conversation.

KLEIN: I was watching you in Iowa last week and you were working so hard and by the way, really well. And then I saw what happened last night and it occurred to me that it’s never easy for you in politics.

SECRETARY HILLARY CLINTON: You know what, I think that it’s always hard but there are a lot of issues and maybe even some obstacles that I’ve got to get over in order to make my case and have people listen. I felt really good as we were moving through those last couple of weeks before the caucus because it’s a very strange election, Joe. You’ve been covering them for a long time.

This has a lot of psychodynamics as well as economic pressures and there’s just an incredible sense of frustration on all sides of the electorate and for me, I could feel my campaign moving forward, picking up support, and I had to do every single bit of it to win.

KLEIN: You mentioned issues and obstacles. What obstacles?

CLINTON: Well, I think that there are lots of punditry and analysis about what is really driving voter interest, voter turnout in this election. And the grand statement, the insult, the scapegoating, the anger — all of that has constituencies, and I’m somebody who likes to make progress, get things done, get real results in people’s lives.

It is the classic Mario Cuomo distinction between campaigning in poetry, governing in prose.

KLEIN: I was there when he said it.

CLINTON: You were there. I remember you were. And I don’t want to overpromise. I want people — we have to knit this democracy back together. I feel that democracy right now in the world, writ large, is a fragile organism and leaders, both government leaders, political leaders, economic leaders, have to understand that we’ve got … to do, and we sure don’t need to overpromise or scapegoat or look for each solutions at the cost of engaging voters in a really thoughtful discussion about how we’re going to get problems solved, how we’re going to move forward, and that’s what I’m going to keep hitting on.

KLEIN: One of the surprising things to me seeing you last week for the first time in awhile actually on the stump was how passionate you’ve gotten. Was there a moment when that kicked in or did it just evolve or — I mean you used to be really serious.

CLINTON: Well, I still am to be fair. But you know I also recognize that I had to do a lot of spadework. I don’t think I would have won in Iowa if I hadn’t spent a lot of time in small groups answering lots of questions, listening to people… At many important points in politics, it’s the stories that drive your passion. It’s the people you’ve met along the way. It’s their worries, it’s their hopes, it’s their troubles that get you up in the morning. And look, I want to know the big picture. I study it, I try to learn it because I think it’s important if you’re going to be proposing how we get to universal healthcare coverage and get prescription drug costs down and all the rest of it, you’ve got to know the way the system is. You’ve got to know how to take it on. And you’ve got to know how to produce results. But what gets me up in the morning is meeting the woman in Clinton, Iowa, whose drugs have gone up from $10 or 20 a shot to $14,000.

It is an amazing story and that’s what fuels me because then you draw the connection. You pick up a newspaper and you say, okay, there’s a company called Valeant Pharmaceuticals formed by a bunch of hedge fund guys to go out and buy small drug companies, get a hold of old drugs. They’re not putting any new research money in, they’re not trying to find new uses for it. They just want to jack up the prices as high as they can to just make as much money as quickly as possible.

Meeting the woman, knowing what the market is doing, trying to figure out how we’re going to stop predatory pricing — that’s all part of how I think about it and because I’ve spent months in New Hampshire and in Iowa and other places, meeting people with these stories, it does get me agitated. It gets me outraged because I have a picture of somebody in my head who is being taken advantage of, and I have a much broader critique of the power of economic forces than Sen. Sanders does because being denied the drugs that keep you alive is the most dramatic thing that can happen to a person.

KLEIN: On the Friday before the caucus, the story comes out about the 22 emails. How are you going to get past this?

CLINTON: The same way I did Benghazi, by actually stating the facts over and over and over again, despite the Republicans’ best efforts to try to confuse the electorate, to try to create an issue where there was none and then testify for 11 hours and there will be some who will continue to raise it, but it has certainly gotten absorbed through the body politic. This will as well.

Julian Assange is being 'arbitrarily held', UN panel to say

Mr Assange, 44, claimed asylum in London's Ecuadorean embassy in 2012. He wants to avoid extradition to Sweden over a rape claim, which he denies.

The Met Police says Mr Assange will be arrested if he leaves the embassy.

Swedish prosecutors said the UN panel's decision would have "no formal impact" on its ongoing investigation. 

