Mbale, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  A group of youths under their umbrella the Economic Youth Empowerment in Bugokho-Mutoto Sub County in Mbale district have embarked on the construction of TP taps for communities to promote handwashing as part of the preventive measures against the COVID-19 pandemic. The group targets to …

Conakry, Guinea | AFP |  Guinea’s President Alpha Conde has enacted a new constitution following a referendum last month on changes that critics fear are aimed at extending his time in office. Changing the constitution was hugely controversial in the west African nation, spurring mass demonstrations that left dozens dead. After …

Nakaseke, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  Authorities in Nakaseke are struggling to pool vehicles to help the surveillance team to respond to management of COVID 19. Last month, President Yoweri Museveni directed that all government vehicles at the district be surrendered to a pool to be overseen by the district health …

Gulu, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  The faculty of medicine at Gulu University is seeking Shillings 2.5 billion from government to commence diagnosis; epidemiological surveillance and monitoring of Coronavirus-COVID-19 cases.  The University has a state-of-the art Biosciences Research Laboratories with 18 workrooms including seven specialised laboratories designed for detection and containment …

Washington, United States | AFP |  In a residential neighborhood of the US capital, children are hunting for bears. Not the ferocious ones, of course — but stuffed animals peering out from neighbors’ windows. In Washington as in other cities and towns across America and around the world, the collective scavenger …

United Nations, United States | AFP |  The UN Security Council will on Thursday hold its first meeting on the coronavirus pandemic — by videoconference — after weeks of divisions among its five permanent members, diplomats said Monday. Last week, exasperated by the back-and-forth that has paralyzed the council, including between …

Dakar, Senegal | AFP |  A Senegal judge has granted Chad’s former dictator Hissene Habre two months’ leave from prison, where he is serving life for crimes against humanity, as the jail is being used to hold new detainees in coronavirus quarantine. Habre, who ruled Chad from 1982 to 1990, was …

Mbale, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  The Mbale District COVID-19 taskforce has temporarily closed Mbale Central Market over non-compliance to measures that were put in place to control the spread of coronavirus disease COVID-19.  The team that closed the market on Monday evening was led by the Mbale Resident District Commissioner …

Masaka, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s directive that restricted use of private and public passenger vehicles has turned into a high-earning opportunity to bicycle mechanics in Masaka district who are now profiteering from the ban.  In his address recently President Museveni asked people to stop driving public …

Amman, Jordan | AFP |  Jordan on Sunday started to deploy drones to fight the coronavirus pandemic, joining a host of Middle East countries using the technology to enforce curfews, deliver public health announcements and even monitor people’s temperatures. Jordan has declared five deaths and 323 cases of COVID-19 and says …