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Ugandan activist Bobi Wine has launched a new political party ahead of a presidential election in which he hopes to be the face of a united opposition against the country’s long-time leader.  
The popular singer and lawmaker, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, has led a political pressure group known as People Power, which has captured the imagination of many Ugandans with its calls for President Yoweri Museveni’s retirement.
Wine is calling his new party the National Unity Platform, with an umbrella as its emblem. He has been calling for a united opposition against Museveni, a U.S. ally on regional security who has led this East African country since taking power by force in 1986. The 75-year-old Museveni is increasingly accused of relying on the armed forces to stay in power.  
Wine has been arrested or detained many times, including over a treason charge that he denies. With political rallies now banned, presidential aspirants play cat-and-mouse with security forces seeking to break up anti-government gatherings.  
Museveni accuses Wine and other opposition figures of encouraging young people into rioting.  
“We have consistently said that we are a non-violent movement and we have no plans of establishing a military wing,” Wine said in a statement. “What we are doing today is to launch a political wing of our movement so as to ensure that our mission to use the election as a strategy within the liberation struggle succeeds.”
Wine won a seat in the national assembly in 2017 as an independent candidate not backed by any of major party. His popularity grew when he opposed divisive efforts to prolong Museveni’s rule.
Museveni is eligible to seek another term next year after lawmakers removed constitutional age limits on the presidency.  
This week attorneys for Museveni collected his presidential nomination papers, signaling he wants to run again. Museveni’s party insists he remains its most popular member.
But opponents such as Wine, who is 38, say corruption is thriving and accuse Museveni of personalizing power through his firm grip on the military, the most powerful institution in Uganda.
 
The army has become even more influential amid the coronavirus pandemic as men in military uniform enforce lockdown measures, sometimes with brutal force.  
Despite criticism by some that Wine is unprepared for national leadership, he remains popular among impoverished urban dwellers and his supporters urge him to test his popularity across the country.
“If Bobi Wine cannot lead Uganda but he is the politician voters want to lead them, I do not know what anyone can do about this. Abolish democracy? Change the constitution? Jump into Lake Victoria?” said analyst Musaazi Namiti, a columnist writing in the local Daily Monitor newspaper. “Now is the time for Bobi Wine to test his popularity. He should be the candidate.”
If Wine is to credibly represent the major parties as the sole opposition candidate, he will need to strike a deal with Kizza Besigye, a four-time presidential challenger who has not yet revealed his plans. Besigye and Wine announced what they called an alliance in June, although it remains unclear if one will stand down for the other to run.
Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of power since independence from Britain in 1962. 
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The New York Times reported Tuesday that according to several people familiar with the matter, U.S. Ambassador to Britain Robert Johnson told colleagues in February 2018 that President Donald Trump asked him to reach out to the British government for possible help in getting one of Trump’s golf courses selected as a site for the British Open. The Times said its story was based on information from three people with knowledge of the events. FILE – U.S. President Donald Trump waits on the fourth tee at Turnberry golf course, Scotland, July 14, 2018.The newspaper reported that Johnson brought up the idea of trying to get the tournament assigned to the Trump Turnberry course in Scotland with the secretary of state for Scotland David Mundell, who told the newspaper it would be inappropriate for him to discuss his interactions with Johnson. The report said Mundell instead referred reporters to a British government statement that said Johnson had not made any requests about the tournament. The Times also said Johnson, the State Department and White House all declined to comment. The British Open site is selected by a private organization. 
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Twitter Inc said on Tuesday it would permanently suspend accounts that violate its policies while tweeting about QAnon, a fringe group that claims “deep-state” traitors are plotting against President Donald Trump. Twitter, which announced the change on its Twitter Safety page, said it would not serve content and accounts associated with QAnon in trends and recommendations, and would block URLs associated with the group from being shared on the platform. The suspension, which will be rolled out this week, is expected to impact about 150,000 accounts globally, Twitter said. It said that more than 7,000 accounts have been removed in the last several weeks for violating the company’s rules against spam, platform manipulation and ban evasion. The suspensions will be applied to accounts “engaged in violations of our multi-account policy, coordinating abuse around individual victims, or are attempting to evade a previous suspension — something we’ve seen more of in recent weeks,” Twitter said. Last year, the FBI issued a warning about “conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists” and designated QAnon as a potential domestic extremist threat. QAnon also claims Democrats are behind international crime rings. 
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As the nation’s coronavirus cases continue to rise and amid national polls that show Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of his handling of the pandemic, U.S. President Donald Trump Tuesday resumed his appearances at coronavirus press briefings and delivered his strongest endorsement yet on wearing facial coverings. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this story.
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The U.S. says it has upheld its part of an agreement with the Taliban, drawing down its forces in Afghanistan to 8,600 troops. But peace in the war-ravaged country remains elusive, as Taliban violence against Afghans has surged. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine looks at the prospects for long-awaited peace talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban.Camera: Mohammad Ahmadi, Saine Skype Video interview 
 
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Nepal will restart commercial flights in mid-August, the country announced Tuesday, in a bid to jump-start its battered tourism sector.Nepal’s airports will reopen to international and domestic commercial air travel beginning Aug. 17, as decided Monday in a cabinet meeting. At first, flights will go only to countries less affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic; more destinations will be added gradually. To enter or exit the country, travelers will need to carry a certificate confirming that they don’t have COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Incoming international travelers will also need to self-isolate, but authorities did not specify for how long. New guidelines are coming, said Health and Population Ministry spokesman Samir Kumar Adhikari, according to The Himalayan Times.  Nepal also announced Tuesday that it would end its nearly four-month lockdown at midnight.”We are ending lockdown from tonight, but it doesn’t mean that we don’t have any threat of health risks,” government spokesman Yubaraj Khatiwada told reporters in Kathmandu. The lockdown, which began in March, came at the height of Nepal’s tourism season, when mountain climbers and other tourists typically flood in. The shutdown cost the tourism industry over 10 billion rupees a month, or over $83 million a month, reported The Himalayan Times. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation said Tuesday that it would allow all tourism-related activities slated for the fall to go ahead, starting in mid-August.The announcements come shortly after India reimposed restrictions on movement in two of its states bordering Nepal, reported the Nepali Times. Nepal’s land borders with India and China will stay closed to most people until at least Aug. 16. Nepal has recorded nearly 18,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 40 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. About 5,500 cases are active.  
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Due to a rise in COVID cases, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti announced that he is considering another strict lockdown just a few of weeks after the metropolis started to ease restrictions. In state prisons, the problem has gotten so bad California officials are considering the release of about 8,000 prisoners convicted of minor offenses. VOA’s Angelina Bagdasaryan reports. Camera: Vazgen Varzhabetyan 
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There’s an old saying in theater that the show must go on.  But when a global pandemic hits and the playbook on large gatherings is re-written, shows like the circus cannot go on.  As VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports, performers in Brazil took a page from drive-in movie theaters to save their circus.Produced by: Arash Arabasadi
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