Joy and fury
By Jonah FisherBBC News, Johannesburg
It is just over two weeks until South Africa votes for its next president. The man most likely to win, Jacob Zuma has had corruption charges against him dropped.
The decision by the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) will probably have little impact on the vote.
With the details of his legal troubles having dominated the South African media for several years Jacob Zuma has already divided public opinion.
With most of the evidence having leaked into the papers most minds have already been made up.
People seem to either love or hate the 66-year-old Zulu. With no court case to come, it's now been left to the South African electorate to deliver the final judgement.
But a quick look at the crowds that Mr Zuma has drawn on the campaign trail suggests he is not short of support.
"It still is difficult for me to comprehend"Mokotedi MpsheActing chief prosecutor
There was not much sign of affection for Mr Zuma at the headquarters of the NPA in Pretoria. Having pursued him since 2001, this was the moment when they had to confess that it had all been in vain.
The visual message was clear as the 13 members of the prosecuting team sat on stage for a news conference. A united front, and all of them no doubt aware of the criticism the decision would unleash.
"It still is difficult for me to comprehend that what is set out below could have happened," acting chief prosecutor Mokotedi Mpshe told the room as the meeting started.
Mbeki link
For weeks, rumours had been appeared in the national press that the Zuma legal team had submitted tapped phone conversations to back up their claims of political interference in his case.
It had even been suggested that former South African President Thabo Mbeki had been recorded.
Now Mr Mpshe confirmed the taped conversations did exist. Not directly involving Mr Mbeki, but between Leonard McCarthy - who headed the now disbanded Scorpions investigation team - and Buleleni Ngcuka who had headed the NPA.
For an extraordinary half hour, Mr Mpshe read out transcripts of the calls. The decision to bring fresh charges against Mr Zuma in 2007 had not, it seemed, been a purely legal one.
Both Mr McCarthy and Mr Ngcuka were taped discussing the implications for the contest between Zuma and Mbeki to lead the ANC.
"A serious abuse of process has taken place", Mr Mpshe concluded. "It is neither possible or desirable for the NPA to continue with the prosecution of Mr Zuma."
Outside ANC headquarters Mr Zuma's supporters celebrated. But opposition politicians are livid. Helen Zille, the leader of the Democratic Alliance, has demanded a judicial review of the decision.
"The NPA was used as a tool of political faction under Thabo Mbeki," she said, "and that now it is being used as a tool of the Zuma faction under the ANC. This is what the South African public will read in to what happened today and it is a disgrace."
"Never again should we allow institutions of government to surrender their professional independence"Gwede MantasheANC secretary general
Bantu Holomisa, the leader of the United Democratic Movement, said the ruling marked a step on the way to South Africa becoming a "banana republic".
Mr Zuma has been spared court but the NPA's ruling has also denied him the opportunity to clear his name. For the ANC, the decision to shelve proceedings was a vindication of their unwavering support for Mr Zuma and a victory for the judiciary.
"Never again should we allow institutions of government to surrender their professional independence by engaging in parties and political battles," Gwede Mantashe, the party's secretary general, said.
What has been left unresolved is the role of Thabo Mbeki, the ousted former president. He has long denied any interference in the prosecution of Mr Zuma.
But it's yet to be clearly established whose orders Mr McCarthy and Mr Ngcuka - the two taped men - were acting on.
Rwanda marks 1994 genocide
Ceremonies are being held in Rwanda to mark the 15th anniversary of the start of the genocide.
The president will lead commemorations near to the spot where UN peacekeepers turned their backs on thousands of Rwandans seeking refuge at their base.
A BBC reporter says it will serve as a warning about the international community's failure to act.
Some 800,000 people were killed within 100 days by ethnic Hutu militia after the assassination of the president.
Juvenal Habyarimana's plane was shot down on 6 April 1994, triggering the violence.
RWANDA'S 1994 GENOCIDE- 6 April: Rwandan Hutu President Habyarimana's plane shot down
- April-July: An estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus killed
- July: Tutsi-led rebel group RPF captures Rwanda's capital Kigali
- July: Two million Hutus flee to Zaire, now DR Congo
Rwanda's 100 days of genocide
The genocide came to an end when Tutsi-led rebels under now-President Paul Kagame took control.
The BBC's Karen Allen in the capital, Kigali, says Rwanda has taken many practical steps to build bridges between the Tutsi and Hutu communities.
Some of the most senior perpetrators of the violence have faced a special tribunal in Tanzania although scores of key suspects remain at large.
On Tuesday evening a candle lit vigil is planned with messages of support expected to be received from around the world.
Our correspondent says many of the people attending the commemorations will reflect on the slaughter of relatives and friends.
Although the younger generation is spear-heading efforts at reconciliation, many older people are finding in harder to forgive, she says.
