Category World News

Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine says he escaped a police and army raid on his house as veteran incumbent Yoweri Museveni looks set to secure an overwhelming victory in the presidential election.

“I want to confirm that I managed to escape from them,” Bobi Wine, a former pop star whose real name is ​Robert Kyagulanyi, wrote in a post on X on Saturday.

“Currently, I am not at home, although my wife and other family members remain under house arrest. I know that these criminals are looking for me everywhere, and I am trying my best to keep safe.”

Bobi Wine on Friday said security forces had placed him under house arrest. His party later wrote on X that he had been “forcibly taken” from his residence by an army helicopter. The military rejected the allegation.

Bobi Wine, the country’s top opposition figure, had challenged longtime President Museveni in an election campaign that the United Nations said was marred by “widespread repression and intimidation”.

Museveni, 81, looked set to be declared the winner and extend his 40-year rule, in an election marred by reports of at least 10 deaths and intimidation of the opposition and civil society.

In his post to X on Suturday, Bobi Wine said his wife and other relatives remained under house arrest. He ascribed the reports of his own abduction on authorities blocking access to his home and neighbors misinterpreting the overnight “commotion” there.

He reiterated his “COMPLETE REJECTION” of the “fake results” being announced by the head of Uganda’s election body, Simon Byabakama, once again alleging ballot stuffing and the detention of other leaders of his party, the National Unity Platform.

“Aside from the blatant theft of the presidential election, these criminals have employed various fraudulent techniques to usurp the will of the people,” he wrote.

“The PEOPLE OF UGANDA WILL ULTIMATELY WIN.”

The opposition leader later posted videos to his X account of himself speaking from an undisclosed location in front of a Ugandan flag.

In them he demanded that the government end the internet shutdown it imposed ahead of the elections and release the “rightful” district vote tallies “so that the people of Uganda can see the rightful results in transparency.”

The vote is widely seen as a test of Museveni’s political strength, and nearly-final results gave him a commanding lead.

As of Saturday morning, Museveni, who ​has been in power since 1986, had won nearly 72 percent of votes, with more ‌than nine-tenths of polling stations counted, while Wine trailed with 24 percent, the electoral commission said.

Final results are due around 4pm local time in Kampala (13:00 GMT) on Saturday.

After a campaign marred by clashes at opposition rallies and the arrests of opposition supporters, voting passed peacefully on Thursday.

But at least seven people were killed when violence broke out overnight in the town of Butambala, about 55km (35 miles) southwest of the capital Kampala.

Local police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe said machete-wielding opposition “goons” organised by local MP Muwanga Kivumbi attacked a police station and vote-tallying centre.

Kivumbi, a member of Wine’s party, said security forces attacked opposition supporters who had gathered at his home to wait for the election results to come in. The opposition lawmaker said 10 people were killed.

Sitting in his Gaza City tent, Mahmoud Abdel Aal expresses his frustration and worries, as conditions in the Palestinian enclave remain unchanged since the implementation of a United States-brokered ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.

“There is no difference between the war and the ceasefire, nor between the first and second phase of the deal: Strikes continue every day,” Abdel Aal told the AFP news agency. “Everyone is worried and frustrated because nothing’s changed.”

Israeli attacks have persisted across Gaza, with at least 463 Palestinians killed since the ceasefire began in October last year.

Following US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff’s announcement of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan on Wednesday, more than 14 people were killed in the coastal territory, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency.

Amid a landscape of destroyed buildings and rain-damaged makeshift camps, Palestinians convey overwhelming bitterness. Though Israeli strikes have decreased in intensity since the ceasefire, daily bombings continue.

On Friday, an AFP photographer documented members of the Houli family walking through rubble after five relatives died in an air strike on their Deir el-Balah home in central Gaza.

Daily living conditions remain extremely precarious for most Palestinians, with more than 80 percent of infrastructure destroyed, according to the United Nations.

Water and electricity networks and waste management systems have collapsed. Hospitals operate minimally when functioning at all, and educational activities exist only as occasional initiatives. According to UNICEF, every child in Gaza requires psychological support after more than two years of genocidal war.

“We miss real life,” said Nivine Ahmad, a 47-year-old living in a displacement camp in southern Gaza’s al-Mawasi area, as she hopes to return to her home in Gaza City.

“I pictured living with my family in a prefabricated unit, with electricity and water instead of our bombed home,” she said. “Only then will I feel that the war is over.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says actors linked to the United States and Israel were responsible for killing “several thousands” of people during weeks of anti-government protests in the country.

“Those linked to Israel and US caused massive damages and killed several thousands” during the protests that convulsed Iran for more than two weeks, Khamenei said on Saturday.

He accused the two nations of direct involvement in the violence, describing US President Donald Trump as a “criminal”. “The latest anti-Iran sedition was different in that the US president personally became involved,” Iranian state media quoted him as saying.

Iranian authorities have increasingly pointed the finger at foreign powers for the unrest, accusing longstanding geopolitical rivals – mainly Israel and the US – of fomenting instability and directing operations on the ground.

