Peruvian historical site vandalized with obscene graffiti in viral video. LIMA, Peru — A vandal defaced Chan Chan, a #UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Peru, with obscene graffiti over the weekend, the Ministry of Culture said Monday.

In a video that went viral, a young man wearing a backpack can be seen spray-painting a giant penis on a wall of this fortified complex that is more than 600 years old.

“This act constitutes a grave disrespect toward our history and cultural heritage, as well as a violation of the regulations that protect archaeological heritage sites,” the ministry said.

The vandal faces up to six years in prison and has not been identified.

Chan Chan was the site of the largest earthen architectural city in pre-Columbian America, according to the United Nations.

It once held temples, dwellings and storehouses, often decorated with abstract motifs.

Chan Chan reached its peak in the 15th century as a vast city that was home to about 30,000 people, and was 20 kilometres (12 miles) square.

It is located about 550 kilometres north of Lima near the coastal city of Trujillo, and has been a UNESCO site since 1986.

Along with the Incan citadel of Machu Picchu and the Sacred City of Caral-Supe, Chan Chan is one of the most beloved archaeological sites in Peru.

#Trump administration welcomes 49 white South Africans as refugees.

DULLES, Virginia — The Trump administration on Monday welcomed a small group of white South Africans as refugees, saying they face discrimination and violence at home, which the country’s government strongly denies.

The decision to admit the 49 people also has raised questions from refugee advocates about why the group should be admitted when the Trump administration has suspended efforts to resettle people who are fleeing war and persecution and have gone through years of vetting before coming to the United States.

The group from South Africa, including children holding small American flags, arrived at Dulles International Airport outside Washington on a private charter plane and was greeted by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar.

“I want you all to know that you are really welcome here and that we respect what you have had to deal with these last few years,” Landau told the group in a hangar at the airport, many of them holding U.S. flags. “We respect the long tradition of your people and what you have accomplished over the years.”

President Donald Trump told reporters earlier Monday that he’s admitting them as refugees because of the “genocide that’s taking place.” He said that in post-apartheid South Africa, white farmers are “being killed” and he plans to address the issue with South African leadership next week.

That characterization is strongly denied by the South African government and has been disputed by experts in the country and even an Afrikaner group.

South Africa’s government says the U.S. allegations that the white minority Afrikaners are being persecuted are “completely false,” the result of misinformation and an inaccurate view of its country. It cited the fact that Afrikaners are among the richest and most successful people in the country and said they are among “the most economically privileged.”

Speaking at a business conference in Ivory Coast, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Monday that he spoke with Trump by phone recently and told him that his administration had been fed false information by groups who were casting whites as victims because of efforts to right the historical wrongs of colonialism and South Africa’s previous apartheid system of forced racial segregation, which oppressed the Black majority.

“I had a conversation with President Trump on the phone and he asked me, `What’s going on down there?’ and I told him that what you are being told by those people who are opposed to transformation back in South Africa is not true,” Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa said he thought Trump “understood that.”

Afrikaners make up South Africa’s largest white group and were the leaders of the apartheid government, which brutally enforced racial segregation for nearly 50 years before ending it in 1994. While South Africa has been largely successful in reconciling its many races after apartheid ended, tensions between some Black political parties and some Afrikaner groups have remained.

Trump has promoted the allegation that white farmers in South Africa are being killed on a large scale because of their race as far back as 2018 during his first term.

Conservative commentators have promoted the allegation about a genocide against white farmers in South Africa, and South African-born Trump ally Elon Musk has posted on social media that some politicians in the country are “actively promoting white genocide.”

South Africa suffers from extremely high levels of violent crime and white farmers have been killed in rural Afrikaner communities. It has been a problem for decades. The government condemns those killings but says they are part of the country’s problems with crime.

“There is no data at all that backs that there is persecution of white South Africans or white Afrikaners in particular who are farmers,” South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said Monday. “White farmers get affected by crime just like any other South Africans who do get affected by crime. So this is not factual, it is without basis.”

The white South Africans’ arrival comes after Trump indefinitely suspended the refugee resettlement program -- which historically had widespread bipartisan support -- on his first day in office. A month later, he announced a plan to resettle white South African farmers and their families as refugees.

According to the U.S. Embassy in South Africa, applicants to this program have to be South African citizens who are of Afrikaner ethnicity or a member of a racial minority in South Africa, and they have to be able to show a history of or a fear of persecution.

Afrikaners are the descendants of mainly Dutch and French colonial settlers who first came to South Africa in the 17th century. There are around 2.7 million Afrikaners among South Africa’s population of 62 million, which is more than 80% Black.

