The Hague Trials Kenya offers Kenyans and other interested audiences an independent online forum to share their experiences, thoughts and questions about the three cases before the ICC relating to Kenya's post-election violence of 2007-2008. THTK is a project of RNW [radio Netherlands Worldwide]in partnership with This is Africa. Transcript of the interview: THTK: What do most people know you for? Luis Moreno Ocampo (LMO): Probably because I was the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. I'm well known in some countries and in legal circles. In Argentina, I was well-known because I was a prosecutor against our generals. THTK: What do you do now? LMO: Now, I'm a lawyer working in New York, teaching at Yale University and trying to see my kids and my family more, being with my family more. THTK: What is your background? LMO: I am a lawyer. My first case as prosecutor was against the top generals of my country: three former presidents. And suddenly my world was different. I was trained to face people in power. So I'm a lawyer who was always working against powerful people. THTK: Would you say your background prepared you to be the first ICC prosecutor? LMO: No one prepares you to be the chief prosecutor of the ICC. Interestingly, I was the deputy prosecutor of the Junta trial when I was 32. In fact, that was my first trial. I was totally not prepared for that, but I learned a lot. And the rest of my life, I was thinking the most important work of my life was when I was 32 because I would never have a bigger case than my Junta trial. And then, when I was 51, I was appointed chief prosecutor of the ICC. The Junta trial was my training. THTK: Some of our FB followers commented on your eyebrows. Did they give you a sense of seriousness as a prosecutor? LMO: I never was thinking this way. I don't think my eyebrows define something. It's the only black hair I have, so I'm very happy, but that's it. THTK: How do you feel about children in Kenya being given your name? LMO: The fact that in Kenya and other countries, people put my name to their sons is showing how useful the idea of the International Criminal Court was for them. My view is, as a chief prosecutor, I was basically a lawyer of the people who were victims of these massive atrocities. The fact that some of them recognized that and gave me the honor to put my name to their sons is showing that we achieved something there. THTK: Do you follow the Kenyan cases nowadays? LMO: I don't have the information I had when I was prosecutor. I follow the media about the Kenyan cases. So I know something. THTK: How do you feel when you hear about the Kenyan cases now? LMO: How I feel about the Kenyan cases? I feel the Kenyan cases show the possibilities and the limits of international justice because in some way, we helped Kenyans to have peaceful elections in 2013, mostly peaceful. People were killed but not so many. And that was the big worry before. Everyone was worried in 2009, 2010, everyone was worried about the next election. In some way, we helped it to have a peaceful election. The outcome was unexpected. But it showed that international justice is not just about judges and prosecutors. You need political leaders because basically what I see in Kenya is Kenyatta and Ruto were allegedly killing each other, their groups, and then they were smart. They made an alliance and they presented themselves as the reconciliation process. And Odinga, who was the other candidate, said no word about post-election violence or about ICC. So the only candidate who addressed really important issues before Kenyans were Kenyatta and Ruto. And that's why people voted for them, in addition to the tribal affiliation. So I think it's a good example of how you can help but you cannot transform Kenya into Sweden. That was exactly my thinking when I was in the Junta trial. When I started, my dream was that Argentina would become Sweden. It has not become Sweden. But we never went back to the massive violence. I hope in Kenya, it's the same. The problem is showing that the countries need a political leadership. And I hope Mr. Kenyatta, as a new leader, elected by his people can understand that and help them to move ahead. THTK: How efficient do you think the Waki Commission was? LMO: I think the Waki Commission collected interesting evidence in the Ruto case. It was less successful in the killings committed, allegedly led by Mr. Kenyatta. It was more difficult because in the time of the Waki Commission, Mr. Kenyatta was part of the government so it was probably more difficult for them to collect evidence. In our investigation, when we started, we had much more evidence against Mr. Ruto than against Kenyatta. But then, at the end of the process, we had more evidence against Kenyatta than against Ruto. Then, these things are evolving because sometimes a witness changes their mind or we have problems. I don't know. The situation now is complicated. Mrs. Bensouda said the witnesses are withdrawing, and this is related with the idea that people have fears. THTK: Could anything have been done to prevent witnesses withdrawing now? LMO: I don't think you could do anything to avoid the problem we have now because we protected our witnesses. We transferred them from Kenya to different places. But in some cases, we know families in Kenya were affected or threatened. When we investigate, we don't need to disclose who are the witnesses. But when you arrive at trial time - and that's the difference between the ICC and human rights groups - we should disclose our witnesses. And then the defense has the right to know them. And after that, it's much more difficult because they can go to see them in London or wherever they are. And people can threaten their families. So, it's part of the process. THTK: Some of our followers suggested that there was bribery of the witnesses. Did the Office of the Prosecutor bribe any witnesses? LMO: The prosecutor cannot bribe witnesses. He has no budget for that. The prosecutor cannot bribe witnesses. There were allegations that someone was bribing them. Yes, I had some evidence on that in my time, and I suppose now that there are more problems. THTK: Did you coach witnesses? LMO: No, people have to understand. We have very clear protocols on how to treat witnesses. They are very complex. First. it's about security. So we have a very complex protocol on how to protect before we are even in touch with them. And then in particular with those victims, those witnesses who were victims, we have a psychological assessment before we interview them to protect them. And then for interviews, there are a lot of protocols too. You have to start the interview explaining to the witness what is the ICC, the meaning of the ICC, then the meaning of a trial. You have to ask them to tell the truth. You have to ask them to be detailed. So there are a lot of protocols that we follow. Because also this will be scrutinised by the judges and the defense can challenge So it's a very complex and rigorous process. THTK How were the Ocampo Six chosen? LMO: The standard is: I asked my investigators: give me clarity - who are those most responsible? They collected the evidence and made the first call. They presented me their evidence, and these are our candidates. I challenged them: do you have evidence against this or that? In this way, we reached the conclusions. The information is coming from the investigators, and it's about the evidence they collected. THTK: What isn't Raila Odinga one of the accused? LMO: We have no information about Mr. Odinga being involved in the killings.He was part of the Ruto alliance, but we have information that Ruto was allegedly involved in organizing the attacks, but nothing about Odinga himself. THTK: Why isn't Mwai Kibaki? LMO Same. Zero. There were zero allegations that Kibaki himself was involved. There were some people talking about his wife, but it was marginal. But zero about Kibaki. THTK: The police were seen as having committed mass atrocities during the violence. Why were they not prosecuted? LMO: We presented a case against the chief of police. The judges said the evidence was not enough. But we tried. THTK: What was the biggest challenge you encountered in the investigation? LMO: In Kenya, the biggest challenge was to collect the evidence in a free way because the Kenyan government was really worried and there were people in the Kenyan government who were involved in the crimes. We had evidence against Francis Muthaura. The evidence was not enough to go to trial, but we had evidence against him. And Muthaura was one of the most powerful persons in Kenya in those days. So it was very difficult to collect evidence against them. And then when we tried to interview people, the Kenyan government was asking us for a very formal process, where we were going nowhere. When we extracted witnesses from there and we put people outside the country, protection was a big issue because it's difficult to be protected. Imagine a Kenyan person living in a European country. Some of them became drunkards. Some of them had problems with our security people. So it's a very complex process. That's why I think we are very proud that at least we can confirm the charges against most of the suspects before the elections and people can have clarity. People voted. It was not my business. There were some diplomats asking me to do something more to prevent Kenyatta or Ruto to run in the elections. And I said, it's not my job. Judges in Kenya should do that. And if they authorize them to run, people will vote. And if people vote for them, we have nothing to say. THTK: What constitutes evidence to a prosecutor? LMO: You need physical evidence. So in some cases, there were doctors' reports about rapes. And they were collecting physical evidence. There were some pictures. There were sites - so a church burnt down. We did some site analysis. And witnesses, victims, explaining what happened to them. And inside witnesses because part of the crimes were allegedly committed by the Mungikis. Some of the witnesses were Mungiki members. Mungikis are using violence and committing crimes. It's complicated because then people can say the Mungikis are criminals. You cannot trust them. So that's why we tried to have very high standards, to evaluate if they were saying the truth or not. So we compared the information with other information we had. And we selected those who we believe could stand on trial. THTK: What criteria do you apply to name someone a suspect? LMO: In our type of crimes, you first analyze what happened and you find their patterns. And you see that something was not spontaneous. It was ordered. The question is who ordered it? In one case, the evidence we had in those days was that Mr. Ruto was planning the attacks and organizing a group to do it. And as a consequence, Mr. Muthaura and Mr. Kenyatta, in accordance with our evidence, were involved in the retaliation. That's everything we had in those days. Now this issue should be checked in court. Ruto is on trial. He has a right to present his evidence and the judges will decide. I don't know what will be the outcome of the trial. We are presenting the case. The defence also has the right to present their own case. The judges are impartial. They have to make a decision. So it's a very high