The Ugandan Air Force attacked and destroyed a big camp of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced Sunday.

The attack was conducted with the authorization of the Congolese government.

“Ugandans and other East Africans: This is to inform you that on Friday, with the authorization of the DRC government, the Ugandan Air Force attacked and destroyed a large ADF terrorist camp,” Museveni said on Twitter.

He noted that it was important for them to know the capacity Africa which possesses that can help it address chronic security challenges.

“The enemy, in desperation, has now fled beyond the boundary of our operations. The ignorant terrorists do not know that within just minutes -- not hours -- we can reach (them) with deadly fire, many areas, far beyond the line of the limit of exploitation,” said Museveni.

“Hence, on Friday, they got their deserved reward. Wherever they go, we shall reach them, as long as the Congo government allows us to operate with them,” he said, congratulating Ugandan and Congolese troops.

The Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda launched joint military operations to flush out the ADF in the east of DR Congo in late 2021.

But the operations have been criticized for doing little to improve the security situation, prompting calls by civil society groups to end them.

In the latest attack attributed to ADF rebels, two people were wounded by gunfire Sunday during an ambush that targeted a civilian vehicle on the Mbau-Kamango road in Beni territory, North Kivu, the Congolese military said.

The ADF have been attacking and killing civilians in eastern DR Congo for over two decades. The group killed more than 1,300 civilians last year, according to the UN.

The joint operations in North Kivu and Ituri provinces were launched following a triple suicide bombing in Uganda’s capital city Kampala in which seven people were killed and dozens injured.

The ADF pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2019.

Last year, the US placed the ADF on its list of “terrorist organizations” affiliated with ISIS. - James Tasamba, Anadolu Agency

The members of a Pakistani investigation team probing the death of journalist Arshad Sharif interrogated two people in Kenya with whom the slain journalist was staying.

The two members of the probe team met with Waqar Ahmad and Khurram Ahmad and asked them questions regarding the shooting incident in which journalist Arshad Sharif lost his life.

In his statement to the Pakistani sleuths, Waqar Ahmad said that Arshad Sharif had been staying at his guest house in Kenya for almost two months. Some ‘friend’ requested him to accommodate the TV anchor, he said adding that before their meeting in Nairobi, he met only once with Sharif at a luncheon. He said he had invited Sharif to his lodge at lunch which was situated out of Nairobi.

Waqar said that on the day of the incident, we ate lunch with Sharif at our lodge and after that ‘the journalist left the place with my brother Khurram Ahmad.’ He went on to say that after half an hour, he was informed that their vehicle came under fire.

While in his statement, Khurram Ahmad said that starting from their lodge there is an 18km-long stretch of dirt road and after that the carpeted road starts.

He said as they were only a few kilometers away from the carpeted road, some pebbles were thrown on the path and as soon as they crossed the pebble-filled dirt road, their vehicle came under fire. He said he got scared and accelerated the speed of his vehicle.  Pakistan Observer

Photo Courtesy Bloomberg

Embattled UK Prime Minister Liz Truss faces a brewing parliamentary rebellion if she is forced to abandon a key Conservative manifesto commitment on pensions as part of a frantic austerity drive.

Most Read from Bloomberg

• A Tense Pay Dispute Overshadows Nintendo’s Upcoming Bayonetta 3

• $200 Diesel Puts Biden in an Ugly Corner

• Trump Special Master Has ‘No Patience’ for Records Spats

• Putin’s War Escalation Is Hastening Demographic Crash for Russia

• Chinese Economists Tally Cost of Putin’s War, Warn on Deep Scars

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has refused to guarantee that he will stick to the Tories’ election pledge to raise the state pension in line with the highest of either inflation, wages or 2.5% -- known as the “triple lock.” 

Truss’s spokesman Max Blain also wouldn’t be drawn out on whether she would keep the triple lock at a briefing for journalists on Tuesday.

The uncertainty on pensions comes as government departments were told by the Treasury to find savings of up to 15% of their budgets, with no options considered off the table, in what is effectively a return to austerity.

It poses a new political problem for Truss and Hunt, with many Tory members of Parliament representing large numbers of older constituents who typically form their core voter base.

On Tuesday night, Tory MPs Maria Caulfield and Steve Double went public to say they would not vote for an end to the triple lock.

The Treasury also refused to deny that it is considering raiding the profits of banks and energy companies as it seeks to fill its funding black hole.

The Financial Times reported Hunt was considering a potential 33% effective tax rate for banks, made up of the new 25% corporation tax rate coming in next April, and an 8% surcharge. Currently banks pay an effective tax rate of 27% on their profits.

A Treasury spokesperson said: “We can’t comment on specific speculation, however the Chancellor and PM have been clear that difficult decisions will be required to restore economic stability, and no options are off the table.”

Truss held a private meeting with members on the pro-Brexit right-wing of her party late Tuesday as she sought to steady the ship following a desperate start to the week that saw Tory MPs openly plot her downfall.

In an attempt to solidify her position among hardline Brexiteers, the prime minister told the room she was committed to her existing policy on the Northern Ireland Protocol and recommitted to taking all EU law off the UK statute book by the end of next year, her deputy press secretary told reporters.

Truss faces a bruising encounter with Labour leader Keir Starmer at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday lunchtime, where the Tory backbenchers who can ultimately decide her fate will be watching closely.

The executive of the 1922 committee, which controls the rules that govern the Tory leadership process, meets Wednesday afternoon.

Hunt is set to address the 1922 Committee of rank-and-file Tory MPs at 5pm, according to a person familiar with the matter. Source: Bloomberg