KIGALI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The remains of 1,240 victims of the 1994 Rwanda genocide against the Tutsi were buried on Saturday at the Mibirizi genocide memorial in western Rwanda.

The remains were recently discovered on church-owned land in Rusizi district during terrace cultivation.

During the burial ceremony, Jean-Damascene Bizimana, minister of national unity and civic engagement, expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, assuring them that the government stands in solidarity with them during this difficult time.

He also condemned the people who concealed information about the whereabouts of victims' remains, even after several decades have passed since the genocide.

"It is deeply troubling that individuals are still withholding information about the locations of mass graves containing the remains of the victims of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi," Bizimana said.

Bizimana also commended the remarkable progress made in fostering unity among Rwandans, which has now reached an impressive rate of 94.3 percent.

The achievement highlights the ongoing efforts to heal and reconcile the nation after the tragic events of the 1994 genocide.

The burial ceremony was attended by government officials and families of the victims.

Remains of the victims are still being discovered in many parts of Rwanda, 29 years after the genocide. Rwandans on April 7 started the commemoration activities to mark the 29th anniversary of the 1994 Genocide under the theme "Remember-Unite-Renew." The activities will continue until July 4 to mark the 100-day calamity, during which over one million people, mainly Tutsi and moderate Hutus were killed. - Xinhua

Rowan Atkinson has said he feels “a little duped” by electric cars and urged motorists to keep using older petrol vehicles to help save the planet.

The actor, who played Blackadder and Mr Bean and is a self-confessed “car person”, claims new advances in electric battery design will be of “great environmental benefit one day, but that day has yet to dawn”.

In a 1,100-word essay for The Guardian, he explains how despite owning his first hybrid car 18 years ago and then a “pure electric” nine years ago, he now thinks “electric motoring doesn’t seem to be quite the environmental panacea it is claimed to be.”

Describing them as “a bit soulless” but “wonderful mechanisms”, Mr Atkinson, 68, concludes that “our honeymoon with electric cars is coming to an end”.

The actor, who studied an electrical and electronic engineering degree, points out that although electric cars have zero emissions when on the road, their actual manufacture, according to research by Volvo, suggests greenhouse gas emissions during production are 70 per cent higher than petrol vehicles, in part due to the lithium-ion batteries which require “rare earth metals and huge amounts of energy” to create. 

He adds that CO2 emissions could be dramatically reduced if our current fleet of cars bought new were kept by the original owner for five years, rather than sold after an average of just three years.

He writes for the paper that “we’d be enjoying the same mobility, just driving slightly older cars” explaining how a “wider range of options need to be explored”, including hydrogen and synthetic fuels.

He adds: “In terms of manufacture, these cars have paid their environmental dues and, although it is sensible to reduce our reliance on them, it would seem right to look carefully at ways of retaining them while lowering their polluting effect.”

He concludes: “Friends with an environmental conscience often ask me, as a car person, whether they should buy an electric car. I tend to say that if their car is an old diesel and they do a lot of city centre motoring, they should consider a change. But otherwise, hold fire for now. 

“Electric propulsion will be of real, global environmental benefit one day, but that day has yet to dawn.” By Steve Bird, The Telegraph

Uganda has taken a harsh approach to LGBTQ rights. (Photo 155224152 © Ruletkka | Dreamstime.com)

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni this week signed into law his country's most aggressive assault yet on the rights of Uganda's LGBT community. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill dictates a life sentence for anyone caught having gay sex and the death penalty for anyone convicted of "aggravated homosexuality," a term that encompasses sex with minors or sex that results in the transfer of sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV. Furthermore, the law says anyone who "promotes homosexuality" be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison in a "vaguely worded" provision that puts activists and public health advocates at risk. 

One of the most severe anti-gay bills in the world, it marks the culmination of years of legislative efforts to set sentencing requirements for those convicted of same-sex relations. A similar bill passed in 2014 but was ruled unconstitutional by a Ugandan court on procedural grounds. 

Same-sex relations have been illegal in Uganda since British colonial times under sections in the penal code discussing "unnatural offenses" and "indecent practices," but now the Parliament has solidified harsh penalties. 

The law conveys Uganda's desire to protect the traditional family by "strengthening the nation's capacity to deal with emerging internal and external threats to the traditional, heterosexual family," mirroring rhetoric that portrays same-sex relations as unnatural and a threat to tradition.

Museveni painted homosexuality as a "deviation from normal" and told policy makers to not fall prey to "imperialist" pressure. One member of Parliament suggested that "if we don't stand our ground as a country… then we will completely have ceded our sovereignty." The Parliament speaker welcomed the provision, stating, "We have stood strong to defend the culture, values and aspirations of our people."

The bill was first passed in March, but Museveni returned it to Parliament to be amended to offer help, and not punishment, to "those who will have come out," a reform encouraged by the American religious and anti-LGBT group Family Watch International.

Before the 2014 bill (which had the same provision) was struck down, Ugandan police raided the offices of the U.S.-funded Makerere University Walter Reed Project, a project that offers AIDS services to gays. Police said the facility was "training youths in homosexuality."

For activists, the law's provisions put their life and work at risk. "[The Anti Homosexuality Act] poses a serious threat to the lives and wellbeing of LGBTQ individuals in Uganda by criminalizing their sexual orientation, exposing them to violence, discrimination, and stigma," says Steven Kabuye, a human rights activist in Uganda and co-founder of Truth LGBTQ. "The law also limits access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services, resulting in adverse public health outcomes, including higher rates of HIV/AIDS among the LGBTQ community in Uganda."

Uganda has had success in countering HIV and AIDS in the past, with 89 percent of Ugandans living with HIV knowing their status and 92 percent of those people receiving antiretroviral therapy, according to a press release from UNAIDS. The group says the new law threatens that progress. "The stigma and discrimination associated with the passage of the Act has already led to reduced access to prevention as well as treatment services." 

The law has drawn bipartisan condemnation from the United States. President Joe Biden issued a statement calling it a "tragic violation of universal human rights," and Sen. Ted Cruz (R–Texas) declared it "grotesque & an abomination" on Twitter. Biden said the U.S. would consider sanctions on Ugandan officials and review Uganda's eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which provides countries with "duty-free access to the U.S. market."

As the White House press release proclaims, "No one should have to live in constant fear for their life or being subjected to violence and discrimination." That includes people whose sexual identity and preferences you may disagree with. By William Rample, Reason