threshold. We see what happens. THTK: What do you say in response to a Facebook follow who identifies as a victim and asks: will I get justice? LMO: Justice is a long journey. I'm Argentinian. We're pretty successful but it took seven years to have a trial against the top commanders. Then there were the rebellions. The trial was stopped. And almost 15 years late, the trials started again. I did the best I could to move the cases. Fatou Bensouda is doing the same now. How far the International Criminal Court will arrive? I don't know. And probably the victims will keep asking justice for many years in Kenya. But justice is not just putting people in jail. For me, it's a shame that there are still people displaced in Kenya. And people who are not receiving some kind of help for the crimes they suffered. So, justice includes reparations for the victims. Justice includes truth. There are different types of justice, and I hope Kenyans will get justice. I know it will be a long journey. THTK: A lot of our followers expressed disappointment at the fact that you "retired" at the peak of the Kenyan cases and they think you left unfinished business. Why did you leave the ICC when you left? LMO: I left because I had to leave. It was my job. So I had a tenure for nine years and in June 2012, I had to be replaced. I could not stay. The law says I should go. That's why I was very pleased that I could finish the confirmation of charges. But after that, it's institution. It's not my place. Fatou Bensouda was with me, so she knew the cases very well. And she did the best she could. I could not do it better than Fatou. THTK: Do you ever wish that you could take over the Kenyan cases again? LMO: No, I cannot. Look, my responsibility was to build an institution. You build institutions doing cases, and that's what I did. But it's not my place. My heart is with the Kenyans. I always think about how much they suffered and probably they are disappointed. I understand that. I did the best I could. I know it's a long journey. And I know at the end, there will always be people who are disappointed. THTK: What do you say to Kenyans who feel resentment towards you? LMO: I suppose there are many Kenyans who feel frustrated and could express anger against me because for them I was a big hope. The fact that they had a peaceful election is probably not enough for them. And the fact that Ruto is on trial is not enough for them. So, I understand that. I did the best I could. I started the cases. I investigated the cases. I reached the confirmation of charges. After that, I could not run in the elections in Kenya. I was thinking, OK, I finish the ICC, I go to be the prime minister of Kenya. I cannot. So you need Kenyan politicians. We cannot rely on one person. We should prepare many persons in Kenya. And there are many good people in Kenya. But it's still complicated. But at least we move from a catastrophic situation to a situation... It's bad but it's not catastrophic. So it's an evolution. Is it enough? No. THTK: And how do you think Mrs. Bensouda is handling the cases? LMO: Perfect. Fatou Bensouda is doing a perfect, great job. Fatou Bensouda cannot define the elections in Kenya. She cannot define the attitude of the government. She cannot avoid that the witnesses are receiving bribes or threats. She cannot stop that. But she is very tough, very firm. There was a lot of pressure because as soon as Kenyatta became the president, the international community wanted to please him. So I read in newspapers that there is a lot of pressure on Mrs. Bensouda. And she was very firm, staying the line. During the last Assembly of States Parties, there was a lot of discussion, and Fatou Bensouda was firm. But as a lawyer she cannot go to trial with no evidence. So that's why she decided not to go to trial. But I think Fatou Bensouda was perfect. THTK: And the challenges that she has now, do you feel that she inherited them from you or are they new challenges? LMO: The International Criminal Court always faces new challenges. When I started, the challenge was to put the system in motion. Imagine, when I started it was the Iraq war. Many of the judges were thinking that the court would close in two years. So just arresting Lubanga was a huge achievement. But now it's nothing because our expectations are also growing. That's good. So in my time the main challenge was to put the system in motion. So now Fatou has to consolidate, and it's always complicated. THTK: Is it harder for Miss Bensouda now that she has to deal with a president and a deputy president? LMO: For us, we don't care. The fact that Mr. Kenyatta is president or vice president or Mr. Bashir was president or Mr. Ghadaffi was the president of Libya, we really don't care. We don't think in this way. We, criminal prosecutors, we look for the evidence, and we try to follow the evidence, and we prosecute the most responsible. That's our policy. What I found is OK, but that should not just be the policy of the prosecutor. It should be the policy for the states. Diplomats have different relations. They relate with states. They respect head of states. So for them it's different. But for prosecutors, we follow the case, really. THTK: Do you and Miss Bensouda have any type of personal relationship? LMO: I know Fatou Bensouda since 2004. She's very smart, and she's also very gentle. Very, very nice person, and very gentle. So it's very difficult to fight her because she's very gentle. I'm always ready to help if she needs me. The last time I was in New York, she was there, so I invited her for dinner, for instance. We have a nice conversation. And occasionally - once or twice a year - she calls me to comment on some issue. But this is her business. Fatou Bensouda is the prosecutor, I'm the former prosecutor. They had enough Ocampo for 9 years. They have to be rid of Ocampo. THTK: What do you think that the world can learn from how the Kenyan trials are evolving at the ICC? LMO: I don't know. In terms of the judicial process, I think we did the best we could. The problem of the witnesses is difficult to control. Probably we can do better investigation to avoid tampering of the witnesses. I believe the Kenya cases require a strong commitment from the international community. But in some way, the Kenya case is moving well in the sense that Kenya is evolving. Look at what happened in Darfur. Nothing is moving well. In Sudan, nothing us working well. In Kenya, it's going better. Of course, it's not enough. Answering your question better, I don't know. I think it's early to draw lessons. We need more time to see how this is evolving, if the efforts of Kofi Annan and the efforts of the ICC were enough or not. But one lesson we can learn from Kenya is that international justice is not just about prosecutors and judges. It requires national leadership. And that was the missing part in Kenya. THK: Do you think that Kenya's present day justice system could handle the trials without the ICC? LMO: Kofi Annan helped the Kenyans a lot to reshape their institutions, and they have a judiciary which is much more respected. It is difficult for any country to investigate their own president. Even in the US, it was very difficult to prosecute President Nixon, who also won the elections after Watergate. And also fired the prosecutor when he was requesting evidence. So it's difficult to investigate your own people. That's why the ICC can play a role. I don't know. I don't see that there's a case in Kenya yet. So I don't see Kenya case. But I believe that institutions in Kenya evolve and help more the people. THTK: Do you think the outcome of the Kenya cases will affect how the ICC is viewed by the world in future? LMO: I think the Kenyan case was very important because it shows something different. And in the Kenyan case, the crimes were by militias or by brutal authoritarian regime like the Bashir regime. The Kenyan case was a case where the politicians were using massive killings to get power. And Ggbagbo case is similar, the Ivory Coast case. So showing them that there is a problem – if you use violence to get power, you have a problem - I think was an important lesson for the world and Africa too. THTK: Why are only Africans being judged by the ICC? LMO: The ICC is there to protect those victims when no one else protects them. And in these seven cases we opened in Africa, that happened. In Colombia, there are massive atrocities, but there are judges and prosecutors investigating the cases. They don't need us. So for me, the ICC is not about popularity or prejudices or media information. It's about clear standards. When there are massive atrocities and no investigations, we are there. It's funny because Bashir was the one who presented that there was an African bias to cover his genocide. He's winning this battle. Journalists like you are asking me about African bias and not about genocide in Darfur. I think that is something that journalists have to improve. But ICC, precisely because we are in Africa. We are proud to be in Africa. We are serving African victims and we are working in Africa because the African leaders decided to be part of the ICC. THTK: Is there something you can do to make sure that the perpetrators are brought to justice? LMO: What I'm trying to do now, in particular from Yale, is to analyze how the other actors should respect the law. The law is not for judges and prosecutors. The law is for people. People have to follow the law and leaders have to follow the law. It's not to put people in jail. It's not I'm a leader, I can kill people. I can steal money. These are two basic rules. The law is for them. I think that is the missing part in the diplomatic area. At the UN, political leaders, they don't see the law as a limit for them. They tend to make agreements, and it's not working well. Sometimes I use an example: you go to Berlin and you take the subway. You don't take a train without paying a ticket because no one is controlling you. People pay. Even one of my staff, he went with a French colleague to a Brussels metro and he said, "we cannot take the train. Why not? Because the ticket office is closed, so we cannot take the train." So that is the meaning of the law. People understand the law. And that for me is the main goal of the ICC. It's not about cases. It's about everyone understanding when there are massive atrocities, end of the game. Whoever committed the crimes has to be out and investigated. And that rule is still complicated. You see what is happening with Syria today. It's still debating, options, negotiations because it's against Al Qaeda or maybe it's a good idea. So all of this should change. When someone commits massive atrocities, out of the game. LMO: The only thing I want to do now in my next ten years - I hope to live 10 years more - is to help teachers around the world to educate on peace and justice. We have a new generation coming. They are born in a global world, and they have to be educated on the connection between crimes affecting Kenya or if you live in San Diego or Washington or The Hague. And that is my new idea. Not new because I was doing this in Argentina, but now I'd like to promote globally to help teachers around the world to educate on peace and justice. Read more about the Kenyatta, Ruto and Sang cases at The Hague Trials Kenya.

