Uganda loses about $2.5 billion to corruption every year, equivalent to almost a quarter of its annual budget, the country's anti-graft head told AFP on Monday. Corruption is a huge issue in the East African nation, which is ranked a lowly 141 out of 180 countries on Transparency International's corruption index. While President Yoweri Museveni has repeatedly promised change, several major corruption scandals involving public officials have surfaced recently, triggering anti-graft demonstrations. «The country loses about 9.144 trillion shillings ($2.5 billion) annually, money enough to cover 23 percent of this year's national budget,» said Beti Kamya Turwomwe, head of the Inspectorate of Government. «Losing such colossal sums that would have gone into delivery of services to the citizens is a wake-up call to all the citizens to fight the vice,» she said. Turwomwe said her department had recovered just $2 million of the vanished money, which she blamed on a lack of funding and staffing. Her comments follow the government body's annual July-June report -- based on research by international think tank the Government Transparency Institute -- which was presented to parliament last week. It found that the highest area of corruption was the environmental protection sector, estimating losses of 2.8 trillion shillings or $700 million a year. A report summary shared online said the figures are based on a «variety of methods and data sources», without being more specific. «Overall, the estimates on cost of corruption are considered to be lower than actual in Uganda since some costs are in kind while others are non-measurable due to lack of data,» the summary said. It found that utility costs, such as bribing officials for access to water and electricity, result in a loss of almost $130 million. The report comes a week after Museveni pardoned a government official who had served five years of a 10-year sentence after swindling $1.2 million from government coffers, provoking outrage from civil society groups. © Agence France-Presse

Mourners and leaders around the world on Monday voiced horror and a desire for peace at tearful memorials remembering the unprecedented October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked a year of devastating war in Gaza. People from Sydney to Rome and Warsaw to Washington grieved for those killed and urged freedom for those taken hostage one year ago, while rallies also called for peace in the Palestinian territories. Protesters rallied in India's capital New Delhi and chanted «Free free Palestine» and pro-Palestian demonstrations were expected in the Netherlands. The Hamas onslaught left 1,205 dead on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on the latest official Israeli figures. Some 251 people were captured and taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip by militants, of whom 97 are still held captive in the coastal territory, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, 41,909 people, the majority civilians, have been killed since the start of the war. The figures have been deemed to be reliable by the United Nations. - 'Dark day' for Israelis, Palestinians - Leaders from around the world condemned the deadliest in Israel's history. «Let us bear witness to the unspeakable brutality of the October 7 attacks but also to the beauty of the lives that were stolen that day,» US President Joe Biden said. «History will also remember October 7 as a dark day for the Palestinian people because of the conflict that Hamas unleashed that day,» he added. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, during a speech at the Great Synagogue in Rome, said «Let us not forget the inhumane aggression perpetrated a year ago by Hamas.» Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya «unequivocally condemned» the Hamas attacks on Israel but said his nation was «gravely concerned» by the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip one year on. «Japan is seriously concerned about the rising tensions beyond Israel and the Gaza Strip throughout the Middle East region, including the West Bank, Lebanon, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and Iran,» he said. - 'Until they come home' - Members of Australia's Jewish community gathered in Sydney for a vigil, where many held Israeli flags and lights in the shape of candles. «Today is very emotional day,» said 48-year-old Zack Shachar, whose cousin Naama Levy was taken hostage on October 7. «In the last year, we participated in any event, we read the names of the hostages every week in a different place in the city, and we will continue to do it until they all come back home.» One hostage who did not make it home alive was Polish-Israeli Alex Dancyg and on Monday his family inaugaurated a plaque in his memory in Warsaw. «We need to come here to (remember) my father, but also to put again the hostages on the agenda because that's the important thing now,» said Yuval Dancyg, Alex Dancyg's son. «We also still have one (hostage in captivity), our uncle. He's still in there. We're still in the situation,» he added. - 'Everyday people are dying' - In New Delhi, around 150 protesters gathered in a peaceful rally to support the Palestinian people. «Every day people are dying, they don't have food, they are starving,» said social activist Bhavna Sharma. Sharma, 52, carrying a placard that read «Stop the massacre», said she condemned India's support of Israel, including sales of arms. «Why are we sending arms to Israel?» she said. «Why are we supporting Israel in any way?» Saba Dave, 29, a development consultant, said she took part in the rally because she wanted peace. «We were always against violence, so to continue that tradition of anti-violence, I am here,» she said. © Agence France-Presse

Lithuania has confiscated five pairs of camouflage pants heading from Kaliningrad to Moscow, citing sanctions against Russia Read Full Article at RT.com

SINGAPORE - The fall from grace of S. Iswaran was spectacular – from a private plane ride and plush hotel room at the Four Seasons to a prison van and a straw mat for a bed in a single-man jail cell. It marked the end of a career in public service that saw him rise through the ranks in the administrative service before his entry into politics in 1997. Iswaran, 62, arrived at the State Courts on Oct 7 at about 3.30pm. He was alone apart from a male relative who declined to be identified. After handing over his identity card at Court 4A, he was led through a door used by convicts to the courthouse lock-up facility. He was then moved to the basement carpark, where a Singapore Prison Service (SPS) van was waiting to take him to Changi Prison to serve out his 12-month sentence.

