In May, President Pierre Nkurunziza signed a new law which the government says will help protect women and create a more moral society, but some disagree.

The government insists a legal document recognising a marriage helps protect women and their children, especially when it comes to issues such as inheritance. However, others say the new marriage law infringes on people’s religious beliefs, customs and practices.

Al Jazeera’s Haru Mutasa reports from the capital, Bujumbura.

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Source: Aljazeera

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Four boys and two girls – aged from 16 to 18 – disappeared during the First Global Challenge tournament in Washington DC.

The DC Police Department says they were last seen on Tuesday – on the closing day of the competition.

Reports say two of the teenagers have since crossed into Canada but this has not been confirmed by the police.

On Thursday, the DC Police Department posted fliers of the missing group on its Twitter page, asking members of the public to get in touch if they had any information.

The teenagers were identified as Don Ingabire, 16, Kevin Sabumukiza, 17, Nice Munezero, 17, Audrey Mwamikazi, 17, Richard Irakoze, 18, and Aristide Irambona, 18.

Competition organisers say they alerted police after Burundi’s team supervisor was unable to find the teenagers.

In a statement, First Global Challenge spokesman Jose Escotto said “the proper reports have been submitted to the police who are investigating the case”, according to the Washington Post.

The three-day robotics competition saw teams from 150 nations compete against each other.

The event aims to inspire young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.

However, it made the news earlier this month after a team of girls from Afghanistan were initially not allowed to attend the competition because of visa problems.

But US President Donald Trump stepped in at the last minute and the girls were able to travel to the US and participate.

The Afghan team later won a silver medal for courageous achievement, which was awarded to teams “that exhibit a can-do attitude throughout the challenge, even under difficult circumstances, or when things do not go as planned”.

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Source: BBC

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The government order comes after President Pierre Nkurunziza launched a campaign “to moralise society”.

A government spokesman said a crackdown on informal relationships was needed to combat a population explosion.

He said too many schoolgirls were getting pregnant and men were taking advantage of women by cohabiting with several simultaneously.

Burundi has been in crisis since 2015 when Mr Nkurunziza, a born-again Christian, announced he would run for a controversial third term.

We want order

Interior ministry spokesman Terence Ntahiraja told AFP news agency that church and state-sanctioned weddings were the solution to the country’s population explosion – and a patriotic duty.

“We want Burundians to understand that everyone is responsible for his life, we want order in this country,” he said.

“All this is done within the framework of the patriotic training programme,” he said, referring to an initiative launched by President Nkurunziza.

It is not clear exactly what sanctions those not tying the knot will face.

However, one farmer quoted by AFP said local officials had already threatened him and his partner with a fine and said any child born out of wedlock would not qualify for free education or medical treatment.

The farmer, named only as Pierre, said he had not married because he could not afford the bride price demanded by his partner’s family.

Hundreds of people have since died since Mr Nkurunziza launched a bid for a third term. But the country had been relatively calm in recent months.

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Source: BBC

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