Uganda army angry over US sanctions on military spy chief

 The Ugandan army has protested against the financial sanctions imposed on Major General Abel Kandiho, the country’s head of military intelligence.

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces said in a statement on Tuesday that the sanctions had been imposed without due process and with total disregard of the principle of fair hearing.

It said it was disappointed that such action had been taken by a country that Uganda considers a friend, a partner and great ally.

In imposing the sanctions, the US Treasury said that Mr Kandiho and other military intelligence officers arrested, detained and physically abused people “due to their nationality, political views, or critique of the Ugandan government”.

It said that those arrested were “subjected to horrific beatings and other egregious acts… including sexual abuse and electrocutions, often resulting in significant long-term injury and even death”.

The sanctions come after reports that spyware made by Israeli cyber company NSO Group, was used to snoop on the phones of US embassy staff in Uganda.

In April, the US imposed visa bans on Ugandan officials it said were responsible for human rights violations linked to the January general elections.

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Sanna Marin: Finland’s PM sorry for clubbing after Covid contact

 Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin has apologised for going clubbing after coming into close contact with a Covid-19 case.

Sanna Marin went on a night out in Helsinki on Saturday, hours after her foreign minister had tested positive.

She was initially told she did not need to isolate because she had been fully vaccinated, but later missed a text that advised her to do so.

Critics questioned her judgement for not isolating until testing negative.

The Social Democratic prime minister, 36, said the text message that advised her to avoid social contact was sent to her work phone, which she had left at home.

When she saw the text on Sunday, she urgently sought a Covid test and the result came back negative.

At first Ms Marin defended her actions, arguing that she had followed the advice of her secretary of state, who informed her about the Covid exposure.

But in a Facebook post on Monday, Ms Marin said she should have double-checked the guidance and used better judgement.

“I am very sorry for not understanding that I needed to do that,” she wrote.

PROFILE: Who is Sanna Marin?

Under Finland’s Covid guidelines, anyone who is double-jabbed does not need to isolate if they come into contact with a positive case.

But the guidelines do advise people to voluntarily avoid social contact if they are waiting for access to a Covid test.

Separate guidelines for government ministers and employees also recommend limiting social contact immediately after exposure, according to Finland’s Helsingin Sanomat newspaper.

Ms Marin has faced criticism since a gossip magazine published photos of the prime minister attending a Helsinki nightclub with friends on Saturday.

The Seiska magazine said it spoke to witnesses who saw her dancing at the Butchers club, where she stayed until 04:00.

Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin attends a press conferenceIMAGE SOURCE,EPA

Image caption,

Ms Marin said she had initially been advised not to isolate

Opposition politicians suggested Ms Marin should have set a good example by isolating voluntarily instead of going clubbing. Mia Laiho, an MP for the National Coalition Party, said Ms Marin had been “irresponsible”.

Ms Marin became the world’s youngest prime minister when she elected to lead a centre-left coalition with four other parties in 2019.

Finland has fared better than most of its European allies during the Covid pandemic, recording about 196,000 cases and 1,384 deaths.

But since September, infections have been creeping ever higher, with increases of more than 1,000 a day for weeks.

The country has also recorded eight cases of the new Omicron variant, which experts fear may be more transmissible and evade some immunity to Covid.

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Covid: Vaccines should work against Omicron variant, WHO says

 Existing vaccines should still protect people who contract the Omicron variant from severe Covid cases, a World Health Organization (WHO) official says.

It comes as the first lab tests of the new variant in South Africa suggest it can partially evade the Pfizer jab.

Researchers say there was a “very large drop” in how well the vaccine’s antibodies neutralized the new strain.

But the WHO’s Dr. Mike Ryan said there was no sign Omicron would be better at evading vaccines than other variants.

“We have highly effective vaccines that have proved effective against all the variants so far, in terms of severe disease and hospitalization, and there’s no reason to expect that it wouldn’t be so” for Omicron, Dr Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies director revealed.

He said initial data suggested Omicron did not make people sicker than the Delta and other strains. “If anything, the direction is towards less severity,” he said.

The new South African study – which has not yet been peer-reviewed – found the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine may result in up to 40 times fewer neutralizing antibodies against Omicron than against the original Covid strain.

But Omicron’s ability to escape vaccine antibodies is “incomplete”, said Prof Alex Sigal, a virologist at the Africa Health Research Institute, who led the research.

He said the results, based on blood tests from 12 people, were “better than I expected of Omicron”.

Prof Sigal said vaccination, combined with previous infection, could still neutralize against the variant. That suggests boosters may bring a significant benefit.

Scientists believe previous infection, followed by vaccination or a booster, is likely to increase the neutralization level and will probably protect people against severe disease.

More data on how well the Pfizer jab works against Omicron is expected to be released in the coming days.

