Uganda sets general election for Jan. 15/node/2619723/world
Uganda sets general election for Jan. 15
Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, of the National Unity Platform (NUP) party, addresses his supporters at a rally after he was nominated as a presidential candidate, in Nateete suburb of Kampala, Uganda September 24, 2025. (Reuters)
Short Url
https://arab.news/pyjdj
Updated 49 sec ago
Reuters
Uganda sets general election for Jan. 15
Now Africa’s fourth longest-ruling leader, Museveni’s government has changed the constitution twice to remove age and term limits, allowing him to remain in office since 1986
Updated 49 sec ago
Reuters
KAMPALA: Uganda’s electoral commission on Tuesday gave January 15 as the date for the country’s general election, at which octogenarian President Yoweri Museveni will seek to extend his rule to nearly half a century. Now Africa’s fourth longest-ruling leader, Museveni’s government has changed the constitution twice to remove age and term limits, allowing him to remain in office since 1986.
As in the 2021 election, Museveni’s main rival is expected to be 43-year-old pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, who has parlayed his singing stardom to amass a large support base among young voters.
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, says Museveni won the last election through ballot-stuffing, intimidation of voters, bribery and other rigging tactics.
Ruling party officials dismiss the accusation and say Museveni won through genuine support.
Six other candidates representing smaller parties are contesting the upcoming presidential race, and voters will also elect members of parliament. A former rebel, Museveni has been credited with stabilizing Uganda, promoting economic growth, and combating HIV/AIDS.
But critics denounce his government’s suppression of political opponents, human rights abuses and corruption scandals. Officials have denied allegations of rights abuses and say those detained are subject to due process.
Museveni’s government hopes the start of crude oil exports next year from fields operated by France’s TotalEnergies and China’s CNOOC will help propel economic growth into double digits.
Uganda is a significant geopolitical player in East Africa and has troops deployed in Somalia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea as part of peacekeeping, anti-insurgency or military cooperation missions.
LONDON: Support from Arab Gulf countries for the global campaign to wipe out polio are “extremely important,” health officials said Tuesday, as vaccination efforts face a severe funding shortfall.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative has lost a third of its budget for 2026 due to cuts in foreign aid, predominantly from the US and Europe.
GCC countries, however, have boosted support for the campaign, with ֱ committing $500 million to the project through KSrelief earlier this year.
Leaders from the initiative said support from the Gulf had been particularly important given their relations with the two counties where the risk from polio is highest — Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“The political, moral and financial support of GCC countries is extremely important, especially now,” Jamal Ahmed, the World Health Organization’s director of polio eradication, told a media briefing Tuesday.
“The endemic countries are within the (WHO’s) Eastern Mediterranean Region — it’s Pakistan and Afghanistan — and the governments and the people who can really help us are from that same region and the leadership has been fantastic.”
GPEI, a partnership of nations and organizations including the Gates Foundation, UNICEF and Rotary International, said it is prioritizing Afghanistan and Pakistan as it streamlines operations to adjust to the budget cuts.
The two countries are the last strongholds of wild poliovirus despite vaccination campaigns almost eradicating the disease there in 2023. There has since been a major resurgence that peaked last year but has started to decline again.
This year there have been 36 cases in Afghanistan and Pakistan of wild polio, which mostly affects young children and can leave them paralyzed.
Hamid Jafari, who leads polio eradication efforts in WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region, said ֱ and the UAE are providing “strong political and financial support for polio eradication in the region.”
He said the resurgence in Afghanistan and Pakistan of the highly infectious disease showed the challenges of trying to eradicate it.
“It will keep coming back to cause periodic outbreaks until its transmission is completely stopped,” Jafari said.
Security challenges, political instability, moving populations and vaccine hesitancy make vaccinating every child in those countries immensely difficult.
The GPEI recently published its road map for 2026, which outlines how the vaccination effort will adapt to tighter budgets, with more efficient vaccination campaigns and screening for the disease.
However, there remains a $1.7 billion funding gap for the initiative up to 2029 and the officials said they had cut campaigns in low-risk areas and were focusing on specific regions rather than entire nations to save costs.
The initiative will also prioritize outbreaks affecting southern and central Africa, the Horn of Africa, Yemen and the Lake Chad Basin.
Wars in Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere have also presented a serious challenge to attempts to vaccinate children in those countries.
“All conflicts are a huge setback,” Jafari said. “Health systems and immunization systems get destroyed or weakened, populations move, vaccination coverage starts to decline rapidly, and this is what we see repeatedly in so many countries.”