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga was on Saturday heckled for the first time in Kisumu. Raila who had gone to quell tension that followed erection of an Indian Sculpture (Sikh Statute) in the town, was forced to cut short his speech. Amid booing and jeering, the residents shouted Mr Odinga, accusing him of being compromised by the Hindu community to endorse the idol. ‘‘We cannot allow an idol to be put in our town. All we want, is to see it struck down immediately,’’ shouted the residents. The residents accused him (Odinga) of using the region’s overwhelming support for his personal gain. ‘‘We will not accept to be used as rubber stamps to endorse other gods in our community. This time round, we say no! We don’t want it!’’ they shouted. Efforts by religious leaders to quell the crowd who turned out in hundreds proved futile, forcing the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader to leave the venue in disappointment. The residents threatened to pull down the sculpture, saying it is a god which they don’t subscribe to. They said sculptures of Kenyan heroes are welcomed in the town. Earlier before the rally, Mr Odinga held a closed door meeting with religious leaders in a Temple to avert looming religious conflict in the town. The ODM leader said religious leaders will hold a meeting on Monday with the Governor Jack The executive Member of planning Vincent Kodera said in earlier interviews that the County Government had approved construction of a water fountain in the area, but the Hindu community decided to put an idol. For the past two days, Kisumu has witnessed demonstration by the locals and religious leaders over the idol. On Friday, police had a rough time to quell angry demonstrators, forcing them to fire several rounds of canisters to disperse the crowd who wanted to demolish the idol. Minutes after Odinga who was accompanied by Ranguma and Nyando MP Fred Outa had left the venue; residents pelted the statute with stones forcing the police to intervene. Religious leaders have termed erection of the idol, which was constructed in the night as abomination and unacceptable before God. ‘‘We want the people to know that we will not allow the statue to be here. Kisumu is a Christian town. We respect our Indian community. Our people have no peace and we want it pulled down,’’ said Bishop Mark Kegohi of Jesus Celebration Centre. Helen Ochieng of Ministry of Repentance and Holiness who first raised alarm and conducted prayers and fasting in protest of the god, also demanded its removal, saying Kisumu belongs to God. The Muslim clerics said the idol is not a good thing and augers-ill for region’s stability, and called on the Hindu community to restrict their gods to the Temples. ‘‘We know there is freedom of worship, but that that doesn’t allow us to infringe on others rights by doing such abominable act,’’ said Sheik Suleiman Julu of Dunga Mosque.