The U.S. refugee program was created by Congress in 1980, and groups have sued to restart it after Trump’s order.

Traditionally, to qualify as a refugee, applicants must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution due to certain categories: race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Refugees are distinct from asylum-seekers because refugees must be outside of the U.S. to qualify.

Once refugees arrive in the U.S., a network of resettlement agencies generally helps them settle in their new homes and they get 90 days of federal assistance for things like rent. The Episcopal Church’s migration service, however, is refusing a directive from the federal government to help resettle white South Africans granted refugee status, citing the church’s longstanding “commitment to racial justice and reconciliation.”

Santana reported from Washington and Magome in Johannesburg, and Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa, contributed to this report.

Matthew Lee, Rebecca Santana And Mogomotsi Magome, The Associated Press

#Ukraine has been waiting for a ceasefire since May 12 and is ready to start negotiations with #Russia in Turkey on May 15, said Vladimir Zelensky in his Telegram channel.

"We are waiting for a full and lasting ceasefire tomorrow to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy," he wrote. "And I will be waiting for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's visit to Turkey on Thursday. Personally."

This statement came after US President Donald Trump called on Ukraine to immediately agree to the negotiations proposed by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, which could take place in Turkey on May 15. Prior to that, Zelensky conditioned negotiations with Moscow on the introduction of a 30-day cease-fire.

Putin, speaking to reporters in the Kremlin on the night of May 11, invited the authorities in Kiev to resume direct negotiations without preconditions interrupted in 2022. It is proposed to start the dialogue on May 15 in Istanbul.

Bomb targeting a vehicle carrying police killed 2 officers in northwest #Pakistan.

Pakistan — A powerful bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying police officers in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least two officers and injuring three others, police said.

The attack happened near a roadside open market in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a local police chief, Masood Khan, said.

He said the dead and wounded were transported to a nearby hospital.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, who often target security forces and civilians.

TTP is a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021.

Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuaries and have even been living openly in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, which also emboldened the Pakistani Taliban.

#Ukrainian president welcomes Russian overtures, but says ceasefire must come before peace talks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday welcomed Russia’s offer for direct peace talks, but insisted there must be a full, temporary ceasefire in place before negotiations can start.

Zelenskyy’s comments came a few hours after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin effectively rejected a ceasefire offer made a day earlier by Ukraine and its European allies. Putin countered with a proposal to restart direct talks with Ukraine, during which a truce could be negotiated.

The exchange of proposals appeared to leave Kyiv and Moscow deadlocked over the next steps in Washington-led effort to end the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year

During his election campaign, U.S. President Donald Trump had promised to end the fighting swiftly but his administration recently indicated it might walk away from the peace process if there was no tangible progress.

Without directly mentioning either proposal, Trump said in a social media post several hours after Putin’s peace talks remarks that it was “a potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!”

“Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending `bloodbath’ hopefully comes to an end,” Trump wrote. “I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens. The USA wants to focus, instead, on Rebuilding and Trade. A BIG week upcoming!” he added.
Ukraine, allies insist on a ceasefire

Zelenskyy, writing on X on Sunday, said it was a “positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war” and said that “the entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time.”

He added, however, that “the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire,” in a reference to his proposal to start a 30-day unconditional truce on Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in remarks to the media overnight effectively rejected that ceasefire offer and proposed restarting direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday instead “without preconditions.” He said a ceasefire might be agreed on during the negotiations -- but stressed that the Kremlin needs a truce that would lead to a “lasting peace” instead of one that would allow Ukraine to rearm and mobilize more men into its armed forces.

Putin’s counter-offer came after leaders from four major European countries threatened to ratchet up pressure on Moscow if it does not accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Saturday and issued a coordinated call for the truce starting Monday. The plan has received backing from both the European Union and Trump.

The leaders pledged tougher sanctions on Russia if Putin did not accept the proposal.

Zelenskyy, in his Sunday remarks, reiterated that call. “There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire -- full, lasting, and reliable -- starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet,” the Ukrainian leader said on X.

Macron said Sunday that Putin’s offer of direct negotiations with Ukraine is “a first step, but not enough,” signaling continued Western skepticism toward Moscow’s intentions.

“An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations,” Macron told reporters at the Polish-Ukrainian border, according to French media.

Macron also warned that Putin is “looking for a way out, but he still wants to buy time.”
Moscow presses on with peace talks offer. Turkey says it’s ready to host

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments aired by Russian state TV on Sunday, called Putin’s proposal “very serious,” aimed at eliminating “the root causes of the conflict,” and said it “confirms a real intention to find a peaceful solution.”