Since the GPEI was launched in 1988, global incidence of polio has decreased by 99.9 percent, saving 1.5 million lives and stopping an estimated 20 million cases of paralysis.
Damage from Louvre jewelry heist estimated at 88 million euros, Paris prosecutor says
Four people broke into the Louvre on Sunday
They took objects from a gallery for royal jewelry
Updated 21 min 39 sec ago
Reuters
PARIS: Thieves who staged a daring daylight heist at the Louvre museum in Paris made off with jewels worth an estimated 88 million euros ($102.63 million), Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau said on Tuesday.
“It is important to remember that this damage is an economic damage, but it is nothing compared to the historical damage caused by this theft,” the prosecutor told RTL radio.
In what some politicians branded a national humiliation, four people broke into the Louvre on Sunday using a crane to smash an upstairs window. They took objects from a gallery for royal jewelry before escaping on motorbikes.
The eight items of stolen jewelry included a tiara and earrings from the set of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, of the early 19th century. The crown of Empress Eugenie was found outside the museum, apparently dropped during the getaway.
LONDON: The Future Resilience Forum launched its third edition this week in London, bringing together government, media, academic and enterprise leaders to discuss global security crises and challenges in a “new world order.”
Since Fiona Hill founded the FRF in 2023, the Middle East has witnessed momentous events, including the war in the Gaza Strip, the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria and US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.
Alongside this, advancements in tourism, AI adoption and energy projects are taking place as Arab Gulf countries strive to achieve their 2030 visions, including ֱ. Meanwhile, international efforts are being made to resolve the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict and usher in a new era for the region.
Hill, who advised former UK Prime Minister Theresa May and served as the chief of staff at 10 Downing Street, founded the FRF to encourage leaders to adopt “new world thinking” about issues that will shape the 21st century. The FRF 2025 edition highlights topics such as space, drone manufacturing, investment opportunities in Africa, and the impact of diplomacy, military matters, and technological changes on geopolitical and geoeconomic dynamics.
“(The FRF) is building a network, it’s building a family to come together to analyze what that new world order is, what are the regions, what are the sectors that would be relevant and need to be relevant in the next 50 years,” Hill told Arab News.
The Future Resilience Forum highlights the impact of diplomacy, military matters, and technological changes on geopolitical and geoeconomic dynamics. (AN Photo/Bahar Hussain)
She added that significant changes in Europe followed the Brexit referendum in 2016, which resulted in the UK’s exit from the EU. Another major event that impacted European politics was Russia’s occupation of Crimea in Ukraine in 2014, which preceded its full invasion in 2022.
Saudi Vision 2030 and other GCC development plans have also impacted dynamics with Western countries. Hill highlighted the Middle East’s potential as a geopolitical buffer between East and West through investments in Africa, AI technology, and advancements in space and quantum science.
She added that national vision plans within the GCC significantly affect the shortening of supply chains, as the world is interconnected and relies on technological advancements.
“These maturing countries can now produce, design and research for themselves, and that actually weakens diplomatic levers for the West,” she said.
“In the old days we would go and say ‘let us help you do this’ ... well, there are actually any number of companies, in ֱ for example, and beyond, that can produce (the services or parts for various sectors),” Hill added.
The Future Resilience Forum aims to encourage leaders to adopt “new world thinking” about issues that will shape the 21st century. (AN Photo/Bahar Hussain)
The FRF invited Majed Al-Ansari, an adviser to the Qatari prime minister and spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss mediation efforts. For the past two years, Qatar has played a crucial role in mediating between Israel and Hamas, serving as a guarantor of the 20-point Gaza peace plan alongside Egypt, Turkiye and the US, which established a ceasefire for the Palestinian coastal territory early this month.
Another special guest is Mohammad Nidal Al-Shaar, the Syrian economy and industry minister. Since 2011, Syrian officials have been mainly absent from European forums and international events due to the former regime’s crackdown on protests and its involvement in the civil war. However, following the collapse of the Assad government in 2024, Syrian officials, including interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, have made several appearances at international forums, including the UN in September, to discuss their plans for the new Syria.
“The idea that we have an economy and investment minister coming from Syria after that country was so torn apart for such a long time, it is a miracle,” Hill, who conducted a special conversation with Al-Shaar, told Arab News.
She views Syria’s plans for rebuilding as an influential case study that many countries could learn from.
“From my conversations with (Al-Shaar), I know how serious he is. And it’s quite clear to me how serious his president is. And I think they’re putting something really remarkable together here. And if they can show how a country, so war-torn, can be put back together again, it’s a great case study for others,” she added.