Mohammed Afar, the resident of Aleppo area in Syria is 11 years old. The modified Kalashnikov assault rifle he carries stretches to more than half of his height. Over the top of his faded yellow jacket a Free Syrian Army (FSA) vest holds three extra clips, each full with live ammunition, and a walkie-talkie. An FSA badge sits on one side and a rendering of the Islamic Shahada, in Arabic calligraphy, on the other. He says he does not miss school or want to stay at home with his mother and two sisters. “I want to stay as a fighter until Bashar is killed,” he says, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The fighters surrounding him, all claiming to be from Liwa al-Tawhid, pass him a sniper rifle and offer to take him to a frontline, so he can demonstrate his shooting. The father of the boy, Mohammed Saleh Afar refers to his son as “ great shot” and “a little lion.” Over the course of its grinding 21- month insurgency, Syria’s children have endured numerous abuses. Caught-up in shelling, airstrikes, and sniping, they have additionally been subject to arbitrary arrest, torture and rape, as reported by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria in August; which, additionally, noted “with concern reports that children under 18 are fighting and performing auxiliary roles for anti-Government armed groups.” Both the Geneva Conventions and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Children carry provisions that call for not using combatants under the age of 15, while the International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute makes it a war crime. Mohammed quickly disengages his magazine and presents it, before skillfully reinserting it, but not chambering a round. The older fighters surrounding him – some of whom are little more than boys themselves – praise his speed and mirror his father’s earlier statements, calling him a “good shot.” He says he admires the fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra – composed of hardline Islamists subscribing to Takfiri ideology – and recently designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States. Al-Nusra have proven effective in battle, winning itself scores of supporters. Many of its fighters previously cut their teeth on other frontlines of the global jihad – notably Iraq and Afghanistan, but also throughout Central Asia and the Middle East. The group’s rise has imbued the opposition with an unmistakable Islamicist hue while raising fears of a sectarian bloodbath in the event that Assad falls: Syria is home to Sunni, Alawite, Druze, Christians and Yazidi. “They [Jabhat al-Nusra] know Islam and Sharia. They know what it means to be a Muslim,” Mohammed “When my father goes to the frontline, he takes me with him,” says Mohammed. “He says to be careful and we find a safe place to shoot from.” According to a November Human Rights Watch report, some opposition groups fighting in Syria “are using children for combat and other military purposes.” “Even when children volunteer to fight, commanders have a responsibility to protect them by turning them away,” said its children’s researcher, Priyanka Motaparthy, in the report. “Children are easily influenced by older relatives and friends, but their participation in armed hostilities places them in grave danger of being killed, permanently disabled, or severely traumatized.” Yet Mohammed’s father – his long and graying beard styled in the fashion favored by religiously conservative Salafists – sees little wrong with his son’s participation. “I put my trust in God,” he says. The other members of the unit agree. The 11-year-old is kept safe, they claim, and never taken to frontlines that are too dangerous. “There are other boys fighting too,” Mohammed says. “Some, but not much.”