Putin spoke Sunday to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who expressed readiness to host the talks, the Kremlin said.

According to the Kremlin’s readout of the phone call, Erdogan “fully supported the Russian proposal, emphasizing his readiness to provide” a platform for the talks in Istanbul, as well as “all possible assistance in organizing and holding the negotiations aimed at achieving sustainable peace.”

Erdogan also spoke to Macron on Sunday, according to a statement from the Turkish presidential communications office, and said that a “historic turning point” had been reached in efforts to end the war.
Russian attacks continue

Meanwhile, Russia resumed mass drone attacks in Ukraine early on Sunday, after its self-declared three-day pause expired.

Russia launched 108 attack drones and simulator drones from six different directions, Ukraine’s air force said. It said 60 drones were shot down and another 41 simulator drones failed to reach targets due to Ukrainian countermeasures.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday accused Ukraine of “violating” Moscow’s three-day ceasefire more than 14,000 times. Ukraine, which did not agree to the May 8-10 ceasefire, has also accused Russia of violating its own truce, with the Ukrainian foreign minister calling it a farce.

Article by Samya Kullab and Dasha Litvinova.

#India and #Pakistan ceasefire shaken by overnight border fighting in disputed Kashmir region.

India’s military strikes into Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan earlier this week killed more than 100 militants including their prominent leadership, India’s director general of military operations said on Sunday.

Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai said India’s armed forces stuck nine militant infrastructure and training facilities, including sites of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group that India blames for carrying out major militant strikes in India and the disputed region of Kashmir.

There was no way to independently verify these claims.

“We achieved total surprise,” Ghai said at a news conference in New Delhi, adding Pakistan’s response was “erratic and rattled.”

The two countries agreed to a truce a day earlier after talks to defuse the most serious military confrontation between them in decades. But the ceasefire was shaken just hours later by overnight fighting in disputed Kashmir, and both sides accused each other of repeatedly violating the deal. Drones were also spotted Saturday night over Indian-controlled Kashmir and the western state of Gujarat, according to Indian officials.

The escalation in violence began last week after a gun massacre of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India blamed the attack on Pakistan, which denied any involvement.

As part of the ceasefire, the nuclear-armed neighbors agreed to immediately stop all military action on land, in the air and at sea.

People on both sides of the Line of Control, which divides the territory, reported heavy exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops. The fighting subsided by Sunday morning.

In the Poonch area of Indian-controlled Kashmir, people said the intense shelling from the past few days had traumatized them.

“Most people ran as shells were being fired,” said college student Sosan Zehra, who returned home Sunday. “It was completely chaotic.”

In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir’s Neelum Valley, which is 3 kilometres (2 miles) from the Line of Control, residents said there were exchanges of fire and heavy shelling after the ceasefire began.

“We were happy about the announcement but, once again, the situation feels uncertain,” said Mohammad Zahid.

U.S. President Donald Trump was the first to post about the ceasefire deal, announcing it on his Truth Social platform. Indian and Pakistani officials confirmed the news shortly after.

Pakistan has thanked the U.S., and especially Trump, several times for facilitating the ceasefire.

India has not said anything about Trump or the U.S. since the deal was announced. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting on Sunday with top government and military officials.

A U.N. spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said on Sunday that Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the deal as a positive step toward easing tensions. “He hopes the agreement will contribute to lasting peace and foster an environment conducive to addressing broader, longstanding issues between the two countries,” Dujarric said.

India and Pakistan’s top military officials are scheduled to speak on Monday.

India and Pakistan have fought daily since Wednesday along the rugged and mountainous Line of Control, which is marked by razor wire coils, watchtowers and bunkers that snake across foothills populated by villages, tangled bushes and forests.

They have routinely blamed the other for starting the skirmishes, while insisting they themselves were only retaliating.

Kashmir is split between the two countries and claimed by both in its entirety.

They have fought two of their three wars over the region and their ties have been shaped by conflict, aggressive diplomacy and mutual suspicion, mostly due to their competing claims.

#India made series of strikes against Pakistan’s air force bases — Geo TV
"Wait for our answer," Pakistan's Director General of Inter Services Public Relations, Lieutenant General Ahmed Shareef Chaudhry said.

India delivered several missile strikes against three air force bases in Pakistan, Geo TV reports, citing Pakistan's Director General of Inter Services Public Relations, Lieutenant General Ahmed Shareef Chaudhry.

Missile strikes targeted Nur Khan, Murid and Rafiqui airbases, Chaudhry said. The attack is a very dangerous event destabilizing the region, the general said.

"Wait for our answer," Chaudhry added, cited by the TV channel.

U.S. to accept white South African refugees while other programs remain paused.