Khamenei warned that while Iran would avoid escalation beyond its borders, those it holds responsible would face consequences. “We will not drag the country into war, but we will not let domestic or international criminals go unpunished,” he said.

Reporting from Tehran via satellite, Al Jazeera correspondent Resul Serdar said Khamenei’s remarks largely reaffirmed Iran’s longstanding position but also introduced a significant new claim on casualties.

Khamenei alleged a deeper level of US involvement than in past unrest. “He said that in previous protests there was a low level of intervention of the Americans, but this time the president of the United States was a central figure in this international plot against Iran,” Serdar added.

What stood out, however, was the scale of the alleged death toll. “One thing that is new in his speech is that for the first time he is actually giving a sense of the numbers of people killed,” Serdar said. “He is saying that the violent protesters have killed thousands of people.”

There is still no confirmed death toll, though US-based rights group, HRANA, says a further 3,000 have been killed in the protests. Until now, Iranian officials had publicly acknowledged hundreds of deaths, including members of the security forces.

Khamenei’s claim marks the first time the country’s top authority has spoken of casualties in the thousands.

Serdar noted that the claim aligns, at least partially, with assertions by some international human rights groups. “They have been saying that the death toll is much higher than what is being publicly announced by the officials,” he said.

Iranian officials also say some 3,000 people have been arrested over the protests.

Khamenei also accused protesters of widespread destruction, “including burning more than 250 mosque and medical facilities”, Serdar said.

According to Iran’s official narrative, protests initially began peacefully over rising prices and economic hardship on December 28 in several Iranian cities.

“The government was acknowledging their demands and the hardships that they are facing,” Serdar said, before adding that authorities now argue the demonstrations were later “hijacked by the violent protests who were receiving orders from the outside powers”.

Iranian officials claim those involved were “equipped, financed, and trained” by foreign actors, with Khamenei placing Trump “in the centre of this plot”.

Novak Djokovic can still crack a joke when discussing the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner rivalry that for two years has prevented him from becoming the most decorated tennis player ever.

“I lost three out of four Slams against either Sinner or Alcaraz in 2025,” he said in reference to the rivalry dubbed “Sincaraz” as he spoke on Saturday, on the eve of the Australian Open.

“We don’t need to praise them too much,” he added, smiling. “They have been praised enough! We know how good they are, and they absolutely deserve to be where they are. They are the dominant forces of the men’s tennis at the moment.”

Djokovic is starting a third season in pursuit of a 25th Grand Slam singles title, and has refined his approach for the Australian Open.

He withdrew from his only scheduled tuneup tournament, knowing he is lacking “a little bit of juice in my legs” to compete with two young stars at the end of the majors and that he has to stay as pain-free as possible.

Djokovic worked out how to beat Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the established rivals, before he turned it into the Big Three and then surpassed them both.

A winner of 24 major championships – a record for the Open era and tied with Margaret Court for the most in the history of tennis – the 38-year-old Djokovic is doing everything to keep himself “in the mix”.

Djokovic last won a major title at the 2023 US Open. Sinner and Alcaraz have split the eight since then. Sinner has won the last two Australian titles, and Alcaraz is in Australia, determined to add the title at Melbourne Park to complete a career Grand Slam.

Despite being hampered by injuries, Djokovic reached the semifinals at all four majors last year. A torn hamstring forced him to quit his Australian Open semifinal after ousting Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

By reminding himself that “24 is also not a bad number,” Djokovic said he is taking the “now-or-never type of mentality” out of his every appearance at a major, because it is not allowing him to excel at his best.

“Sinner and Alcaraz are playing on a different level right now from everybody else. That’s a fact,” Djokovic said, “but that doesn’t mean that nobody else has a chance.

“So I like my chances always, in any tournament, particularly here.”

The 10-time Australian Open champion starts Monday in a night match on Rod Laver Arena against No 71-ranked Pedro Martinez of Spain. Seeded fourth, he is in the same half of the draw as top-ranked Alcaraz. That means they can only meet in the semifinals here.

Djokovic has not played an official tournament since November.

“Obviously took more time to rebuild my body, because I understand that in the last couple of years, that’s what changed the most for me – takes more time to rebuild, and it also takes more time to reset or recover,” he said. “I had a little setback that prevented me to compete at Adelaide tournament … but it’s been going on very well so far here.”

He said there’s “something here and there” every day in terms of aches and pains, “but generally I feel good and look forward to competing.”

Djokovic cut ties earlier this month with the Professional Tennis Players Association, a group he co-founded, saying “my values and approach are no longer aligned with the current direction of the organisation.”

Djokovic and Canadian player Vasek Pospisil launched the PTPA in 2020, aiming to offer representation for players who are independent contractors in a largely individual sport.

“It was a tough call for me to exit the PTPA, but I had to do that, because I felt like my name was … overused,” he said.

“I felt like people, whenever they think about PTPA, they think it’s my organisation, which is a wrong idea from the very beginning.”

He said he is still supporting the concept.

“I am still wishing them all the best, because I think that there is room and there is a need for a 100% players-only representation organisation existing in our ecosystem,” he added.