Uganda's Museveni: I love Trump for being frank with Africans

https://justfacts.blogspot.ug/Uganda's Museveni: I love Trump for being frank with Africans

Image caption Mr Museveni has said he appreciates Trump's frank language

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has given a speech declaring his "love" for US President Donald Trump.

Earlier this month, Mr Trump was accused of referring to African nations as "shithole" countries during an immigration meeting.
Mr Trump has denied making the remarks but US senators who attended the meeting say that he did.
The African Union demanded that Mr Trump apologise for his "clearly racist" comments.

"America has got one of the best presidents ever," Mr Museveni said to laughter during the opening of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) in the Ugandan capital of Kampala.
"I love Trump because he tells Africans frankly. The Africans need to solve their problems, the Africans are weak."
Mr Museveni's comments are in opposition to the reaction of many leaders who have condemned Mr Trump's language.
On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron told the BBC that he shared Africa's outrage.

On Monday, people in Haiti, another country that Mr Trump disparaged, protested against the president's remarks.
Mr Museveni's defence of the US president came just hours after the US ambassador to Uganda criticised Mr Trump.
"[His words] are obviously quite disturbing and upsetting," Deborah Malac said.
Mr Trump allegedly used the term "shithole countries" when asking why the US should accept immigrants from Haiti and some countries in Africa.
In 2017, Mr Trump allegedly said that Afghanistan was a terrorist haven; all people from Haiti "have Aids", and that Nigerians would never "go back to their huts" once allowed into the US,
The White House denied Mr Trump made the comments.

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UPDF involvement in Case Clinic murder investigations explained

Lt. Col. Deo Akiiki, the Deputy UPDF Spokesperson and his Police Counterpart, Emilian Kayima addressing journalists on Monday about the joint city operations

Details have emerged showing how the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) got involved in the investigations into the murder of Francis Ekalugar, the former Accountant of Case Clinic. Police opened up investigations shortly after Ekalugar’s burnt body was recovered from Kajjansi, a city suburb on January 3rd, 2018.
Ekalugar was kidnapped and killed on January 02, 2018 on his way to bank Shillings 15 million. Police recorded statements from Ekalugar’s workmates and also analyzed the CCTV footage recovered from Case Clinic. Police picked up two security guards who were on duty when Ekalugar is believed to have disappeared but released them shortly.
According to police sources, after analyzing the CCTV footage police investigators noticed that there were two Boda boda riders who tracked the deceased from the clinic. However, the police investigations stalled as police couldn’t trace the Boda boda riders but something happened about a week ago.
It is alleged that an operative from CMI overheard someone in a bar talking about a man who had got Shillings 15 million from a deal just as the year begun.
The operative, whose identity has been withheld for his own safety, pushed the conversation a little further and after a couple of beers, the source named Huzairu Kiwalabye, a member of Boda boda 2010 and brother to the Association chairman, Abdallah Kitatta. On getting this information, CMI tipped Kajjansi Police Station that Kiwalabye could have been behind the death of Ekalugar.
As police detectives were busy trying to put the pieces together and get additional information that could place Kiwalabye at the crime scene, the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task force (JATT) where the CMI operative is deployed received orders to arrest Kiwalabye.
A reliable source from JATT told this publication that things changed from one day to the other. “At first JATT was not interest in handling this matter then after a day or two, we were told that there were orders for us to trace and arrest Kiwalabye,” said the source on condition of anonymity.
According to the source, JATT swung into action without notifying police and picked up Kiwalabye on Friday last week and dragged him to Mbuya for interrogation. Kiwalabye reportedly confessed his involvement in the kidnap and murder of Ekalagur and named his accomplices.
Some of those mentioned included Muzamiru Mawa, the driver to Dr. Ssebale Kato, the Proprietor of Case Clinic, Kikandi Muhindo and David Bizimani, both Congolese nationals at whose residence Ekalugar’s was found. He also mentioned four other Boda boda riders. The information from the source is collaborated by revelations from the Defense Ministry, Deputy Spokesperson, and Lt. Col Deo Akiiiki.
He told the media that the army acted on intelligence from a CMI operative. “We got intelligence information from a CMI operative working with JATT,” Lt Col. Akiiki told journalists at the government owned media center while explaining the UPDF involvement in the operations, which should have ideally been the work of police.
“We didn’t know if the murder was a terror activity or if it was a threat to National security so we had to work together,” he said.
How the Kidnap was planned
According to the source, Mawa approached some of his friends in Boda boda 2010 including Kiwalabye with the deal. He reportedly told them how one of their accountants usually moves with a lot of cash to the bank.
The group resolved to kidnap Ekalugar and rob him of the cash. On January 02, 2018, Mawa tipped off his accomplices that Ekalugar was moving money to the bank. Kiwalabye drove to the scene of the robbery in a super custom while four others tracked Ekalugar on motorcycles.
Two of the cyclists deliberately knocked Ekalugar’s vehicle a Toyota Premio registration number UAW 899U adjacent to the Health Ministry headquarters in Wandegeya. Ekalugar reportedly moved out of the vehicle to check on the damage.
Two of the suspects intercepted Ekalugar as he was returning to his vehicle, and dragged him to super custom that has parked nearby. One of the riders took charge of Ekalugar’s vehicle and sped off to Kabowa. Ekalugar’s body that was burnt beyond recognition was recovered the next day from a bush in Kajansi.
Six of those who were part of the robbery and subsequent killing of Ekalugar are under police custody. Four other suspects are still at large.
Kitatta’s Involvement in the Case
According to the source, Kitatta who also doubles as the Lubaga National Resistance Movement (NRM) party chairman and a close confidant of the Inspector General of Police, Kale Kayihura, got involved in the case after the arrest of his brother.
Trouble for Kitatta started when he appeared on Top Radio and started mobilising members of Boda boda 2010 to push for the release of his brother, despite the fact he wasn’t aware of why he had been picked up.
Kitatta reportedly made threatening statements against the army and the state, prompting Military Police to raid the station and pick him up. Some members of Boda boda 2010 attempted to put up resistance but were contained by the military Police officers.
The officers also raided the officers of Boda boda 2010 to conduct a search, but met some resistance leading to several arrests bringing the number of suspects to 28. During the joint press conference held on Monday, Police spokesperson, Emillian Kayima, said they were scrutinising the suspects. “Whoever will be found culpable will be held to account,” he said.
Reaction to Arrest of Boda boda 2010 members
The arrest of the members of Boda boda 2010 has drawn excitement among rival boda boda factions, which accuse the group of mistreatment and torture. On Monday, members of the rival factions raided the offices of Boda boda 2010 in Natete, Wakaliga and Bakuli and destroyed property.
At least 14 suspects were picked up by police in connection to the attacks and destruction of property. Police also impounded 45 motorcycles left behind some of the riders believed to have been behind the attacks.

