Ugandan opposition leader ‘under house arrest’

Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine said today that police had surrounded his residence and put him under house arrest ahead of a planned campaign rally for a local by-election.

Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, said police and military officers, deployed overnight, had barred him from leaving his home in Magere, north of the capital Kampala.

“The military has increased deployment around my home. No one is allowed to leave or enter,” Wine said on Twitter, accusing President Yoweri Museveni of placing him “under house arrest”.

The popstar-turned-politician came second in a tense January election that returned Museveni to power for a sixth term.

Wine was set to campaign for an opposition candidate in the central district of Kayunga where Museveni is also expected to hold a rally.

“Our security guard and gardener have been violently arrested and beaten,” Wine said, adding that they had been “bundled” into a police vehicle outside his gate and their phones confiscated.

Following the January vote, which was marked by a crackdown on opposition figures, soldiers and police surrounded Wine’s property, stopping members of his household including his wife from leaving.

A court ordered his release after 11 days.

Wine’s National Unity Platform party has alleged that hundreds of his supporters were abducted by security forces in the run-up to the election — some were killed while others re-emerged weeks later showing signs of torture.

Last week, two members of the armed forces were handed lengthy jail terms for their part in violence against protesters last year that left more than 50 dead.

The United States had announced days earlier sanctions against the military intelligence chief Major General Abel Kandiho, citing his involvement in serious human rights abuses including beatings, sexual assault and electrocution.

In March, Wine was arrested for leading a protest in Kampala demanding the release of his supporters.

Museveni has ruled Uganda without pause since seizing control in 1986, when he helped to end years of tyranny under Idi Amin and Milton Obote.

Once hailed for his commitment to good governance, the former rebel leader has crushed any opposition and tweaked the constitution to allow himself to run again and again.

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Cyril Ramaphosa: South Africa president being treated for Covid

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa is receiving treatment after testing positive for Covid-19, his office says.

In a statement, it says the 69-year-old has mild symptoms and is isolating in Cape Town.

South Africa has seen a surge of infections since the new Omicron variant was first detected in November.

Despite Omicron being more transmissible than previous strains, including Delta, risk of severe disease and death is lower, a study has found.

South Africa’s presidency says Mr Ramaphosa tested positive on Sunday, and has already delegated all responsibilities to Deputy President David Mabuza “for the next week”.

The statement says the president started feeling unwell after attending the funeral of former President FW de Klerk early on Sunday.

It adds that Mr Ramaphosa is in “good spirits” – but is being monitored by doctors.

The statement provided no further details about Mr Ramaphosa’s infection. People who have recently been in close contact with him have been asked to watch for symptoms or get tested.

South Africa battles Omicron fear and vaccine myths

Africa Live: More on this and other stories from the continent

Mr Ramaphosa had recently returned from a seven-day tour of Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Senegal.

Some members of his delegation had tested positive in Nigeria and returned directly to South Africa, reports the BBC’s Nomsa Maseko in Johannesburg.

The presidency says Mr Ramaphosa, who was vaccinated in February, and members of his team were tested for Covid in all countries they visited.

The president says his own infection should serve as a caution to people to observe public health measures as well as get vaccinated.

Despite very public pleas from the authorities, fewer than 30% of South Africans are fully vaccinated because of what the country’s health authorities describe as a mass “vaccine hesitancy”.

South African scientists alerted the World Health Organization about the new Omicron variant on 24 November.

The UN public health body later classed Omicron as “a variant of concern”, warning that vaccines against it may be less effective.

A number of countries around the world have since introduced travel bans against South Africa and several neighbouring countries – but this has failed to stop the new variant spreading.

Mr Ramaphosa has been critical of Western nations’ blanket travel bans

A recent study has found people who have been vaccinated or previously been infected were still susceptible to catching the Omicron variant, but were less likely to fall seriously ill or die.

“We are seeing a large number of breakthrough infections… but those infections are not progressing to severe disease or death in any sort of meaningful large numbers,” said Shabir Madhi, vaccinology professor at Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand.

“As an example yesterday [Sunday] there were about 20,000 cases reported and about 25 people who died of Covid-19,” he told the BBC’s Newsday programme.

“During the course of the Delta variant wave, when there were 20,000 cases in South Africa the number of those dying each day was between 200 and 300,” Prof Madhi said.

He added that even though the rate of testing was low in South Africa, experts did not expect the number of deaths to come “anywhere close” to the fatalities recorded in the previous three waves.

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Covid in Scotland: More ambulance calls to lockdown home drinking

Drink-related ambulance callouts initially fell during lockdown but then rose again as home drinking became a problem, a study has found.

Stirling University researchers found the closure of pubs and nightclubs in April and May 2020 led to a dramatic decline in “mass public intoxication”

However, drink-related callouts soon returned to pre-pandemic levels as home drinking increased.

The researchers call for long-term action to address problem drinking.

