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BBC news 2015-01-06

BBC news with Marian Marshall.

The retrial has begun of Guatemala’s former military ruler, General Efrain Rios Montt who was accused of genocide. In a dramatic start of the retrial, the General Rios Montt’s lawyer first said he couldn’t attend on health grounds. But after the judge ordered that he had to attend within the hour, the 88-years-old had wielded on the stretcher. Our American desk correspondent Candes Peart reports.

General Rios Montt and General Rodriguez were trialed on 2013 on charges of ordering the army to carry out a series of massacres. Over three days in the early 1980s, soldiers systematically killed hundreds of men, women, and children, shooting or bludgeoning them to death, and throwing bodies down a well. General Rodriguez was acquitted but his boss was found guilty and sentenced to eight years in prison. The conviction was later thrown out on procedural grounds and a retrial ordered. The case is the first ever in the world that the former head of state has faced with genocide charges in a court in his own country. The General’s former intelligence chief, General Hussein Maris Rodriguez, is also on trial.

Two men are being charged in the United States with the involvement in an attempt last week to overthrow the Gambia government, the US Justice Department said they were being charged of conspiring against a friendly nation. Both men were of Gambian descent. Our African editor Mary Happer reported on the documents presented in court.

The men had cloaked names of Fox and Dave. They had bought substantial quantities of weapons in the United States, stuffed them into barrels, wrapped closing around them, shipped them off to Gambia and various documents were found with hand-written "top secret", all of their plans for the future of the Gambia once they had taken it over. And in effect these men ended up coming back to the United States and being arrested on arrival.

The Euro has fallen sharply in trading at one point falling to a 9-year low against the dollar. The BBC Brussels correspondent says that the fall has been triggered by speculation that the Greece may leave the Euro Zone’s single currency if the left-wing series party wins the general election later this month. Speaking to reporters, the spokesperson of the European Commission Annaka Brideharb dismissed concern over the long-term viability of the Euro.

The Euro is here to stay. The Euro has proved its resilience. Further than that, as we agree that we will know from the statement from the commission. We are waiting for the vote by the group of voters on the 25th.

Two American skiers have been killed in an avalanche while skiing near the European training base in the Austrian Alps. 20-years-old Ronnie Berlack and 19-years-old Bryce Astle were junior members of the US ski team. They were part of a group of six skiers who would descend from the mountain. It’s believed that they triggered an avalanche and were buried under the snow.

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In the United States, the surviving suspect accused of carrying out Boston Marathon Bombings has appeared in court at the beginning of his trial. Wearing a dark jumper and khaki trousers, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a US citizen of Chechen origin, stood before the first batch of potential jurists. Nana Taphik reports.

The trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be one of the most closely watched in the American history. The jury will decide whether Sir Tsarnaev planned and planted two bombs that killed three and injured more than 260 at the 2013 Boston Marathon finish line, the worst terrorist attack on the American soil since September 11th 2001.

Sir Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges against him and faces the death penalty if convicted.

A juror in the grand jury that decided not to indict a white police officer in the US State of Missouri after shooting dead an unarmed black man has sued the prosecutor in the case. The unidentified juror is seeking court permission to speak publicly about the way the case was handled, something which was banned by the state law.

The United States has said it deposes a move by Israel to freeze a transfer of tax revenue to the Palestinian authority. Israeli official said on Saturday that the country had frozen a transfer of about 125 million dollars in tax revenues, which collects on behalf of the Palestinians. Israel took the step in retaliation to the Palestinian’s bid to join in the International Criminal Court.

A parliamentary commission in Turkey has ruled that four ex-ministers won’t have to stand on trial on corruption charges. They resigned their government posts in 2013 after illegal wiretaps appeared to show that they were linked to taking bribes. All four are allies of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who was Prime Minister at the time. The Commission that exempted them for prosecution is dominated by members of President Erdogan’s party.

BBC news.