CANADA
Judge might be removed
A Canadian federal judge is facing possible removal for asking the accuser in a 2014 rape trial: “Why couldn’t you just keep your knees together?” The Canadian Judicial Council is determining the fate of Justice Robin Camp, 64, who apologized Friday for his questioning of the 19-year-old woman. Camp, who was born in South Africa but moved to Calgary in 1998, was a provincial court judge at the time of the trial. He acquitted the man accused, Alexander Wagar, in the case after deciding his testimony was more credible. Court transcripts show Camp also told the woman “pain and sex sometimes go together,” and referred to her as “the accused” throughout the trial. Camp’s verdict was overturned on appeal and a new trial was ordered. Camp blamed a lack of knowledge regarding Canada’s sexual-assault law for the remarks.
TANZANIA
Quake kills at least 11
A 5.7-magnitude earthquake shook the Lake Victoria region of East Africa on Saturday, killing at least 11 people in Tanzania, a police official said. The country’s president said that many were dead. The quake was felt as far away as western Kenya and parts of Uganda, which share the waters of Lake Victoria. Tremors were also felt in Kigali, Rwanda.
ETHIOPIA
Jailed Muslims pardoned
Ethiopia’s chief prosecutor said Saturday that the country pardoned hundreds of convicts, among them Muslims jailed under anti-terror laws for opposing what they called government interference in their religion. The president signed the pardon for members of the Muslim groups after they expressed regret, Prosecutor-General Getachew Ambaye was quoted as saying by the state-run Ethiopian News Agency. Around 1,000 people have been pardoned before the Ethiopian new year and Eid celebrations on Sunday and 135 of them were serving a time on anti-terrorism charges and for religious extremism, Getachew said.
SPAIN
Crowds protest bullfighting
Thousands of animal rights activists gathered in Madrid on Saturday to demand an end to Spain’s long tradition of bullfighting. Animal rights political party Pacma called for the protest, which went through central Madrid including major tourist sites. Crowds chanted “less violence and more intelligence,” and “torture is not culture.”
Compiled from wire reports