Uganda's main opposition leader again refused to answer terrorism charges in a military court on Friday, as a political crisis intensified in this east African country ahead of presidential elections next year.
Kizza Besigye first refused to enter a plea on Thursday when charges of terrorism, which carry the death penalty, and illegal firearms possession were filed against him in the military court, which is controlled by the president's trusted aides. Earlier this month, civilian prosecutors accused Besigye of treason.
The military judge ordered Besigye held until the trial proper begins on Dec. 19. Later on Friday, the civil court granted bail, but Besigye remained imprisoned on the military charges.
PHOTO: EPA
Besigye was greeted by huge crowds when he returned from exile last month to run for president. He has mounted the strongest challenge to President Yoweri Museveni's 19-year rule.
Museveni had been hailed as a reformer but his recent crackdown on Besigye has brought criticism from international allies and human rights organizations.
"Nobody is trying to stop him from [running in] elections," Museveni told reporters on Friday on the sidelines of a Commonwealth summit in Malta where he has faced pressure over the Besigye case.
Museveni, who has ruled for 19 years, said the international community was unreasonably biased in favor of the Ugandan opposition.
atrocities
Meanwhile, conditions in northern Uganda are so appalling that UN agencies have decided they have to beef up efforts to curb atrocities against some 2 million people who have fled their homes because of Africa's longest-running civil war, a key official said on Friday.
"It's one of the least addressed and one of the biggest humanitarian crises that we have in the region," said Dennis McNamara, who heads the UN humanitarian office's efforts to help people displaced in their own countries.
McNamara had just returned from a visit to northern Uganda, where the Lord's Resistance Army has been waging war on the Ugandan government for 19 years.
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South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
About 240 Indians claiming descent from a Biblical tribe landed at Tel Aviv airport on Thursday as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel. The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song. They were the first “bnei Menashe” (“sons of Manasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government in November last year announced funding for the immigration of about 6,000 members of the community from the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeast India. The community claims to descend from
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