Mr Assange earlier said his passport should be returned and his arrest warrant dropped if the UN panel, due to deliver its findings on Friday, ruled in his favour.

The Australian was originally arrested in London in 2010 under a European Arrest Warrant issued by Sweden over rape and sexual assault claims. 

In 2012, while on bail, he claimed asylum inside the Ecuadorean embassy in Knightsbridge after the UK Supreme Court had ruled the extradition against him could go ahead.

Swedish prosecutors dropped two sex assault claims against Mr Assange last year. However, he still faces the more serious accusation of rape.

'Avoiding lawful arrest'

In 2014, Mr Assange complained to the UN that he was being "arbitrarily detained" as he could not leave the embassy without being arrested.

The application claimed Mr Assange had been "deprived of his liberty in an arbitrary manner for an unacceptable length of time".

The UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has been investigating the issue.

The Press Association said key factors in the panel's decision would include the inability of Mr Assange to access political asylum, the fact he has never been charged, and changes to UK law and procedures since he arrived at the embassy. 

Wikileaks earlier tweeted it was waiting for "official confirmation" of the UN panel's decision.

Downing Street said the panel's ruling would not be legally binding in the UK while a European Arrest Warrant remained in place.

"We have been consistently clear that Mr Assange has never been arbitrarily detained by the UK but is, in fact, voluntarily avoiding lawful arrest by choosing to remain in the Ecuadorean embassy," a spokesman said.

"The UK continues to have a legal obligation to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden."

The Swedish foreign ministry said in a statement that it noted the UN panel's decision "differs from that of the Swedish authorities".

The statement added the legal process for Mr Assange's case would be handled in court by Swedish prosecutors.

ssange's lawyer, said Swedish authorities would be "morally" wrong to continue the investigation if the UN panel found in his favour.

"The ball is in Sweden's yard, in the prosecutor's yard. She is not formally bound by the decision by the UN, but morally it is very difficult to go against it."

The journalist John Pilger, who is a friend of Mr Assange, said "the ball is now at the feet of the British government", whose international legal "obligations" were represented by the UN panel. 

"They did something in terms of supporting the tribunal in all the other celebrated cases, and Assange now joins them because the UN jurists have clearly found this is a case of arbitrary detention," he said.

Mr Assange's Wikileaks organisation posted secret American government documents on the internet, and he says Washington could seek his extradition to the US to face espionage charges if he is sent to Sweden.

In the statement, published earlier by Wikileaks on Twitter, Mr Assange said: "Should the UN announce tomorrow that I have lost my case against the United Kingdom and Sweden I shall exit the embassy at noon on Friday to accept arrest by British police as there is no meaningful prospect of further appeal.

"However, should I prevail and the state parties be found to have acted unlawfully, I expect the immediate return of my passport and the termination of further attempts to arrest me."

Last October, Scotland Yard said it would no longer station officers outside the Ecuador embassy following an operation which it said had cost £12.6m. But it said "a number of overt and covert tactics to arrest him" would still be deployed.

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Julian Assange: Key dates

• August 2010 - Swedish prosecutors issue an arrest warrant for Mr Assange
• May 2012 - UK Supreme Court rules he should be extradited to Sweden to face questioning
• June 2012 - Mr Assange claims asylum in the Ecuadorean embassy in London
• September 2014 - Mr Assange submits complaint against Sweden and the UK to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
• August 2015 - Swedish prosecutors drop their investigation into two allegations - one of sexual molestation and one of unlawful coercion - but say he still faces the more serious accusation of rape.
• October 2015 - Met Police announce officers will no longer be stationed outside the Ecuadorean embassy

Earth, Wind & Fire founder White dies

Maurice White, founder of US soul band Earth, Wind & Fire, dies aged 74, his brother says.

Making a Murderer Sheriff’s Office Receives Bomb Threat

An anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat this week to the sheriff in the Wisconsin county where the documentary showMaking a Murderer takes place, officials said Thursday.

The caller said bombs had been left in the Manitowoc County sheriff’s office, according to a CBS News report. In an apparent reference to Steven Avery, the male caller referenced “getting justice for Steven.” Making a Murderer has cast doubt on Avery’s conviction for a 2005 murder and suggested that Manitowoc County officials may have acted inappropriately in that case.

The call was deemed a hoax. Law enforcement officials are working to determine the origin of the call.