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Democrats withdraw offer to fund Trump's border wall

https://justfactsuganda.blospot.ug/Democrats withdraw offer to fund Trump's border wall

https://justfactsuganda.blospot.ug/Democrats withdraw offer to fund Trump's border wall

 

People protest to call for a new DREAM Act to replace DACA in Los Angeles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats said on Tuesday they had withdrawn an offer to fund U.S. President Donald Trump's border wall, as tough negotiations over the future of young illegal immigrants known as "Dreamers" resumed in the Senate.

A day after the end of a government shutdown linked to wrangling over immigration, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said he pulled the offer because of what he said was Trump's failure to follow through on the outlines of an agreement the two men discussed on Friday.

"So we're going to have to start on a new basis and the wall offer is off the table," Schumer told reporters. An aide said the offer was withdrawn on Sunday.

Trump said on Twitter late on Tuesday night: "Cryin’ Chuck Schumer fully understands, especially after his humiliating defeat, that if there is no Wall, there is no DACA. We must have safety and security, together with a strong Military, for our great people!"

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus expressed fears on Tuesday that Republicans in the House of Representatives would pursue a harsh immigration bill written by Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte.

The House measure would allow Dreamers to renew their legal status for three years, instead of putting them on a pathway to citizenship, and would call for hiring 10,000 more agents at U.S. borders while shutting down some visa programs and taking other steps to find people who are in the country illegally.

Republican Trump said during the 2016 election campaign Mexico would pay the cost of building a wall along the southwestern border of the United States to keep out illegal immigrants. Mexico has rejected the idea.

As a result, Trump has been forced to ask Congress for U.S. taxpayer funds for the wall. Government estimates are that it could cost more than $21 billion.

With Democrats and many Republicans arguing there are more effective border enforcement tools than a wall, the proposal has become a major sticking point in immigration negotiations, which in turn have complicated talks about funding federal agencies.

The Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin, asked by a reporter whether Schumer offered Trump $25 billion for the wall in a major concession to the president, did not dispute the figure, but said: "He did it in the context of a negotiation."

PROTECTING THE 'DREAMERS'

Democrats have been spearheading an effort to protect about 700,000 young Dreamers after Trump announced in September the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program instituted by his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama.

