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page 29 UGANDA President Museveni sworn in for fifth term Yoweri Museveni has been sworn in for his fifth term as Uganda’s president amid arrests of opposition politicians and a social media shutdown. Museveni, 71, was inaugurated in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in a ceremony attended by African dignitaries including the Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, […]

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UGANDA

President Museveni sworn in for fifth term

Yoweri Museveni has been sworn in for his fifth term as Uganda’s president amid arrests of opposition politicians and a social media shutdown.

Museveni, 71, was inaugurated in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in a ceremony attended by African dignitaries including the Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, the president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, and Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan. Tribal dancers entertained the crowd and Ugandan military aircraft, including Russian-made fighter jets, performed an airshow.

Human Rights Watch urged Ugandan authorities to arrest Bashir, saying Museveni will “tarnish his inauguration further by welcoming” the Sudanese leader, who is wanted by the International criminal court over alleged atrocities in Darfur.

In a speech after he was sworn in, Museveni defended Bashir’s presence in Uganda, calling the court “a bunch of useless people” that he no longer supports.

Ahead of the inauguration, security forces detained some opposition figures and the government blocked social media sites including Facebook and Twitter, a move that was criticised by human rights activists.

BRAZIL

Rousseff suspended, vows to fight impeachment

Suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff vowed on Thursday she would fight to prove her innocence after the Senate voted to put her on trial for breaking budget laws.

Rousseff, a leftist in office since 2011, was replaced by her vice president, centrist Michel Temer, who took over as interim president for the duration of a Senate trial that could take up to six months.

Speaking shortly before she left Brasilia’s Planalto presidential palace, Rousseff told supporters she was notified of her suspension on Thursday morning.

“I may have made mistakes but I did not commit any crime,” Rousseff said in an angry address, calling the impeachment “fraudulent” and “a coup.”

Senators had voted to suspend her by 55 votes to 22 after an all-night session that lasted more than 20 hours. Ms Rousseff is accused of illegally manipulating finances to hide a growing public deficit ahead of her re-election in 2014.

UK

Anti-corruption summit launches global plan to recover stolen assets

A global plan to help recover stolen assets has been announced.

The Global Forum for Asset Recovery will bring together governments and law enforcement agencies to discuss returning assets to Nigeria, Ukraine, Sri Lanka and Tunisia.

The meeting will be held in the US next year, co-hosted with the UK, and supported by the UN and the World Bank.

David Cameron made the announcement at a global anti-corruption summit in London on Thursday.

It was being hailed as the first of its kind, bringing together governments, business and other organisations.

However, it was overshadowed by controversy after it emerged that Mr Cameron had described Nigeria and Afghanistan as “fantastically corrupt”, while meeting the Queen and the Archbishop of Canterbury while telling them of the summit.

IRAN

Iran ‘will not send pilgrims to S/Arabia’ for Hajj

Iranians will not make the Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia this year after talks failed to break an impasse, an Iranian minister has said.

Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Ali Jannati said the Saudis had played a “destructive” role in negotiations. Saudi Arabia has not commented on Mr Jannati’s remarks.

Iranian-Saudi tensions soared earlier this year after Saudi Arabia executed a dissident Shia cleric.

Last year, more than 460 Iranians were killed in a stampede at the Hajj, which Iran blamed on Saudi “mismanagement”.

Sticking points in the talks centre around the issuing of visas and security arrangements for the Hajj.

Because Saudi Arabia does not have a diplomatic mission in Tehran any longer, it wants Iranian pilgrims to travel to a third country to obtain a visa.

But Iran wants Saudi Arabia to issue visas through the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which has looked after Saudi interests since Riyadh broke off ties.

GUINEA-BISSAU

President Vaz sacks PM, dissolves government

Guinea-Bissau’s President Jose Mario Vaz sacked Prime Minister Carlos Correia and dissolved his government on Thursday, in a move that threatened to deepen political turmoil in the tiny West African nation.

Correia was appointed prime minister in October – becoming the third person in the post in the span of three months – in an attempt to end a crisis sparked by a row within the ruling PAIGC party.

His dismissal by Vaz now threatens to bring renewed instability.

“Carlos Correia’s government is incapable of managing the crisis and creating better political and institutional conditions for (the government’s) full function,” Vaz said in an address at the presidency.

He called for consultations among political parties to select a prime minister charged with forming a new government.

There was no immediate comment from Correia or his allies. The streets of the capital Bissau remained calm, but security forces were deployed at buildings housing state institutions.

FRANCE

Labour reforms: Government faces no-confidence vote

The French government is facing a vote of no confidence after forcing through a controversial labour reform bill.

Protests over the bill have broken out across France, with more expected as parliament votes on Thursday.

Unions and student groups have blocked roads and barricaded schools in the western cities of Nantes and Rennes.

The opposition needs 288 votes for the no-confidence motion to succeed, but they are thought to be around 40 votes short of that total ahead of the vote.

Some lawmakers within President Hollande’s own Socialist Party are expected to vote with the motion, in protest as what they see as legislation that is too pro-business.

The new law will affect the power of the labour unions, the rules on firing staff, and the length of the working week – among France’s most cherished icons.

TURKEY

Turkey ‘needs to fulfil deal’ to gain visa-free EU travel

A deal to allow Turks visa-free travel within Europe will collapse if Turkey does not fulfil its commitments, the European Commission president has said.

Jean-Claude Juncker said changes to Turkey’s laws on terrorism were one of a number of conditions that needed to be met for visa liberalisation.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to do so, and has now accused the EU of “hypocrisy”.

The visa issue is part of a deal aimed at easing Europe’s migration crisis.

“We consider that it is important for these conditions to be fulfilled. Otherwise, this deal between the EU and Turkey will not happen,” Mr Juncker said.

In a fierce speech, Mr Erdogan reacted angrily to the European demands, saying: “Since when are you running this country? Who has given you the authority?

“They believe they have a right for themselves (to fight terror) but find it a luxury and unacceptable for us. Let me say it clearly – this is called hypocrisy.”

YEMEN

10 soldiers killed in suicide attacks

At least 10 soldiers have been killed in three attacks on army bases in the southern Yemen city of Mukalla, military sources say.

The so-called Islamic State (IS) said it was behind at least one of the attacks, a suicide car bombing.

The attacks came hours before Yemen PM Ahmed Obeid bin Dagher was due to arrive in Mukalla for a visit.

Officials said a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into the gate of a naval base in the Mukalla’s outskirts. Two other explosions were reported to have hit the military headquarters in the city.

MALAYSIA

MH370: Mauritius, S/Africa debris ‘almost certainly’ from missing plane

Two pieces of aircraft debris found on beaches in Mauritius and South Africa almost certainly came from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, say Malaysian and Australian officials.

It is the latest development in efforts to solve the mystery of the aircraft, which went missing in March 2014.

The plane, flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, had 239 people on board when it vanished.

It is presumed to have crashed into the sea after veering off course.

Five pieces of debris have been confirmed as definitely or probably from the plane. Each was found thousands of miles from the search zone.

UNITED STATES

US activates $800m missile shield base in Romania

The US has activated a land-based missile defence station in Romania, which will form part of a larger and controversial European shield.

Senior US and NATO officials attended the ceremony in Deveselu, southern Romania.

The US says the Aegis system is a shield to protect Nato countries from short and medium-range missiles, particularly from the Middle East.

But Russia sees it as a security threat – a claim denied by Nato.

Relations between the West and Russia have deteriorated since Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s southern Crimea peninsula in 2014.