There is no significant data yet on how the Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and other jabs hold up against the new variant.

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Bipin Rawat: India’s top general dies in helicopter crash

 India’s top military commander has died in a helicopter crash in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the air force says.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others were killed after the Mi-17V5 helicopter came down in hills near Coonoor city.

One survivor is being treated for his injuries in hospital.

Gen Rawat, 63, was appointed India’s first-ever Chief of Defence Staff in January 2019.

The Indian Air Force said it had ordered an investigation into the accident. A cabinet security committee is to hold an emergency session, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Twitter, Mr Modi said: “[Gen Rawat] brought with him a rich experience of serving in the Army. India will never forget his exceptional service.”

OBITUARY: India’s ‘tough’ top general

Images from the crash site showed thick plumes of smoke billowing from the mangled remains of the helicopter, and local people trying to put out the fire.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

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The helicopter had just taken off from the army base in Sulur, and was headed for Wellington town, less than 100km (62 miles) away, where Gen Rawat was set to visit the Defence Services Staff College.

The sole survivor of the crash is a captain working at the college.

Although the Mi-17V5 is among the most sophisticated military transport helicopters, India’s ageing air force fleet is often blamed for a high number of crashes.

In 2017, seven military personnel were killed in a crash in the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. The helicopter was on a training sortie.

A year before that, another of the helicopters had crashed immediately after take-off during a military drill in the northern state of Uttarakhand. No casualties were reported then.

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Germany’s Olaf Scholz takes over from Merkel as chancellor

 Olaf Scholz has been been sworn in as Germany’s new chancellor, formally taking power after Angela Merkel’s historic 16 years as leader.

He promised he would do all he could to work towards a new start for Germany.

As she left the chancellery in Berlin, ending a 31-year political career, Mrs Merkel told her former vice-chancellor to approach the task “with joy”.

His centre-left Social Democrats will govern alongside the Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats.

Mr Scholz, a soft-spoken 63-year-old, steered the Social Democrats to election victory in late September, positioning himself as the continuity candidate because he played a key role in the Merkel government as vice-chancellor.

The German parliament, the Bundestag, backed him as chancellor by 395 votes to 303, and he was then formally appointed as the ninth federal chancellor by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

After the vote in parliament, he was asked by Bundestag President Bärbel Bas whether he accepted the appointment and said “yes”. He later took the oath of office but – unlike his predecessor – left out the religious reference “so help me God”.

Since the election, Mr Scholz’s party has worked with the Greens and the Free Democrats on a coalition deal, which was finally signed on Tuesday. All 16 ministers took the oath of office on Wednesday, becoming Germany’s first cabinet to include as many women as men.

IMAGE SOURCE,EPA

Image caption,

Mr Scholz’s cabinet includes seven Social Democrats, five Greens and four Free Democrats

The new government has ambitious plans to fight climate change by phasing out coal early and focusing on renewable energy, but their initial priority will be tackling the coronavirus pandemic.

Health authorities have recorded another 69,601 cases in the past 24 hours and a further 527 deaths – the highest number since last winter.

• Ready for power: Team Scholz promises a new Germany
• Olaf Scholz takes on top job as German chancellor
• Adler: Sweeping away 16 years of Merkel

A known face but not Merkel No.2

“I said ‘yes’,” tweeted Olaf Scholz drily, moments after the Bundestag elected him chancellor.

This is the moment the career politician has long been waiting for. After 16 years of Angela Merkel, it’s a case of out with the old and in with the new-ish.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

Mr Scholz is already a known and trusted face in Berlin and Brussels. He marketed himself to voters as sort of Merkel Mark Two, despite hailing from a different political party.

But it’s not all about continuity, and friends and trade partners of this rich and powerful nation will be watching closely.

Mr Scholz’s coalition government is a never-before-seen marriage of convenience. What unites them, they claim, is a determination to modernise Germany, while preserving the country’s treasured stability.

Immediate challenges for them are:

• Covid – Germany is in the midst of a pernicious fourth wave and considering mandatory vaccination
• The threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine
• Angela Merkel was accused of putting trade before politics. Team Scholz is expected to be somewhat tougher on Moscow and Beijing despite the potential economic hit to German business.

Relations with Washington may improve as a result, though, and that is a declared priority of Olaf Scholz’s fledgling coalition.

Mr Scholz’s first foreign trip as chancellor will be to Paris and Brussels on Friday. He and Greens joint leader Annalena Baerbock, who becomes foreign minister, will have to respond to fears surrounding Russia’s military build-up near the border with Ukraine.

Although Russia has denied plans to invade its neighbour, Angela Merkel agreed with US President Joe Biden and the leaders of the UK, France and Italy late on Tuesday that they would adopt a joint strategy to respond by imposing “significant and severe harm on the Russian economy”.