Erik Prince, managing director of Frontier Resource Group, is another guest at the FRF, bringing expertise on the functioning of narco-states and the impact of organized crime on society and government. Several Turkish defense companies have also been invited to discuss drone manufacturing, as Ankara’s drones have been used in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The FRF is dedicating panels to Africa, a continent rich in natural resources but also facing significant challenges, notably the threat posed by militant groups in the Sahel region. In April, the FRF will launch the Africa Edition in Rabat, Morocco.
Paris prosecutor says stolen Louvre jewels worth an estimated $102 million
About 100 investigators now involved in police hunt for the suspects, gems after Sunday’s theft from the world’s most-visited museum
Thieves rode a basket lift up the Louvre’s facade, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels
Updated 59 min 6 sec ago
AP
PARIS: The Paris prosecutor said Tuesday that crown jewels stolen in a dramatic weekend Louvre heist were worth an estimated 88 million euros ($102 million), but that the monetary estimate doesn’t include their historical value to France.
Prosecutor Laure Beccuau, whose office is leading the investigation, said about 100 investigators are now involved in the police hunt for the suspects and gems after Sunday’s theft from the world’s most-visited museum.
“The wrongdoers who took these gems won’t earn 88 million euros if they had the very bad idea of disassembling these jewels,″ she said in an interview with broadcaster RTL. ″We can perhaps hope that they’ll think about this and won’t destroy these jewels without rhyme or reason.″
Also Tuesday, France's culture minister said that the security apparatus installed at the Louvre worked properly during the theft.
Questions have arisen about the Louvre security — and whether security cameras might have failed — after thieves rode a basket lift up the Louvre’s facade, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels on Sunday morning.
“The Louvre museum’s security apparatus did not fail, that is a fact," the minister, Rachida Dati, told lawmakers in the National Assembly. "The Louvre museum’s security apparatus worked.”
Dati said she launched an administrative inquiry that comes in addition to a police investigation to ensure full transparency into what happened. She did not offer any details about how the thieves managed to carry out their heist given that the cameras were working.
But she described it as a painful blow for the nation.
The robbery was “a wound for all of us," she said. "Why? Because the Louvre is far more than the world’s largest museum. It’s a showcase for our French culture and our shared patrimony.”
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said Monday that the museum's alarm was triggered when the window of the Apollo Gallery was forced.
Police officers arrived on site two or three minutes after they were called by an individual that witnessed the scene, he said on LCI television.
Officials said the heist lasted less than eight minutes in total, including less than four minutes inside the Louvre.
Nuñez did not disclose details about video surveillance cameras that may have filmed the thieves around and in the museum pending a police investigation.
“There are cameras all around the Louvre,” he said.
Sunday’s theft focused on the gilded Apollo Gallery, where the Crown Diamonds are displayed. Alarms brought Louvre agents to the room, forcing the intruders to bolt, but the robbery was already over.
Eight objects were taken, according to officials: a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a matching set linked to 19th-century French queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense; an emerald necklace and earrings from the matching set of Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife; a reliquary brooch; and Empress Eugénie’s diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch, a prized 19th-century imperial ensemble.
Italian coast guard recovers 7 bodies after Mediterranean shipwreck
Migrant rescue charity Alarm Phone said it had alerted the Italian and Maltese authorities to the boat’s plight, but accused both of delaying the rescue
‘They failed to act... We cannot express our anger at yet another group consciously being left to die,’ the charity posted on X
Updated 59 min 38 sec ago
AFP
ROME: The Italian coast guard has recovered seven bodies after a shipwreck off the southern Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, a frequent destination for migrants hoping to reach Europe, the service said on Tuesday.
Around 30 people were aboard the vessel when it sank in the night of October 16 to 17 around 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of the Italian island, the coast guard had said Friday.
Eleven of them were rescued but the rest of the passengers were unaccounted for at the time.
After search and rescue operations over several days, the coast guard said Tuesday that it had managed to find the bodies of “a man, five women and a minor.”
“Recovery operations dragged on for several days due to difficulties caused by particularly adverse weather conditions, repeatedly leading to the suspension of activities to ensure the safety of operating personnel,” the coast guard said.
In the wake of the shipwreck, migrant rescue charity Alarm Phone said it had alerted the Italian and Maltese authorities to the boat’s plight, but accused both of delaying the rescue.
“They failed to act... We cannot express our anger at yet another group consciously being left to die,” the charity posted on X last Friday.
Located just 145 kilometers off the coast of Tunisia, Lampedusa is often the first port of call for migrants from Africa trying to reach Europe in fragile or overcrowded boats.
More than 1,000 people have died so far this year attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea hoping to reach Europe, according to the UN migration agency.
