In a court in France, the widow of the former Rwandan president, Juvenal Habyarimana, has lost her bid to stop a judicial investigation into her alleged role in the 1994 genocide.

Agathe Kanziga is accused of being a member of the inner circle of Hutus that planned the killings of around 800,000 people - mostly Tutsis as well as moderate Hutus.

She has denied the accusation.

Lawyers for the 78- year-old, who lives in the Paris suburbs, wanted the case dropped on the grounds that it had progressed so slowly.

Correspondents say given her age and the pace of the investigation, it’s hard to say when or if she'll ever come to trial.

The genocide against the Tutsi started on the night of 6 April 1994 after a plane carrying then-President Juvenal Habyarimana, and his counterpart Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi - both Hutus - was shot down, killing everyone on board.