The program, which began in 2012, gave qualified Dreamers, who were brought illegally to the United States as children, temporary protection from deportation and the ability to study and work in the United States.

Senator John Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican, criticized Schumer for pulling the wall funding offer.

"That basically sets the DACA discussion back," he told reporters.

Cornyn said there had been discussions of he and Durbin being a "clearing house" for suggestions from senators on legislation to rescue Dreamers from the threat of deportation and provide permanent protections for them.

In agreeing on Monday to end a three-day government shutdown - the first since 2013 - and fund the government until Feb. 8, Senate Democrats got a promise from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that he would allow an immigration debate on the Senate floor in the near future.

Durbin said a similar commitment was now needed from Paul Ryan, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, where a Dreamer bill would presumably face a much harder path to passage than in the Senate.

The White House on Tuesday rejected the idea that a bipartisan bill sponsored by Durbin and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham could be the core of a solution.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the proposal was "totally unacceptable to the president and should be declared dead on arrival."

Trump himself has vacillated on immigration between tough rhetoric demanding a U.S. border wall and a softer tone urging a "bill of love" for Dreamers.

"Nobody knows for sure that the Republicans & Democrats will be able to reach a deal on DACA by February 8, but everyone will be trying," Trump tweeted.

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Kentucky school shooting kills 2, wounds 13, teen arrested

By Micheal k

Just the facts 

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Kentucky school shooting kills 2, wounds 13, teen arrested

By micheal k

BENTON, Ky  A 15-year-old boy opened fire with a handgun just before classes started at his high school in rural western Kentucky on Tuesday, killing two fellow students and wounding 13 other youths before he was arrested, the state's governor and police said.

The shooter, who has not been officially identified, entered a common area at Marshall County High School in Benton shortly before 8 a.m. (1400 GMT), pulled out a pistol and began firing at students, witnesses told Kentucky media.

The suspect will be charged with two counts of murder and multiple counts of attempted murder, the Kentucky State Police said. Police have not released a motive for the shooting but said they believed the gunman acted alone.

The bloodshed at the school of nearly 1,150 students in a small farming town was the latest outbreak of gun violence that has become a regular occurrence at schools and college campuses across the United States over the past several years.

The students killed were Bailey Hope, a 15-year-old girl, and Preston Cope, a 15-year-old boy, state police said. Five of the victims were in critical condition, police said, but hospital officials said they expected all those wounded in the incident to survive.

"I see this guy draw from his side and he pulls out a pistol. I didn't even know what was going on. And then it registered. About the time it registered, this guy was sitting here pulling the trigger into all of us," student Bryson Conkwright told TV station WKRN.

"I can hear the gunshots. He was shooting in our group," said Conkwright, showing where a bullet grazed his hand.

Kentucky State Police previously reported that 14 people were shot, including the two who died, but changed that number to 15 late on Tuesday. Apart from those who were shot, five other people were also injured in the chaos, police said. All 20 of the victims were between 14 and 18 years old.

At least one hospitalized student suffered a broken jaw from falling and being trampled while trying to escape, Marshall County prosecutor Jeff Edwards said in a phone interview.

Edwards toured the school, from which he, his wife and their children all graduated, describing signs of the scramble to flee from the gunfire.

Backpacks, cellphones and clothes were strewn in the main area where the shooting occurred, he said.

"When it happened, apparently everyone left everything laying," Edwards said. "It made it real, seeing the disarray."

A WOUNDED COMMUNITY

The school serves Marshall County, which has a population of about 31,000, and the shooting hit the community hard. Churches held vigils on Tuesday night, including the First Christian Church in Benton, where about 150 people gathered for prayers for the victims.

"I don't know how to start healing myself and I don’t know how the students will be able to heal because they will have to be in that school every day," said Alexandra Smith, a former student at the school who attended the church vigil.

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin's voice choked with emotion and he paused to collect himself at a news conference earlier on Tuesday where he spoke of the shooting.

"There's no good answer for it," Bevin said.

Bevin said the suspect was apprehended at the school "in a non-violent" manner but did not elaborate.

Students followed training they had recently received from state police in how to respond to such incidents, authorities said, crediting police for arriving on the scene quickly and apprehending the suspect.

Helicopters took five victims, including the boy who later died, to the nearest Level 1 Trauma Center, about 120 miles (190 km) away at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the shooting. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the families there," she said.

(Additional reporting by Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, N.C., Peter Szekely in New York, Suzannah Gonzales and Chris Kenning in Chicago, Ben Klayman in Detroit and Ian Simpson in Washington; Writing by Steve Gorman and Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Peter Cooney and Paul Tait)

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