One obvious economic measure would be to threaten Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, which has been completed but is still awaiting approval from the German energy regulator.

US officials say they have reached an understanding with Germany that the pipeline would be shut down, which would be a significant intervention.

In a message of congratulations to Mr Scholz, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he looked forward to constructive dialogue, and hoped that Germany continued to recognise “there’s no alternative to dialogue”.

Leaving the chancellery on Wednesday afternoon, Mrs Merkel was applauded by staff as she told her successor to take over and work for the good of Germany. In turn, he spoke of the crises that had brought them together and of the “deeply trusting collaboration” they had developed.

First elected in December 1990, Angela Merkel was immediately given a ministerial job by then Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

But she then helped oust him and became Christian Democrat leader in 2000, before becoming chancellor herself in November 2005.

She will still have an office close to the Bundestag, in a flat that was once used by Margot Honecker, once dubbed the most powerful woman in communist East Germany.

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Morocco grades for sex: Hassan I University lecturers in court

 Four lecturers at a leading university in Morocco have appeared in court over accusations of offering students better grades in exchange for sex.

The academics have been charged with incitement to debauchery, gender discrimination and violence against women. They have not yet pleaded.

This is the latest sexual harassment scandal to hit a Moroccan higher education institution.

However, it is rare for a case to be brought to court.

The lecturers are from the Hassan I University in the city of Settat, about 80km (50 miles) south of the main city, Casablanca.

A fifth lecturer is facing charges of indecent assault and battery.

The story came to light in September through the leaking on social media of messages that are said to have been between the lecturers and students.

BBC Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher says the case has caused anger in Morocco but not surprise – a string of such scandals have tarnished the reputation of Moroccan universities in recent years.

The current case is different in that it has actually been brought to court – most reported incidents have not made it that far, he adds.

Rights groups say this is symptomatic of a society in which sexual violence remains widespread and many women do not feel confident in reporting their experiences through concerns over possible reprisals or the perceived damage to their reputation and that of their family.

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Bipin Rawat: India’s ‘inspiring commander’ who died in helicopter crash

 General Bipin Rawat, who died in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, was India’s most senior defence official.

He was appointed as the country’s first chief of defence staff (CDS) in 2019, and previously served as the chief of India’s one-million strong army.

The 63-year-old had the reputation of being a tough soldier and an inspiring commander, who sometimes sparked controversy with his comments on political developments.

Gen Rawat was born on 16 March 1958 in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

His father was a lieutenant general in the Indian Army and his mother was the daughter of a politician.

A top student during his military training, Gen Rawat was awarded the “Sword of Honour” at the National Defence College and the Indian Military Academy.

He also completed a training course with the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES

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Gen Rawat was a decorated military officer

He joined his father’s military unit, 11 Gorkha Rifles, in 1978.

After that, he served in several key posts in the army, specialising in high-altitude warfare and counter-insurgency operations.

He was a decorated officer who often commanded units in restive regions in the country.

In the 1980s, as an army colonel, Gen Rawat commanded his battalion along the Line of Actual Control in the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh during a military stand-off with China.

In 2015, when he was in charge of the 3 Corps, Gen Rawat initiated India’s first officially declared surgical strikes on foreign territory when he sent troops of a para-commando battalion to attack Naga rebels inside Myanmar after an ambush on Indian troops.

In the same year, he survived a helicopter crash in the north-eastern state of Nagaland.

IMAGE SOURCE,ANI

Image caption,

Gen Rawat died in a helicopter crash

In 2016, he took over as India’s 27th Indian army chief, superseding two officers who were senior to him.

The following year, India sparked an international controversy when it awarded a medal to an army officer who tied a civilian to the front of his jeep in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Gen Rawat had defended the move, describing the officer’s actions as an “innovation” in a “dirty war”.

“People are throwing stones at us, people are throwing petrol bombs at us. If my men ask me what do we do, should I say, just wait and die? I will come with a nice coffin with a national flag and I will send your bodies home with honour. Is it what I am supposed to tell them as chief? I have to maintain the morale of my troops who are operating there,” he said.

In 2019, the government of Narendra Modi set up the position of CDS to improve coordination between India’s army, navy and air force.

The new chief also had control over funding for the military.

When he took charge, Gen Rawat faced criticism over his alleged closeness to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He always denied these accusations.

His critics said some of his statements went against the “apolitical” tradition of India’s military.

He once described the rise of the Muslim-dominated All India United Democratic Front party in Assam as a national security threat, which led minority leaders to accuse him of “parroting” the BJP’s line.

In recent months, the general was focusing on modernising the military.

Under Gen Rawat’s leadership, the process of military integration had taken off, though integrated theatre commands hadn’t yet been formed for the three forces.

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