Berlin, Germany | AFP |  Germany is eyeing an almost complete return to normality in May, with plans to send all pupils back to school and to restart the top-flight football Bundesliga, according to a draft agreement seen by AFP Wednesday. “Even after initial steps to open up were introduced from …

Washington, United States | AFP |  “It’s so good to hear your voice.” “I was worried about you.” “What would you like to do today?” What sounds like ordinary banter between friends is in fact from a chatbot created with artificial intelligence. The custom-designed chatbots in this case come from California-based …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP |  Egypt’s economy had just started to recover after years of political turmoil and militant attacks when the coronavirus crisis hit, impacting especially its vital tourism sector. Now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government has loosened a strict curfew for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in an …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Like a global tsunami, the coronavirus pandemic has caused a huge loss of life and taken a massive economic toll. In the US economy, skyrocketing unemployment is the most-visible sign of the devastation: almost overnight, at least 30 million workers lost their jobs. The April …

Rome, Italy | AFP |  A sleek new bridge in Genoa built in record time is being acclaimed in Italy as a model for rebuilding the economy by investing in major infrastructure projects. Such stimulus is sorely needed as the country slides towards its worst recession since World War II because …

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  The Parliament National Economy Committee is expected in a few days to start  interfacing with sections of the Private Sector on the Covid-19 overall impact on the economy and among others discuss possibilities for a rescue package to Ugandans. Speaker Rebecca Kadaga directed the committee …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  Hakam Ibrahim was seven when, like most Sudanese girls, she became a victim of female genital mutilation — an age-old practice decried as horrific that the post-revolution government is now banning. A mother-of-four in her 40s, Ibrahim vividly recalls the traumatic experience of what remains a …

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  The Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng has warned administrators of regional referral and district hospitals against misuse of government property especially the  vehicles.  She said while districts of Buyende and Kaliro had earlier been given brand new double cabin picks to facilitate immunization …

Rabat, Morocco | AFP |  Morocco has rapidly expanded its fleet of drones as it battles the coronavirus pandemic, deploying them for aerial surveillance, public service announcements and sanitisation. “This is a real craze. In just weeks, demand has tripled in Morocco and other countries in the region,” said Yassine Qamous, …

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country has risen to 98, after a sample tested positive for the disease later on Tuesday.  Ministry of Health confirmed that the sample belongs to a 27- year old truck driver from Kenya who entered the country …