
Uganda's military says it has severed ties with Germany over 'subversive activities' by ambassador
"The Uganda People's Defence Forces has with immediate effect suspended all ongoing defence and military cooperation activities with the Federal Republic of Germany," UPDF spokesperson Chris Magezi said in a statement posted on X platform on Sunday.
The decision was "in response to credible intelligence reports that the current German Ambassador to Uganda His Excellency Mathias Schauer is actively engaged in subversive activities in the country", Magezi said.
He did not give details of those activities or details of any existing military cooperation between Uganda and Germany.
Germany's embassy in Kampala did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Uganda has its troops in the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, AUSSOM, which is partly funded by the European Union, of which Germany is a member.
In a post on the X platform on Sunday, Uganda's military chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba said the military was having problems with Schauer as a person.
"It has to do with him as a person. He is wholly unqualified to be in Uganda. It has nothing to do with the great German people," said Kainerugaba.
The spokesperson for Uganda's ministry of foreign affairs could not be reached for comment as her phone was switched off.
Kainerugaba, the son of President Yoweri Museveni and widely seen as heir apparent, is widely known for his inflammatory posts on social media which have included threats to Western diplomats in Kampala.
This month he warned the EU was "playing with fire" after a group of EU ambassadors met officials from Uganda's largest opposition party including its leader, pop star-turned-politician, Bobi Wine.
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New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
These three ‘golden' visa destinations have become hotspots for wealthy Americans
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Business Insider
3 hours ago
- Business Insider
New ECOWAS Chairman initiates moves to bring Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger back to the bloc
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President Bio also reaffirmed his support for democratic transitions and electoral processes in the subregion, pointing to the ongoing transition in Guinea and the forthcoming elections in Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau At the conclusion of a five-day delocalized meeting in Banjul, Gambia, the Chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe Jr., emphasized the importance of unity and regional cooperation. 'We want you back. Let us come together as a team. No matter what, we agree to disagree,' he said Snowe described the exit of the three countries as a painful experience, noting that the bloc has been united for five decades. Spotlight on Sahel states' withdrawal from ECOWAS These three francophone nations formally withdrew from ECOWAS on January 29, 2025, after forming the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) on July 6, 2024, in Niamey, Niger. Their decision followed ECOWAS' call for a return to constitutional rule in Niger after the 2023 coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum. Mali and Burkina Faso, already under military rule, aligned with Niger in rejecting the bloc's demand, reportedly due to perceived Western influence in the region. Political instability in the Sahel has been escalating for years, with Mali under junta rule since the 2020 coup that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, and Burkina Faso experiencing two coups in 2022 that removed President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré. These developments have heightened threats from terrorism, illicit arms flows, and economic instability across the region. In response to the coups, ECOWAS, under then-Chairman Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, imposed targeted sanctions on the junta, including travel bans and asset freezes on junta members and their families, suspension of financial transactions, and closure of borders. 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San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Putin emerges from the Alaska summit with increased stature and Trump echoing a Kremlin position
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The summit spectacle Putin's visit to Alaska was his first to the United States in 10 years and his first to a Western country since invading Ukraine in 2022 and plunging U.S.-Russia relations to the lowest point since the Cold War. Crippling sanctions followed, along with efforts to shun Russia on the global stage. In another major blow, the International Criminal Court in 2023 issued an arrest warrant against Putin on accusations of war crimes, casting a shadow on his foreign trips and contacts with other world leaders. Trump's return to the White House appeared to upend all that. He warmly greeted Putin, even clapping for him, on a red carpet as U.S. warplanes flew overhead as the world watched. The overflight was both 'a show of power' and a gesture of welcome from the U.S. president to the Kremlin leader, 'shown off to a friend,' said retired Col. Peer de Jong, a former aide to two French presidents and author of 'Putin, Lord of War.' Russian officials and media reveled in the images of the 'pomp-filled reception' and 'utmost respect' that Putin received in Alaska. Putin has 'broken out of international isolation,' returning to the world stage as one of two global leaders and 'wasn't in the least challenged' by Trump, who ignored the arrest warrant for Putin from the ICC, Bristow told The Associated Press. For Putin, 'mission accomplished' Putin 'came to the Alaska summit with the principal goal of stalling any pressure on Russia to end the war,' said Neil Melvin, director of international security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute. 