The #Trump administration will welcome more than two dozen white South Africans to the United States as refugees next week, an unusual move because it has suspended most refugee resettlement operations, officials and documents said Friday.

The first Afrikaner refugees are arriving Monday at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press. They are expected to be greeted by a government delegation, including the deputy secretary of state and officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, whose refugee office has organized their resettlement.

The flight will be the first of several in a “much larger-scale relocation effort,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters.

The Trump administration has taken a number of steps against South Africa, accusing the Black-led government of pursuing anti-white policies at home and an anti-American foreign policy. The South African government denies the allegations and says the U.S. criticism is full of misinformation.

While State Department refugee programs have been suspended — halting arrivals from Afghanistan, Iraq, most of sub-Saharan Africa and other countries in a move being challenged in court — President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February prioritizing the processing of white South Africans claiming racial discrimination.

“What’s happening in South Africa fits the textbook definition of why the refugee program was created,” Miller said. “This is persecution based on a protected characteristic — in this case, race. This is race-based persecution.”
Efforts to get white South Africans to the U.S.

Since Trump’s executive order, the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria has been conducting interviews, “prioritizing consideration for U.S. refugee resettlement of Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination,” the State Department said.

The department said nothing about the imminent arrival of what officials said are believed to be more than two dozen white South Africans from roughly four families who applied for resettlement in the U.S. Their arrival had originally been scheduled for early last week but was delayed for reasons that were not immediately clear.

The HHS Office for Refugee Resettlement was ready to offer them support, including with housing, furniture and other household items, and expenses like groceries, clothing, diapers and more, the document says. “This effort is a stated priority of the Administration.”

HHS didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.

Supporters of the refugee program questioned why the Trump administration was moving so quickly to resettle white South Africans while halting the wider refugee program, which brings people to the U.S. who are displaced by war, natural disaster or persecution and involves significant vetting in a process that often takes years.

“We are concerned that the U.S. Government has chosen to fast-track the admission of Afrikaners, while actively fighting court orders to provide life-saving resettlement to other refugee populations who are in desperate need,” Church World Services president Rick Santos said in a statement. His group has been assisting refugees for more than 70 years.

Letting in white South Africans while keeping out Afghans is “hypocrisy,” said Shawn VanDiver, who heads #AfghanEvac, which helps resettle Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the two-decade war.

“Afghans who served alongside U.S. forces, who taught girls, who fought for democracy, and who now face Taliban reprisals, meet every definition of a refugee,” he said. “Afghans risked their lives for us. That should matter,” he said.
Trump administration has accused South Africa of anti-white policies

The Trump administration alleges the South African government has allowed minority white Afrikaner farmers to be persecuted and attacked, while introducing an expropriation law designed to take away their land.

The South African government has said it was surprised by claims of discrimination against Afrikaners because white people still generally have a much higher standard of living than Black people more than 30 years after the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule.

South Africa is the homeland of close Trump adviser Elon Musk, who has been outspoken in his criticism, and it also holds the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 developed and developing nations.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio notably boycotted a G20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg in March because its agenda centered on diversity, inclusion and climate change. He also expelled South Africa’s ambassador to the U.S. in March for comments that the Trump administration interpreted as accusing the president of promoting white supremacy.

Shortly thereafter, the State Department ended all engagement with the G20 during South Africa’s presidency. The U.S. is due to host G20 meetings in 2026.
What South Africa says about the refugees

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said in a statement Friday that he had spoken with Trump late last month on issues including U.S. criticism of the country and allegations that Afrikaners are being persecuted. Ramaphosa told Trump that the information the U.S. president had received “was completely false.”

“Therefore, our position is that there are no South African citizens that can be classified as refugees to any part of the world, including the U.S.,” the statement said.

The South African foreign ministry said Deputy Foreign Minister Alvin Botes spoke with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on Friday about the refugees. Landau is expected to lead the delegation to welcome the group Monday.

South Africa “expressed concerns” and denied allegations of discrimination against Afrikaners, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

“It is most regrettable that it appears that the resettlement of South Africans to the United States under the guise of being ‘refugees’ is entirely politically motivated and designed to question South Africa’s constitutional democracy,” the statement said. It noted that the country has worked to prevent any repeat of the type of persecution and discrimination that happened under apartheid rule.

The foreign ministry said it would not block anyone who wanted to leave as it respected their freedom of movement and choice.

But it said it was seeking information about the “status” of the people leaving South Africa, wanting assurances that they had been properly vetted and did not have outstanding criminal cases.

The foreign ministry added that South Africa was “dedicated to constructive dialogue” with the U.S.

