BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s parliament speaker on Sunday criticized Washington’s push to quickly to disarm the Hezbollah militant group, and called instead for a calm national dialogue to determine “the fate of those weapons.”
Nabih Berri, a key ally of Hezbollah who was instrumental in negotiating with Washington to reach a ceasefire that ended a monthslong war between Israel and Hezbollah in November, made the remarks in an address to the country commemorating the disappearance of prominent Shite cleric Moussa al-Sadr.
The Lebanese military will soon present a plan to the government on disarming Hezbollah by the end of the year, after President Joseph Aoun and most of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government endorsed a proposal by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack. Both since coming to power earlier this year have vowed to monopolize all weapons in the hands of the Lebanese military and security agencies.
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Kassim has refused to discuss the matter of the Iran-backed group and political party’s weapons until the Israeli military withdraws from five hilltops in southern Lebanon it controls and stops its near-daily strikes on Lebanon.
“We are open to discussing the fate of these weapons, which we Lebanese see as honorable, within the framework of a calm and consensual dialogue,” said Berri. He said that would be in line with Aoun and Salam’s policies.
Hours before the address, Israeli jets launched intense airstrikes over the southern Nabatieh province. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said they damaged some shops and homes. Israel said it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. Videos after the strike showed large smoke plumes coming from the rolling hills in the area. There was no immediate word of casualties.
The original ceasefire plan last November called for Hezbollah to disarm in southern Lebanon below the Litani River, while Israel would withdraw its forces from Lebanon and stop its strikes. Disarming the group and other non-state actors in other parts of the country was to be addressed in a later stage.
However, U.S. officials have told Lebanese authorities not to expect the Israelis to take any steps to withdraw before seeing some sort of disarmament plan go into effect.
Hezbollah insists that it has disarmed in the south and has done its part of the deal. Israel believes it is trying to rebuild its military capacities there.
What the U.S. is proposing now “goes beyond the principle of restricting weapons,” said Berri, who criticized Israel for its ongoing near-daily airstrikes.
In a recent visit to Lebanon, Barrack praised the government’s decision to disarm Hezbollah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli troops could begin withdrawing from southern Lebanon following Beirut’s decision, without giving any details.
Lebanese authorities fear a direct confrontation between the country’s military and Hezbollah. But Washington and Hezbollah’s opponents see the opportunity for a swift disarmament after Israel’s large-scale attacks in Lebanon that killed a slew of senior Hezbollah military officials, and after their key ally Bashar Assad next door in Syria was ousted in a lightning insurgency last December.
A low-level conflict between Israel and Hezbollah started a day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack against Israel from Gaza, when Hezbollah began launching rockets across the border in support of its Palestinian ally. The conflict escalated into war in September 2024, leaving more than 4,000 people dead and causing destruction worth $11 billion in Lebanon, according to the World Bank.
Lebanese army soldiers escort trucks carrying weapons handed over by Palestinian factions from Rashidiyeh refugee camp to the Lebanese army, as they pass in Tyre city, south Lebanon, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Voting began Thursday in Uganda’s presidential election despite a days-long internet shutdown that has been criticized as an anti-democratic tactic in a country where the president has held office since 1986.
Crowds gathered and long lines formed in some areas as polling station openings were delayed and voting materials were seen being delivered after the scheduled 7 a.m. opening time.
President Yoweri Museveni, 81, faces seven other candidates, including Robert Kyagulanyi, a musician-turned-politician best known as Bobi Wine, who is calling for political change.
The East African country of roughly 45 million people has 21.6 million registered voters. Polls are expected to close at 4 p.m. Thursday, according to the electoral commission. Results are constitutionally required to be announced in 48 hours.
Impatient crowds gathered outside polling stations expressing concerns over the delays Thursday morning. Umaru Mutyaba, a polling agent for a parliamentary candidate, said it was “frustrating” to be waiting outside a station in the capital Kampala.
“We can’t be standing here waiting to vote as if we have nothing else to do," he said.
Ssemujju Nganda, a prominent opposition figure and lawmaker seeking reelection in Kira municipality, told The Associated Press he had been waiting in line to vote for three hours.
In addition to delayed voting materials, biometric voter identification machines were not working properly, Nganda said, adding that delays likely will lead to apathy and low turnout in urban areas where the opposition has substantial support.
“It’s going to be chaos,” he said.
Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.
Museveni has served the third-longest term of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. Some critics say removing him through elections remains difficult, but the aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Museveni and Wine are reprising their rivalry from the previous election in 2021, when Wine appealed to mostly young people in urban areas. With voter turnout of 59%, Wine secured 35% of the ballots against Museveni’s 58%, the president’s smallest vote share since his first electoral campaign three decades ago.
The lead-up to Thursday's election produced concerns about transparency, the possibility of hereditary rule, military interference and opposition strategies to prevent vote tampering at polling stations.
Uganda's internet was shut down Tuesday by the government communications agency, which cited misinformation, electoral fraud and incitement of violence. The shutdown has affected the public and disrupted critical sectors such as banking.
There has been heavy security leading up to voting, including military units deployed on the streets this week.
Amnesty International said security forces are engaging in a “brutal campaign of repression,” citing a Nov. 28 opposition rally in eastern Uganda where the military blocked exits and opened fire on supporters, killing one person.
Museveni urged voters to come out in large numbers during his final rally Tuesday.
“You go and vote, anybody who tries to interfere with your freedom will be crushed. I am telling you this. We are ready to put an end to this indiscipline,” he said.
The national electoral commission chairperson, Simon Byabakama, urged tolerance among Ugandans as they vote.
“Let us keep the peace that we have,” Byabakama said late Wednesday. “Let us be civil. Let us be courteous. Let’s be tolerant. Even if you know that this person does not support (your) candidate, please give him or her room or opportunity to go and exercise his or her constitutional right."
Authorities also suspended the activities of several civic groups during the campaign season. That Group, a prominent media watchdog, closed its office Wednesday after the interior ministry alleged in a letter that the group was involved in activities “prejudicial to the security and laws of Uganda.”
Veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate, remains in prison after he was charged with treason in February 2025.
Uganda opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known as Bobi Wine, right, greets election observers, including former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, at his home in Magere village on the outskirts of Kampala, Uganda, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)
Billboards of Uganda President and National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential candidate Yoweri Museveni are seen in Kampala, Uganda, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Samson Otieno)
Electoral workers deliver ballot boxes to a polling station during presidential election in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Voters are reflected in a police officer's sunglasses as they wait in line after voting failed to start on time due to system failures during presidential election in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Voters wait to cast their ballots during the presidential election in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