One suggestion they make is to increase the minimum unit price of shop-purchased alcohol unit to reduce consumption within the home. Other possibilities discussed were restrictions on online sales and licensing changes.

Minimum alcohol price had ‘minimal crime impact’

Minimum unit alcohol price has ‘lasting impact’

‘Notable’ fall in Scotland’s alcohol death rate

Prof Niamh Fitzgerald, director of the Institute for Social Marketing and Health at Stirling University, who led the study, said lockdown did have some positive outcomes for the NHS and emergency services, and policy makers should reflect on how these might be sustained in future.

While ambulance callouts generally fell at the start of lockdown, the decrease in drink-related incidents was most dramatic at weekends, especially at night with incidents down 48.9% on the previous year.

One paramedic said during this time there had been “nowhere near the same amount of public intoxication or mass intoxication”. He said there had been fewer assaults involving alcohol, fewer unconscious people and fewer falls.

“This was a situation that paramedics described as a ‘welcome break’ from the hostile, alcohol-fuelled scenes experienced in towns and cities on weekend nights pre-pandemic,” Prof Fitzgerald said.

IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA

Image caption,

Minimum unit pricing for alcohol came into force in Scotland in May 2018

However, ambulance crews found that after April, despite licensed premises remaining closed, the number of calls increased again, with these calls spread throughout the week rather than concentrated at weekends

At the height of the pandemic, from April to June 2020, there were 18,832 alcohol-related callouts – 16% of all callouts.

“During the pandemic, both in the UK and abroad, licensed premises – including bars, restaurants and nightclubs – faced significant restrictions, including closures and curfews, which helped to reduce spread of the virus,” Prof Fitzgerald said.

“However, we know that these restrictions also led to many people drinking more alcohol at home.”

‘People were pouring bigger measures’

Gail Macfarlane has been an ambulance technician with the Scottish Ambulance Service in Glasgow for the last five years.

She said: “Almost every day we get an alcohol-related job, people on the street who are alcohol dependent or – at this moment in time – we get a lot of social drinkers who have overdone it.

“When people are enjoying themselves they get carried away. They have falls, get into fights, and that means jobs for us to do. It can mean we don’t get to elderly people who had a fall, because we’re dealing with others because of their social drinking and intoxication.”

She said people drinking at home during lockdown could bring its own problems.

“When the pubs and clubs were closed more people were drinking in the house, and at home people were pouring bigger measures than you get in a bar,” she added.

Prof Fitzgerald said: “The views expressed by paramedics are powerful and give pause for thought about whether business recovery post-Covid has to mean a return to the ‘mass intoxication’ described.

“This is surely an opportunity for politicians and clinicians to show leadership in pushing for better alcohol policies that protect the NHS and frontline services. At a time when policymakers want to support the hospitality sector, but also wish to protect health services, there is an opportunity to put in place win-win policies that can do both.”

‘Reinforces previous findings’

Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland said, “Whether it’s weekend nights out or weekdays at home, these findings show the impact of alcohol on the Scottish Ambulance Service is unacceptable and unsustainable.

“Paramedics should not have to dread working a Friday or a Saturday night shift. The increase in callouts related to home drinking during the pandemic is concerning and reinforces previous findings that some of us, particularly heavier drinkers, have increased our drinking.

“With a sixth of all callouts being alcohol-related in 2020, we agree that further action needs to be taken to change Scotland’s unhealthy relationship with alcohol.”

The Scottish government has been contacted for comment.

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Inger Stoejberg: Jail for Danish ex-minister for asylum separations

A former Danish immigration minister has been found guilty of illegally separating young asylum-seeking couples in a landmark impeachment trial.

Judges ruled Inger Stoejberg’s decision in 2016 to separate couples was unlawful and jailed her for 60 days.

Ms Stoejberg said she was very surprised by the verdict as the policy was designed to combat child marriage.

The case was Denmark’s first impeachment trial in three decades and only the sixth in its history.

“It’s not just me who has lost but Danish values have lost too,” she told reporters outside the court, adding that she would accept her punishment but had no regrets.

Between 2015 to 2019, Ms Stoejberg served as Denmark’s immigration minister in a centre-right government propped up by the right-wing populist Danish People’s Party.

During her tenure she took a hard line on immigration and introduced dozens of restrictions. Among them was an order in February 2016 that married refugees under 18 years old should not be accommodated with their spouse.

Ms Stoejberg ordered the separation of 23 married couples before the policy was dropped a few months later.

Among them were a young Syrian couple, Rimaz Alkayal, then 17 and her spouse Alnour Alwan, 26, who were reunited following a complaint. They had been forced to live apart for four months, even though she was pregnant.

The Supreme Court’s verdict on Monday leaves Ms Stoejberg’s political career hanging by a thread.

When the guilty verdict was read out by court chairman Thomas Roerdam, the former minister gasped in shock, according to Danish reports.

Outside the court, prosecutors said they were satisfied with the “historic” verdict, while Ms Stoejberg’s lawyers said it was harsh.