Celebrated as a military hero at home, recognised as a pragmatic politician abroad and despised as a bloodthirsty criminal by the Palestinians and the Arab world, Sharon was nothing if not a polarising figure.
But Israelis of all stripes acknowledged the burly 85-year-old as a key figure in their nation's history, his death on Saturday leaving President Shimon Peres as the Jewish state's last surviving founding father.
The white-haired former general had been in coma since January 4, 2006, following a massive stroke which felled him at the height of his political career.
Ahead of his funeral on Monday, Sharon's flag-draped coffin was placed on a black marble plinth in the plaza outside the Knesset, or parliament, for the public to pay their last respects.
A spokesman for the assembly told AFP up to 20,000 people had filed past the coffin, which was flanked by an honour guard,  when the plaza was closed to the public after seven hours.
Among the visitors were people of all ages, soldiers and black-clad ultra-Orthodox Jews rubbing shoulders with families.
Earlier, ministers held a minute's silence in memory of Israel's 11th prime minister as they met for their weekly cabinet meeting.
"He will be remembered in the heart of the Jewish people forever as one of our most outstanding leaders and most daring commanders," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told them.
Funeral at ranch near Gaza
Sharon will be buried on Monday afternoon at Sycamore Ranch, his home in the southern Negev desert, after a military funeral
A procession from the Knesset to the ranch will stop pause for a ceremony at a military memorial site in Latrun, west of Jerusalem, where Sharon was wounded in the 1948 war of independence.
With thousands of people expected to attend the funeral, police were preparing to deploy extra units to secure the area, which lies just a few kilometres (miles) from the northern border with Gaza.
Channel 2 television said the army had changed the deployment of the Iron Dome aerial defence system batteries in the area to defend against possible rocket attacks from Gaza. A military spokeswoman refused to comment.
World leaders sent condolences over Sharon's death, remembering the divisive figure in cautious diplomatic language. Vice President Joe Biden is expected to represent Washington at a special memorial at the Knesset on Monday morning.
Others expected to attend are German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, outgoing Czech Prime Minister Jiri Rusnok and Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair as well as diplomats from Canada, Spain and Russia.
Sharon's dramatic story was the subject of blanket media coverage on Sunday, with Israeli newspapers dedicating multiple pages to pictures and commentary on his life and legacy.
Once known chiefly as a ruthless military leader who fought in all of Israel's major wars, Sharon switched to politics in 1973, championing the development of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
He was long considered a pariah for his personal but "indirect" responsibility in the 1982 massacre of hundreds of Palestinians by Israel's Lebanese Phalangist allies in Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
His early career as a warrior earned him the moniker "The Bulldozer" but most world leaders chose to remember the politician who surprised many by masterminding Israel's pullout from Gaza in 2005.
The Palestinians were quick to welcome news of his death, which prompted an outburst of celebration in the Gaza Strip, where the ruling Islamist Hamas movement said it was a "historic moment" marking the "disappearance of a criminal whose hands were covered with Palestinian blood".
One of the last members of the generation that founded the Jewish state in 1948, Sharon leaves a complex legacy which also includes the sprawling barrier separating Israel from the West Bank.
His policy of separation from the Palestinians culminated in the withdrawal of 8,000 settlers from Gaza, a bold move that earned him the hatred of his former nationalist and settler allies.
Born in British-mandate Palestine on February 26, 1928, to immigrants from Belarus, Sharon was just 17 when he joined the Haganah, the militia that fought in the 1948 war of independence