SINGAPORE — Six people were injured after two shophouse units partially collapsed in Syed Alwi Road after a gas explosion in the early hours of Oct 8. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post at about 7am that they were alerted at about 1.30am at 84 and 85 Syed Alwi Road. According to checks online, the former location houses Paakashala Singapore, a vegetarian Indian restaurant, while the latter, Nirja Mega Mart. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said in a Facebook post at around 9.30am it was alerted to a suspected gas explosion incident.

Enraged that his girlfriend had been molested, a truck driver and his colleagues retaliated by beating the alleged perpetrator, a forklift driver, with a metal rod.  The incident occurred at about 8pm along 1 Yuan Ching Road, near a parking lot behind SuperBowl Jurong, reported Shin Min Daily News.  An eyewitness surnamed Zhang told the Chinese daily he was having dinner in the vicinity when the fight occurred. He recounted that he saw a group of men attacking the victim with a metal road as he was heading to the toilet.  «In a state of panic, I yelled that I was a police officer, but they didn't stop hitting the man. I had no choice but to call the police,» recounted the 44-year-old car dealer.  When Shin Min arrived at the scene, four police cars were seen parked in the area.  A bloodstained fluorescent safety jacket was also spotted next to a rubbish bin outside a toilet near the scene.

Brussels should set up financial measures against KLM’s Chinese competition, the airline’s CEO Marjan Rintel has said Read Full Article at RT.com

Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.

The day after a minivan was set ablaze outside Vancouver City Hall, a 78-year-old man has been criminally charged.

Days after a political sign was erected outside Lululemon founder Chip Wilson's Vancouver mansion, the waterfront property has been vandalized with graffiti.

Toronto Coun. Michael Thompson 'forced himself on' a woman who awoke to find him standing over her after she fell asleep drunk, the Crown alleged Monday, as the five-day sexual assault trial of the six-term politician began in Bracebridge, Ont.

A disgraced Winnipeg high school football coach convicted of sexual assault and luring will spend 20 years behind bars.

Federal lawyers are expected to argue in Federal Court this week that the government has no legal duty to provide First Nations with clean water, even if Liberal ministers suggest otherwise at news conferences, in response to a national class-action lawsuit launched by a northern Manitoba First Nation.

In a video of an online meeting, the B.C. Conservative leader appears to be in support of putting health officials involved in the COVID-19 response on trial in a way similar to how Nazis were prosecuted after the Second World War.

A disgraced former high school football coach was taken into custody Monday afternoon in front of a Winnipeg courtroom packed with supporters of his victims, after being sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexually abusing nine players over more than a decade.

A 4.5-magnitude earthquake was recorded in Iran’s province of Semnan southeast of the capital Tehran on October 5

According to the source, Sinwar sent a number of messages to HAMAS mediators in Qatar recently

«We will choose the exact location and the way of the response,» the Jewish state’s Permanent Representative to the UN Danny Danon has told

A similar statement was made by a spokesperson for the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence in early September

The Lebanon 24 news portal said ground targets for Israeli strikes included military intelligence headquarters and ammunition depots

London gave up its last African colony to hold on to the Diego Garcia military base for the US, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said Read Full Article at RT.com

A Russian court has sentenced 72-year-old US citizen Stephen Hubbard, who was found guilty of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine Read Full Article at RT.com

The 20 Haitians who were picked up by the police following their arrival by boat at a beach in Kensington, Portland, on Saturday, were repatriated Sunday night. The group, which was comprised of 14 men, four women and two boys, was ...

The People's National Party's representatives in Southeast St Ann and North Clarendon are calling for the authorities to take immediate action to repair the collapsed bridge in Pedro River, which links the two parishes. The bridge...

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the African Union (AU) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance effective cooperation and collaboration between the organisations. According to a statement...

Some students at Old Harbour High School in St Catherine now have reliable transport after the institution received a 29-seater bus, donated by the Japanese Government. The vehicle, valued at more than $11 million, will cater mostly to students who...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge today ordered Google to tear down the digital walls shielding its Android app store from competition as a punishment for maintaining an illegal monopoly that helped expand the company's internet empire...

The European Court of Justice has ruled against France’s attempts to ban the use of meat-related terms for plant-based products Read Full Article at RT.com

Families who lost loved ones on October 7 have focused their anger on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Read Full Article at RT.com

The Ukrainian leader has tough choices to make, and if he gets them wrong the situation may spiral out of control Read Full Article at RT.com

Tehran has worked out plans to respond harshly to any strike by Israel, the IRGC-linked Tasnim news agency has warned Read Full Article at RT.com

Alberta's minister of public safety and emergency services, Mike Ellis, told a federal committee Monday that the provincial government had reduced decision-making power during the immediate aftermath of the Jasper wildfire, but still must foot the recovery bill.

Les produits sucrés sont assujettis depuis 2002 à la TCP, la Taxe de Consommation pour la Prévention. Le territoire veut à partir de 2025, augmenter la TVA appliquée aux biscuits, glaces et autres sodas. Son taux devrait ainsi passer de 5 à 16%. C’est une question de santé publique pour les autorités, dans un pays où 25% des habitants souffrent de diabète.

«For a variety of reasons» UNIFIL and the Lebanese armed forces have been failing «to prevent Hezbollah from sitting in those areas just over the border from Israel and launching rocket strikes and other attacks against Israel.», US Department of State Spokesperson said

Four violations of the deconfliction protocols of December 9, 2019 linked with the flights by the US-led coalition unmanned aerial vehicles were reported in Syria in the past day