Top of the Morning: Donors Suspend Aid to Uganda; USA Pulls Support from Syrian Opposition Group

Top stories from DAWNS Digest, a mobile app and news clips service for global news junkies.

USA Withdraws Support For Syrian National Council

A frustrated USA is now very firmly hedging against Syria’s main umbrella opposition group. “The United States called on Wednesday for an overhaul of Syria’s opposition leadership, saying it was time to move beyond the Syrian National Council and bring in those ‘in the front lines fighting and dying’. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, signaling a more active stance by Washington in attempts to form a credible political opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said a meeting next week in Qatar would be an opportunity to broaden the coalition against him. ‘This cannot be an opposition represented by people who have many good attributes but who, in many instances, have not been inside Syria for 20, 30, 40 years,” she said during a visit to Croatia.’” (Reuters http://reut.rs/TZ3KkM )

UK, Ireland, and Denmark Suspend Aid to Uganda

This is a story to watch as other donors may soon begin withdrawing and suspending aid over allegations of corruption. “Britain has joined Ireland in suspending aid to Uganda’s office of the prime minister. The move comes after a draft report by Ugandan’s auditor-general found that over $15 million [€12 million] in aid had been transferred to unauthorized accounts in the office of the Ugandan prime minister. The money was meant to have been spent on helping the needy, and to help pay for a ‘peace recovery and development program’ in northern Uganda after decades of conflict and devastation. The Ugandan government has pledged prosecutions. Two senior officials have been charged, while 17 others have been suspended as the investigation continues.” (VOA http://bit.ly/TZ4R3T) (And Denmark, which is a major donor to Uganda: http://bit.ly/TZ5zy6)