Reuters reported that Human rights lawyers and campaigners have asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate allegations of torture by British troops in Iraq, a move which the UK government dismissed as unnecessary on Sunday.
A Berlin-based human rights group and a British law firm have submitted what they describe as 250 pages of analysis to the ICC's Office of the Prosecutor requesting action on alleged abuses between 2003 and 2008.
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) said in a press release posted on the ECCHR website that there had been "systemic abuse" of Iraqi detainees during the British presence in Iraq which met the threshold of war crimes.

 

 

An ICC spokeswoman declined immediate comment on the submission.
The ICC, which receives dozens of submissions every year and takes very few of them further, can only act where national jurisdictions are unable or unwilling to investigate alleged crimes.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain's willingness to investigate the allegations meant action by the ICC was unnecessary.
"The British armed forces uphold high standards ... so we reject any allegations of systematic abuse. But where there are substantiated allegations of things going wrong these things have been or are being investigated," Hague told Sky News.
"That does not require references to the International Criminal Court ... This is being dealt with properly within the United Kingdom through a very detailed and exhaustive process."
PUBLIC INQUIRIES
The ECCHR and PIL said more than 400 Iraqi former detainees had made allegations of grave mistreatment, of which 85 had been chosen as "representative cases" in the submission to the ICC.
The two organizations said they wanted the ICC to open formal investigations into senior figures at the Ministry of Defence who "knew or should have known of the widespread patterns of abuse, and turned a blind eye to them", and named former Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon.
Hoon could not be immediately reached for comment.
The ministry said alleged abuses had been or were being investigated through the British and European law courts, through public inquiries, in parliament and through a dedicated publicly funded body called the Iraq Historic Allegations Team.
"Should we be approached by the ICC, we will take the opportunity to explain the very extensive work underway to deal with historic allegations of abuse," the ministry said in a statement.
PIL has played a key role in a number of court cases involving alleged British abuses in Iraq.
It has also been instrumental in bringing about several major public inquiries, including the ongoing Al-Sweady inquiry into allegations that British troops executed and tortured Iraqis in the aftermath of a battle in May 2004. That inquiry is due to present its findings at the end of the year.