Gumede reported from Johannesburg. Associated Press writers Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa, Gisela Salomon in Miami, and Seung Min Kim and Amanda Seitz in Washington contributed to this report.

Pakistan says India fired missiles at 3 air bases inside country. Pakistani retaliation underway.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan said India fired missiles at three air bases inside the country Saturday but most of the missiles were intercepted and that retaliatory strikes on India were underway. It’s the latest escalation in a conflict triggered by a massacre last month that India blames on Pakistan.

The Pakistani military said it used medium-range Fateh missiles to target an Indian missile storage facility and airbases in Pathankot and Udhampur.

Pakistani army spokesman, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif, said in a televised address that the country’s air force assets were safe following the Indian strikes. He added that some of the Indian missiles also hit India’s eastern Punjab.

“This is a provocation of the highest order,” Sharif said.

Tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals have soared since an attack at a popular tourist site in India-controlled Kashmir left 26 civilians dead, mostly Hindu Indian tourists, on April 22. New Delhi has blamed P akistan for backing the assault, an accusation Islamabad rejects.

The Indian missiles targeted Nur Khan air base in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, Murid air base in Chakwal city and Rafiqui air base in the Jhang district of eastern Punjab province, according to the spokesman. There was no immediate comment from India.

Sharif said some of the Indian missiles also went into Afghanistan.

“I want to give you the shocking news that India fired six ballistic missiles from its city of Adampur,” said Sharif. One of the ballistic missiles hit Adampur, the remaining five missiles hit the Indian Punjab area of Amritsar."

Residents in Indian-controlled Kashmir said they heard loud explosions Saturday at multiple places in the region, including the two big cities of Srinagar and Jammu, and the garrison town of Udhampur.

“Explosions that we are hearing today are different from the ones we heard the last two nights during drone attacks,” said Sheesh Paul Vaid, the region’s former top police official and a resident of Jammu. “It looks like a war here.”

Srinagar resident Mohammed Yasin said he heard at least two explosions. “Our home shook and windows rattled,” he said.

The Indian army said late Friday that drones were sighted in 26 locations across many areas in Indian states bordering Pakistan and Indian-controlled Kashmir, including Srinagar. It said the drones were tracked and engaged.

“The situation is under close and constant watch, and prompt action is being taken wherever necessary,” the statement added.

On Wednesday, India conducted airstrikes on several sites in Pakistani territory it described as militant-related, killing 31 civilians, according to Pakistani officials. Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets.

On Thursday, India said it thwarted Pakistani drone and missile attacks at military targets in more than a dozen cities and towns, including Jammu city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan denied the claims. India said, meanwhile, that it hit Pakistan’s air defense systems and radars close to the city of Lahore. The incidents could not be independently confirmed.

The Group of Seven nations, or G7, urged “maximum restraint” from both India and Pakistan amid flaring hostilities.

“Further military escalation poses a serious threat to regional stability. We are deeply concerned for the safety of civilians on both sides,” a statement by Canada on behalf of G7 foreign ministers said Friday. “We call for immediate de-escalation and encourage both countries to engage in direct dialogue towards a peaceful outcome,” it said.

#Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine to seek presidency, chides West over rights. Ugandan opposition leader and pop singer Bobi Wine said on Friday he plans to run for president for a second time and criticised the West for not speaking out more against "gross human rights violations" in the country.

Wine, 43, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, will be challenging long-serving President Yoweri Museveni, 80, who is widely expected to seek re-election.

"Yeah, I've expressed my availability on behalf of my team," Wine said in an interview with Reuters when asked whether he would stand again in the East African country's next presidential election, due in January.

Wine came second in the last election in 2021 but rejected the outcome, alleging ballot staffing, falsification of results, beatings and intimidation by soldiers and other irregularities.
Government and electoral officials denied the accusations.

Wine criticised Western governments for not denouncing what he said were escalating human rights violations, including abductions, illegal detention and torture of his supporters and officials. Wine did not single out any country for criticism.

"Some leaders in the West are complicit in our suffering. They are here to crack their (business) deals and they don't care about human rights," he said.

"If they were standing for the values that they profess, then they would be castigating all these gross human rights violations."

Uganda is considered by the West as an ally in the fight against jihadists and has deployed troops in Somalia.

Uganda's justice minister said this week that Eddie Mutwe, an activist in Wine's National Unity Platform (NUP) party, who also doubles as his personal bodyguard, appeared to have been tortured while in captivity.

Museveni's son and head of the military, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, said he had kept him in his basement and that he was using him as a punching bag.

After missing for a week, Mutwe was on Monday produced in court, charged with robbery and remanded.