'He will consider the summit outcome as mission accomplished.' In recent months, Trump has pressed for a ceasefire, something Ukraine and its allies supported and insisted was a prerequisite for any peace talks. The Kremlin has pushed back, however, arguing it's not interested in a temporary truce -– only in a long-term peace agreement. Moscow's official demands for peace so far have remained nonstarter for Kyiv: It wants Ukraine to cede four regions that Russia only partially occupies, along with the Crimean Peninsula, illegally annexed in 2014. Ukraine also must renounce its bid to join NATO and shrink its military, the Kremlin says. After Alaska, Trump appeared to echo the Kremlin's position on a ceasefire, posting on social media that after he spoke to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, 'it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.' In a statement after the Trump call, the European leaders did not address whether a peace deal was preferable to a ceasefire. The pro-Kremlin tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda described it as a 'huge diplomatic victory' for Putin, whose forces will have time to make more territorial gains. The summit took place a week after a deadline Trump gave the Kremlin to stop the war or face additional sanctions on its exports of oil in the form of secondary tariffs on countries buying it. Trump already imposed those tariffs on India, and if applied to others, Russian revenues 'would probably be impacted very badly and very quickly,' said Chris Weafer, CEO of Macro-Advisory Ltd. consultancy. In the days before Alaska, Trump also threatened unspecified 'very severe consequences' if Putin does not agree to stop the war. But whether those consequences will materialize remains unclear. Asked about it in a post-summit interview with Fox News Channel, Trump said he doesn't need 'to think about that right now,' and suggested he might revisit the idea in 'two weeks or three weeks or something.' Alexandra Prokopenko of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center and a former adviser at the Russian Central Bank, posted on X that it was 'an important tactical victory for Putin' that gives Moscow 'an opportunity to build alternatives and be prepared.' More pressure on Ukraine In a statement after the summit, Putin claimed the two leaders had hammered out an 'understanding' on Ukraine and warned Europe not to 'torpedo the nascent progress.' But Trump said 'there's no deal until there's a deal.' In his Fox interview, Trump insisted the onus going forward might be on Zelenskyy 'to get it done,' but said there would also be some involvement from European nations. Zelenskyy will meet Trump at the White House on Monday. Both raised the possibility of a trilateral summit with Putin, but Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said it wasn't discussed in Alaska. The Kremlin has long maintained that Putin would only meet Zelenskyy in the final stages of peace talks. 'Trump now appears to be shifting responsibility towards Kyiv and Europe, while still keeping a role for himself,' Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia and Eurasia Center wrote on X. Fiona Hill, a senior adviser on Russia in his first administration, told AP that Trump has met his match because 'Putin is a much bigger bully.' Trump wants to be the negotiator of 'a big real estate deal between Russia and Ukraine,' she said, but in his mind he can 'apply real pressure' only to one said — Kyiv. Hill said she expects Trump to tell Zelenskyy that 'you're really going to have to make a deal' with Putin because Trump wants the conflict off his plate and is not prepared to put pressure on the Russian president. Far from the summit venue and its backdrop saying 'Pursuing Peace,' Russia continued to bombard Ukraine and make incremental advances on the over 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) front. Russia fired a ballistic missile and 85 drones overnight. Ukraine shot down or intercepted 61 drones, its air force said. Front-line areas of Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Chernihiv were attacked. Russia's Defense Ministry said it had taken control of the village of Kolodyazi in the Donetsk region, along with Vorone in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine did not comment on the claims. Russian forces are closing in on the strongholds of Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2022 but still only partially controls. 'Unless Mr. Putin is absolutely convinced that he cannot win militarily, the fighting is not going to stop," said Bristow, the former ambassador. "That's the big takeaway from the Anchorage summit.' ——