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Ugandan President, Museveni signs anti-gay bill into law

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The Ugandan anti-gay bill which was presented by the parliament to President Yoweri Museveni for assent has finally been signed into law, making it illegal to practice homosexuality in the country.

Part of the new legislation which was signed by President Museveni prescribes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” which is defined as “cases of sexual relations involving people infected with HIV as well as with minors and other categories of vulnerable people.”

The bill had drawn a lot of condemnation from human rights activists and the international community who all called on Museveni not to give his assent to it with the belief that gay people in the country would be exposed to undue violence and intimidation.

The version of the bill signed by President Museveni doesn’t really criminalize those who identify as LGBTQ, which was a key concern for campaigners who condemned an earlier draft of the legislation as an egregious attack on human rights, but activists believe gay people are still at risk.

Another aspect of the legislation states that a suspect convicted of “attempted aggravated homosexuality” can be imprisoned for up to 14 years.

Parliamentary Speaker, Anita Among, who welcomed the signing of the bill, said in a statement that the president had answered the cries of the people in signing the bill.

“With a lot of humility, I thank my colleagues the Members of Parliament for withstanding all the pressure from bullies and doomsday conspiracy theorists in the interest of our country,” Among said.

Homosexuality was already illegal in Uganda under a colonial-era law criminalizing sexual activity “against the order of nature” with the punishment being life imprisonment.

Metro

Nigerian labour union mobilises state chapters for ‘total strike’ that will shut down nation

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The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says it has mobilised all state chapters and affiliate unions of the Congress to embark on a “total strike” on Tuesday “that will not only shut down the country but will paralyse economic activities in the nation.”

The union, arising from a press conference on Saturday, said it had resolved to embark on the nationwide strike following the expiration of a 21-day ultimatum issued the Federal Government to provide palliatives to cushion the pains associated with the recent fuel subsidy removal which they claim the government has failed to fulfil.

The organised labour had last week, carried out a two-day warning strike to press home its demands, and after the warning strike, gave the government a 21-day ultimatum within which to meet its demands.

And with the expiration of the ultimatum last Friday, the NLC says it has scheduled an emergency meeting of its National Executive Council for Tuesday at noon after which the strike will commence.

A notice of the meeting issued by the NLC General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja, mandated the Presidents, General Secretaries and Treasurers of its affiliates to mobilise their chapters for “mother of all strikes.”

Speaking on behalf of the state chapters of the NLC, Chairman of the Zamfara State chapter, Sani Halliru, said the state was ready to embark on a strike action if the national body of the union gave a directive to that effect.

“We in Zamfara State are only waiting for the directive and I am assuring you that, as soon as we receive it, we will join the strike.

“We will shut down the state as soon as we are given the go-ahead to embark on strike action. I was part of the meeting. So, I see no reason why I should not join the strike if I receive a directive from the national body of our great union.”

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Sudan War: Gen. Al-Burhan says he’s ready for peace talks

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Sudan’s Army Chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan says he is now open for peace talks that could bring the war in the country to an end.

Before the surprise announcement on Friday, Al-Burhan had maintained a non-compromising stance and had refused all entreaties to enter into negotiations with his former number two man and main rival, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the leader of the Rapid Support Force (RSF).

However, Al-Burhan, in a statement in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), said he had not sought military support on a recent regional tour and that his preference was for a peaceful solution to the conflict that has killed thousands and displaced millions of civilians.

“Every war ends in peace, whether through negotiations or force. We are proceeding on those two paths, and our preferred path is the path of negotiations,” Al-Burhan said.

Al-Burhan added that he believed that talks by Saudi Arabia and the United States in Jeddah which were stalled could still succeed.

In recent weeks, Al-Burhan has made a series of foreign visits after remaining holed up in Sudan for the first few months of the war, often sending representatives for talks.

In one of his visits to Cairo, Egypt, the Army Chief had said the purpose was to seek solutions and not military support, though he had asked other states to block external help that he claimed the RSF was receiving.

“We asked our neighbors to help us monitor the borders to stop the flow of mercenaries,” he had said.

The Sudan war which broke out between the army and the RSF in April 15 over plans for a political transition and the integration of the RSF into the army, has seen thousands of civilians killed and millions of others forced to flee the country.

Several ceasefire agreements entered into by the warring factions have been breached with both sides trading blames on their culpability, while previous claims by both sides that they want peace have failed to stop bloodshed.

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