Islamabad, Pakistan | AFP | With porous borders, creaking hospitals and large illiterate populations, Afghanistan and Pakistan face a potentially devastating health crisis after the new coronavirus erupted in neighbouring Iran. Islamabad has closed official border crossings while Kabul has suspended all travel to the Islamic republic, which has reported …

Manila, Philippines | AFP | Filipinos marked Ash Wednesday with a bow and a sprinkling of dust instead of a cross being daubed on their foreheads, as Asia’s bastion of Catholicism guarded against the spread of coronavirus. Leaders of the Philippine church urged priests to adapt the rite in order …

Charleston, United States | AFP |  Democratic White House hopefuls rounded on leftist frontrunner Bernie Sanders at a feisty debate Tuesday, attacking him as too extreme for American voters and a flawed challenger to President Donald Trump. Joe Biden, who needs a victory in South Carolina’s crucial primary on Saturday …

  Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for three decades before he was ousted amid the Arab Spring protests in 2011, died Tuesday at age 91. The once burly autocrat with the trademark sunglasses, who became frail after multiple surgeries towards the end of …

Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran’s deputy health minister confirmed on Tuesday that he has tested positive for the new coronavirus, amid a major outbreak in the Islamic republic. Iraj Harirchi coughed occasionally and wiped sweat from his brow repeatedly during a news conference in Tehran on Monday with government …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Many Ugandans are stuck with poor quality jobs, a fix that has seen them work longer hours but with falling earnings, a World Bank report has revealed. The report shows that due to poor quality jobs, value-added is very low even when people work. The report …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s economy needs to gradually create more jobs for its fast-growing and youth population. To accelerate economic growth and drive transformation, these jobs will need to bring higher labor productivity, says a new World Bank report launched today. The report, “Uganda: Jobs Strategy for Inclusive Growth,” …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | There was chaos in different city suburbs on Monday as police battled People Power activists protesting the death of their colleague, who they said was knocked by a police patrol vehicle. Ritah Nabukenya, 28 who was commonly known as Priya in People Power circles …

New York, United States | AFP | Harvey Weinstein was convicted Monday of sexual assault and rape but cleared of the most serious predatory sexual assault charges, a verdict hailed as a historic victory by the #MeToo Movement against sexual abuse. The jury of seven men and five women, delivering …

Beijing, China | AFP |  China’s top legislative committee on Monday began deliberating a proposal to ban all trade and consumption of wild animals, a practice believed responsible for the country’s deadly coronavirus outbreak. The official Xinhua news agency said the proposal was submitted to the Standing Committee of the …