KIGALI (Reuters) – Rwanda has said it would withdraw from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), underscoring diplomatic tensions in the region over an offensive this year by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo. Kigali had expected to assume the chairmanship of the 11-member bloc at a meeting on Saturday in Equatorial Guinea. Instead, the bloc kept Equatorial Guinea in the role, which Rwanda’s foreign ministry denounced as a violation of its rights. Rwanda, in a statement, condemned Congo’s “instrumentalization” of the bloc and saw “no justification for remaining in an organization whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles.” It wasn’t clear if Rwanda’s exit from the bloc would take immediate effect.

 

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BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential contender, survived an initial operation for his injuries after being shot in Bogota on Saturday, according to his wife and the hospital treating him, although he remains in intensive care. Uribe, 39, is a member of the opposition right-wing Democratic Center party and was shot in the head during a campaign event in a public park in the Fontibon neighborhood. A boy under 15 years of age was arrested after the shooting, the attorney general’s office said in a statement on Saturday, adding he was carrying a 9-millimeter Glock-type pistol. The government said it is investigating if there were other potential perpetrators. Leftist President Gustavo Petro urged an investigation into who had ordered the attack in remarks late on Saturday. Campaigning is just beginning for the country’s 2026 presidential election and Uribe, who is from a prominent political family, does not have a well-known platform so far. It was unclear why he was targeted in the attack. 

 

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BERLIN (AFP) – Germany’s armed forces have three years to acquire the equipment to tackle a possible Russian attack on NATO territory, the head of military procurement says. Defense spending has risen up the political agenda since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and more recently with the United States pushing NATO members to increase their commitments. “Everything necessary to be fully prepared to defend the country must be acquired by 2028,” Annette Lehnigk-Emden, head of the Federal Office for Military Procurement, told the Tagesspiegel newspaper. Germany’s chief of defense, General Carsten Breuer, recently warned that Russia could be in a position to “launch a large-scale attack against NATO territory” as early as 2029. He said there was a Russian build-up of ammunition and tanks for a possible attack on NATO’s Baltic members. Lehnigk-Emden said that Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s new government was enabling the upgrade by allocating hundreds of billions of euros for defense.

 

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BANGKOK (Reuters) – Cambodia’s Defense Ministry confirmed on Sunday that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to return their troops to previous border positions after a clash in which a Cambodian soldier was killed prompted both to reinforce their military presence. The Cambodian statement, which said both sides wished to ease tensions following the incident in an undemarcated area on May 28, came after Thai Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said both countries were in talks to defuse the situation and would revert to positions agreed in 2024. For days, the two governments have exchanged statements, saying they were committed to finding a peaceful resolution. Neither gave details about where or to what extent their military forces had been reinforced at the weekend. Thailand operates 17 official border crossings with Cambodia, spanning seven provinces along their shared 817 km (508 miles) frontier, Thai government data shows. 

 

 

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ROME (Dispatches) – Italians started voting in referendums on easing citizenship rules and strengthening labor protections amid concerns that low turnout may deem the poll invalid. Voting began on Sunday and will continue through Monday. The citizenship question on the ballot paper asks Italians if they back reducing the period of residence required to apply for Italian citizenship by naturalization to five years. A resident from a non-European Union country, without marriage or blood ties to Italy, must currently live in the country for 10 years before they can apply for citizenship, a process that can then take years. Supporters say the reform could affect about 2.5 million foreign nationals living in the country and would bring Italy’s citizenship law in line with many other European nations, including Germany and France. The measures were proposed by Italy’s main union and left-wing opposition parties. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said she would show up at the polls but not cast a ballot. The left has criticized the action as antidemocratic, since it would not help reach the necessary turnout threshold of 50 percent plus one of eligible voters to make the vote valid.

 

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BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovakia will block any European Union sanctions against Russia that damage its national interests, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Sunday after parliament approved a resolution calling on the government not to back any new measures. Fico said that Slovakia wanted to stay constructive within the bloc, but he called the resolution a political tool with a strong message. “If there is a sanction that would harm us, I will never vote for it,” Fico told a news conference shown on his party’s YouTube page. Slovakia, a NATO and European Union member, has diverged from Western allies in its position on Ukraine under Fico and his leftist-nationalist government coalition, and stopped official state military aid to Kyiv as it battles Russia’s war. Fico has also been an opponent of sanctioning Russia for its war against Ukraine, saying trade measures damage Slovakia and the EU more than Moscow.