Kolkata —According to AFP An Indian teenager was gang-raped in two separate attacks and then died after being set on fire, sparking protests in the eastern city of Kolkata and the capital, police said Thursday.
The 16-year-old was first assaulted on October 26 and then again the next day by a group of more than six men near her family's home in the town of Madhyagram, 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of Kolkata.
The second rape occurred as she was returning home after reporting the first attack at a police station.
She was then set on fire on December 23 and died in a state-run hospital late on New Year's Eve, police said.
"She gave us a dying declaration in front of the health officials that she was set on fire by two persons close to the accused when she was alone at home on December 23," local policeman Nimbala Santosh Uttamrao told AFP.
Police made their first arrests on Wednesday, two months after the initial crime, local police chief Rajiv Kumar told AFP.
"The accused tried to kill my daughter by setting her on fire to hush up their crimes," the victim's father, a migrant taxi driver from India's poorest state Bihar, told AFP.
Neither he nor the victim can be named for legal reasons.
Several hundred activists on Wednesday protested in Kolkata over the crime, notable for its shocking brutality even after a year when sex crimes have been widely reported in India.
Activists also gathered in the capital New Delhi on Thursday, accusing the West Bengal government and police of failing to act swiftly after the girl lodged her initial complaint.
"We strongly believe that if your government had acted against the criminals... the subsequent horrific events would have been prevented and the young woman's life could have been saved," the All India Democratic Women's Association, who organised the protest, and other activists wrote in a letter to the state's chief minister.
"The father of the girl ... had brought his family to Kolkata a few months back precisely because they had thought that the daughter would get a better education in Kolkata," the letter said.
A top state official said authorities would move quickly to ensure those responsible for the girl's rape and death were brought to justice, the Press Trust of India reported.
"All the accused against whom there are allegations have been arrested. We are committed to zero tolerance for sexual violence," West Bengal chief secretary Sanjay Mitra told reporters in Kolkata.
Rampant rape, assault and harassment of women in India has been highlighted in the past 12 months after the fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi in December 2012 sparked nationwide outrage.
Parliament has since passed tougher laws to punish rapists.
Activists say rape victims often face severe threats and intimidation from their attackers, while police often discourage them from lodging complaints.

  A new feature in Google Inc's Gmail will result in some users receiving messages from people with whom they have not shared their email addresses, raising concerns among some Google products users eg Gmail,blogger blogspot and google social media Google+.
The change, which Google announced on Thursday, broadens the list of contacts available to Gmail users so it includes both the email addresses of their existing contacts, as well as the names of people on the Google+ social network. As a result, a person can send an email directly to friends, and strangers, who use Google+.
Google is increasingly trying to integrate its Google+, a two-and-a-half-year old social network that has 540 million active users, with its other services. When consumers sign up for Gmail, the company's Web-based email service, they are now automatically given a Google+ account.
Google said the new feature will make it easier for people who use both services to communicate with their friends.
"Have you ever started typing an email to someone only to realize halfway through the draft that you haven't actually exchanged email addresses?" the company said in a blog post announcing the feature. "You're in luck, because now it's easier for people using Gmail and Google+ to connect over email."
Google said that users who did not wish to receive email messages from other people on Google+ could switch the settings so that they receive messages only from people they have added to their networks of friends or from no one at all.
Some privacy advocates said Google should have made the new feature "opt-in," meaning that users should explicitly agree to receive messages from other Google+ users, rather than being required to manually change the setting.
Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of non-profit Electronic Privacy Information Center, called the new feature "troubling."
"There is a strong echo of the Google Buzz ," he said, referring to a social networking service that Google launched in 2010. Buzz initially used its Gmail users' contact lists to create social networks that the rest of the world could see, leading to an uproar and ultimately a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
Google said the new feature would not expose the email addresses of any Google+ users to strangers. Emails from strangers on Google+ will be routed to a special section within the recipients mailbox that is separate from messages from friends and other contacts. If the recipient does not reply to the message, Gmail will block any future messages from that person.
A Google spokeswoman said the company planned to send an email to all Google+ users during the next two days alerting them to the change and explaining how to change their settings.
One exception to the new feature is celebrities on Google+, who are followed by a large number of fans.

The sales of legal recreational marijuana began across Colorado Wednesday when an Iraq war veteran  Sean Azzariti bought the first bag.
Azzariti, a Denver-based Iraq war veteran  suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and could not  get marijuana legally to help alleviate his living condition made his purchase at an 8 a.m. press event.
Here's Azzariti with his bagged marijuana purchase, an Indica strain called Bubba Kush:


The Iraq  war veteran purchase  in Denver was $59.74, with tax, for 3.5 grams of Bubba Kush and a bag of pot-infused truffles. Although Colorado has had medical marijuana laws on the books for years, PTSD was not covered under state statutes. Now that recreational marijuana can be purchased and consumed by adults 21 and over, Azzariti can buy it legally.
The event at 3D Cannabis Center, one of a few dozen Colorado dispensaries selling recreational pot\marijuana  for the first time, was organized by key Amendment 64 backers Mason Tvert, communications director for Marijuana Policy Project; Brian Vicente, spokesman for Sensible Colorado; and Betty Aldworth, spokeswoman for the National Cannabis Industry Association.
"A lot of folks have been referring to what is happening in Colorado as an experiment with legal marijuana," said Tvert to a packed crowd inside 3D. "But, in fact, the experiment was marijuana prohibition and that experiment dramatically failed, just like the so-called great experiment of alcohol prohibition."
A line of exuberant prospective marijuana buyers formed around the 3D building in falling snow, eager to join Azzarti and take advantage of Colorado's new recreational marijuana law.
“The era of marijuana prohibition is officially over in Colorado,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, in a press statement after sales began. “The state is demonstrating to the rest of the nation and the entire world that regulating marijuana works.
Colorado voters approved Amendment 64 in 2012. For more than a year, marijuana consumers have been able to legally possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants for their personal use, but Wednesday marked the first day that they can legally purchase marijuana at a dispensary.

