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.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
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