The verdict cannot be appealed and the jail sentence is unconditional, meaning that it must be served.

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES

Image caption,

Supporters of Ms Stoejberg have held demonstrations outside the Supreme Court

Ms Stoejberg resigned as deputy leader of the conservative-liberal Venstre party last February after its MPs voted to impeach her.

She is currently an independent MP, but could lose her seat in a vote to remove her from parliament.

Ms Stoejberg is a divisive figure in Denmark, but some commentators believe Monday’s verdict may galvanise her supporters on the right wing of politics.

A long-running case

The case started in 2016, when a Syrian couple complained about being placed in separate asylum centres to Denmark’s ombudsman.

Investigations by both the ombudsman and a special commission concluded that their separation and others ordered by Ms Stoejberg were illegal.

Under Danish and human rights law, each case must be assessed individually. This requirement had been ignored and therefore breached human rights, the investigations found.

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES

Image caption,

Ms Stoejberg is known for her tough stance on immigration

Two independent lawyers then determined there were grounds for impeachment, and in February this year a large majority of MPs voted in favour, including Ms Stoejberg’s own party.

The 26 judges of Denmark’s Supreme Court convened to decide whether Ms Stoejberg had violated the European Convention on Human Rights and a ministerial accountability law.

On Monday, 25 of those judges voted to convict her of the charges.

A contentious verdict

Monday’s verdict has divided opinion and sent shockwaves through Denmark’s political establishment.

The parliamentary leader of the nationalist Danish People’s Party, Peter Skaarup, said he found the verdict incomprehensible and backed Ms Stoejberg’s separation policy.

But Rosa Lund, an MP for the left-wing Unity List party, welcomed the judgement and said there had to be consequences for minsters who did not comply with the law.

Most of Denmark’s six impeachments have ended in acquittal. However, in 1995 ex-Justice Minister Erik Ninn-Hansen was handed a four-month suspended sentence for blocking refugees from Sri Lanka bringing their families to Denmark.

Impeachments trials in Denmark can result in fines and prison sentences if a guilty verdict is rendered, unlike those in the US, which are political.

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Britain announces first death from Omicron, steps up vaccination drive

At least one person has died in Britain after being infected with the Omicron variant, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, as the country launched an ambitious Covid booster shot programme to stop the spread of the virus.

Britain — among the countries worst hit by the global health crisis since last year — is believed to be the first government to officially announce a death from the virus mutation.

On a visit to a vaccination centre in west London, Johnson said Omicron accounted for about 40 percent of the cases in the British capital, and hospital admissions were rising.

“Sadly, at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron,” he told reporters, a day after warning the country was facing a “tidal wave” of infection.

Britain on Sunday sounded the alarm by raising the national Covid Alert Level because of high levels and rising rates of transmission.

In a rare televised address, Johnson said emergency measures were needed to prevent hospitals becoming overwhelmed in the weeks ahead.

All adults will now be able to receive a third dose of a Covid vaccine by the end of December after the government brought forward its deadline by one month.

But in a sign of huge demand, the National Health Service (NHS) vaccination booking site crashed and users requesting rapid testing kits were told they were out of stock.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be enough. I was told there is a queue of two hours to register and then two hours to get vaccinated,” one woman waiting in a queue in London told AFP.

The accelerated booster programme includes military planners running extra vaccination centres around the clock.

Some 500,000 booster jabs were given on Saturday but to hit the new deadline that number will have to be doubled every day for the remainder of the year to slow the spread.

Concerns have mounted about a new wave because of indications that two jabs are less effective against infection than three.

The World Health Organization said on Sunday that the Omicron coronavirus variant is more transmissible than the Delta strain and reduces vaccine efficacy but causes less severe symptoms according to early data.

There were 1,239 confirmed cases of the variant recorded in Britain on Sunday and scientists have said numbers are doubling every two to three days.

Vaccination rates are high in Britain, with more than 81 percent or 46.7 million of those aged 12 and over having had a second jab.

Some 23 million or 40 percent have so far had a booster.

The new measures come after face masks were made compulsory in indoor public spaces last Friday, and new testing and self-isolation rules for contact cases began on Monday.

Workers were also told to stay at home, leading to a quieter than usual Monday morning rush hour.

Vaccine passports for certain crowded settings, including at football grounds, are due to be enforced from Wednesday.

The rules apply to England only. The devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which are responsible for health policy, have similar measures.

Johnson’s intervention on Sunday sought to refocus attention on the pandemic, after a week in which he and staff were accused of breaking Covid rules last year.

Claims of illegal Christmas parties at Downing Street and across government departments have been seen as undermining public health messaging.

Johnson is also facing a large rebellion from within his Conservative party at a vote in parliament to make the new rules law on Tuesday.

Many Tory MPs are unhappy that freedoms are being restricted again — and even cut further. The vote, though, is likely to pass with opposition Labour support.

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