A corporate photo of Dieleman was published on Dec. 7, 2009, with comments about her smile and gums, including, "Sadly, Ann doesnt [sic] hold up to the sort of advanced, high levels of scrutiny people are subjected to these days."
"Sometimes life takes us by surprise and impacts us professionally and personally," she said in a statement.source ABCNEWS

The controversial kenyan Blogger Robert Alai dissed Kenyans in the Diaspora, nobody seem to know what might have triggered him, herebelow is Alai’s Facebook post that is directed at Kenyans in the Diaspora:
“Don’t tolerate dish-washing/toilet-scrubbing diaspora rats who think that Kenyans in Kenya have no value. Just don’t. I don’t.”
And in a rejoinder a Kenyan lady living in the United States made a post that seemed to reply to Alai’s post. The lady who is an authority online/blog-sphere  in her own right did a sober and candid post that received more comments and LIKES than that of Alai; here is the post by Madam Julie>>
“For a moment there i almost gave a fuck. Almost.
Mmmh. Lots of online debate on friends and foes walls hating on what is now referred to disdainfully as “diasporans”. Almost as though diasporans were lesser animals.

Here is what I have to say…Personally I am happy being a diasporan. You can continue turning up your spiteful nose.
Meanwhile I get to enjoy living in a country with a system that works. I travel on good roads. I can’t remember the last time I saw a pothole. In the three years I have been here I have only suffered one ten minute electricity blackout and that was only because there was a severe snowstorm. I have running water. Never had to store water in jerrycans. I can drink water from the tap without worrying about disease.
The public education system is great. My child is getting an education. Free of charge. Free lunch. Even the bus that picks and drops her at our doorstep is free. Yes she and I might face discrimination but it only makes us tougher.
Every household even the really poor struggling one has access to cheap laundry facilities. I don’t have to bend over for five hours to wash my clothes. The simple things that make life just a little easier.
And about those toilets. They are clean. Simply because there is always running water. So many toilets in public places have auto flushing systems. Perhaps you are used to seeing and using Nairobi public toilets where you step over stuff to relieve yourself. I assure you that’s not the case here. These are regular basics that any good government should provide.
I don’t think I will go hungry ever. We have food banks. Places where generous Americans donate food to so that those who don’t have can go get some.
If I do stop working I can access money from the unemployment fund.
When i finally retire at age 62 i will have a pension. And i think i will have some health benefits.
Perhaps the tribalism that you face in Kenya on a daily basis coupled with no opportunities and a sense of hopelessness makes you want to bash someone but it definitely shouldnt be me. All that anger should be directed at the people that you overwhelmingly voted in early last year as your leaders. Redirect your anger. Don’t hate on us dual citizens.
So yeah I have no apologies to make for choosing to live in the diaspora.
I truly feel lucky and blessed that this country has welcomed me. And allowed me to enjoy these basic rights which every human being on earth should enjoy.
Living in the diaspora is not without its challenges. There are some things that are best at home. Like the nyama choma. But overall I am ok with my decision to live here.
P.S.
Oh and in case you didn’t know…yes I have been to school. I went to your national schools due to merit. I also attended your local universities. And I have also studied at a university in Europe. And here too. I have many many certificates. If I choose to clean houses or become a security guard it’s not due to lack of papers. It’s a very conscious choice.
If you are small minded enough to dislike me and others who live outside Kenya, for no particular reason but that we reside outside Kenya, baby you really need to hit that unfriend button. The way I see it I will be here for a long time. We wouldn’t want you to get ulcers now, would we? “
ROBERT ALAI EXPOSED...  in a following comment it was revealed that after failing in high school the controversial blogger Robert Alai desperately sought a student study visa abroad but his effort bore no fruits thereby leading to his low esteem state

The situation in south Sudan will come to an end if the two warring leaders agrees on the way forward .Negotiation talks are underway whereas both sides have been represented.This comes as the deadline to cease fire  by EastAfrican community comes to an end. 

Negotiators from President Salva Kiir and those from rebel leader Dr Riek Machar agreed in principle today to reach a monitored cessation of hostilities.

The talks started in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

The talks kicked off just as the ultimatum issued to Kiir and Machar for a ceasefire by IGAD came to an end.

In a statement to the press, IGAD’s Executive Secretary H.E Ambassador (Eng) Mahboub M. Maalim commended the two sides for heeding the call by regional states for dialogue.

Mahboub expressed gratitude to both the Republic of Kenya and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia for facilitating the work of the special envoys.

Mahboub further expressed concern for the civilians in South Sudan affected by the strife and called on all locals to desist from violence as the modalities for talks are being finalized.

Machar had earlier today announced that his troops would be marching to Juba regardless of the peace talks that were already underway in Ethiopia.

Mahboub has however reiterated his reassurance to the people of the Republic of South Sudan of his and IGAD’s full support towards reaching a peaceful solution.

Mahboub also called upon the international community to continue supporting IGAD’s efforts towards sustainable peace and stability in South Sudan.