London, United Kingdom | AFP | The British government was under pressure Wednesday to set out its plans to end the coronavirus lockdown, as the country’s death toll approached 13,000. Keir Starmer, the new leader of the opposition Labour Party, said it would support the government’s expected decision on Thursday to …

Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | Aviation giant Emirates has launched a 10-minute coronavirus blood test for passengers departing from its Dubai home base, in what it claimed Wednesday as a first for the industry. The airline resumed limited passenger flights earlier this month after the United Arab Emirates grounded all commercial aircraft. The …

Paris, France | AFP | People infected with the new coronavirus may start spreading the virus several days before they have any noticeable symptoms, according to a new modelling study published Wednesday. The study comes as nations have broadened restrictions aimed at curbing the epidemic, amid concerns over patients who may …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Health Organization is purely focused on saving lives and halting the coronavirus pandemic, its chief said Wednesday after US President Donald Trump announced he was freezing funding for the WHO. “There is no time to waste. WHO’s singular focus is on working to serve all people to save …

  Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Operators of an online platform SafePal where persons who are sexually violated can report anonymously and be linked to support service providers report having an abrupt surge in the number of cases over the last two weeks. SafePal’s Community Linkage Officer Emmanuel Kateregga …

Hoima, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Government has stopped drilling at its geothermal locations at Kibiro in Hoima district, Panyimur in Pakwach district and Buranga in Bundibugyo district. This is after drilling in Kibiro in Hoima early this month saw spillage of sand, clay and mud into villages and onto …

Kampala, Uganda | Isaac Khisa | Airtel Uganda added 150 more network sites last year bringing the total number of network sites that the telecom company owns to 2,000, according to the its Managing Director, V.G Somasekhar. Somasekhar, who spoke to the journalists via Zoom, a cloud-based video telephony, online chat, …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | An Extraordinary Summit of the East African Heads of State which had been purposely convened to discuss the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been postponed on request by South Sudan. The summit which was to be held via video conferencing had been called …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Four victims of child prostitution have been rescued by Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA. The victims from Rukungiri and Iganga were handed over to KCCA by well-wishers. According to the KCCA Director of Gender and Community Services and Production Harriet Mudondo, the girls worked at …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A woman who lost her 22-year-old son in a shooting in Kakajjo, Bweyogerere two years ago has been awarded a compensation of 90 million Shillings. The deceased, John Opio Taban was shot on April 21, 2018 by a Police Constable identified as Robert Byamugisha …