President Mary McAleese today headed off on an 11-day tour of southern Africa visiting Lesotho, Mozambique and Tanzania to check on Irish-funded aid projects.

A former Rwandan government minister who was indicted on charges of involvement in the 1994 genocide was found dead floating in a Brussels canal, officials said today.

A former senior Rwandan army officer appeared before a UN court today and denied six charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.

A speeding truck hit three donkeys and rammed into an oncoming tourist vehicle in northern Tanzania, killing 11 people from New Zealand, Spain and Tanzania, police said today.

FOUR former Rwandan ministers went on trial yesterday charged with playing key roles in the 1994 genocide, including buying weapons and inciting the slaughter of about 800,000 people, a court spokesman said.

The UN War Crimes Tribunal in Tanzania has adjourned the trial of a Rwandan army officer accused of masterminding genocide to allow the defence teams to receive key documents and witness statements.