Canberra, Australia | Xinhua | Australian researchers have found that beta-blockers with effectiveness for cancer could potentially be used to treat COVID-19. In a study published recently, researchers from the University of South Australia (UniSA) working with a team in Naples found evidence in animals that the beta-blocker Propranolol can …
Read More »Gov’t to release first batch of Rwenzururu royal guards
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Government is set to release part of the Rwenzururu royal guards who have been in jail since 2016, URN has learnt. The royal guards were picked when the army raided Rwenzururu Kingdom palace on November 27, 2016, leading to the death of more than 100 …
Read More »Boys, men faced increased sexual violence during lockdown
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A survey by the Makerere University School of Public Health has indicated that many more men and boys are being battered, sexually abused, or forced into sex by women. The finding is based on a survey conducted in August 2020, among 2,500 adolescent boys and …
Read More »UDB receives applications for tourism sector grant
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Development Bank-UDB has so far received 41 applications from tourism operators seeking to access funds to recover from the effects of Covid-19. In July, the Ministry of Tourism negotiated a 6M Euro (25.2 billion) stimulus package from the EU towards the private …
Read More »Acholi leaders decry poor funding to roads sector
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Leaders in the Acholi sub-region have asked for increased funding to the road sector. Due to inadequate funding, several roads in the region remain in a poor state which has affected service delivery. Douglas Okello Peter, the LCV chairperson Omoro district says currently, the district …
Read More »Rural children losing interest in learning as pandemic rages
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A government-supported survey casts a looming expansion of the education and prosperity gap between rural and urban children caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, the government directed the closure of all schools and tertiary institutions sending home more than 12 million children until …
Read More »Equal Opportunities Commission boss granted bail
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Equal Opportunities Commission chairperson Sylvia Muwebwa Ntambi has been granted bail by the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala. Ntambi was granted bail by the Grade One Magistrate Moses Nabende. She was asked to deposit a cash bail of 3.5 million shillings, deposit her passport …
Read More »Experts urge Africa to promote biotechnology to spur agricultural development
Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | African agricultural experts have called on governments, development agencies and regional economic communities to integrate biotechnology into the continent’s agricultural development. The experts also urged governments to strengthen and harmonize biotechnology policies and biosafety regulations to create an enabling environment for biotechnology development in Africa. …
Read More »Ministry of Works starts repairs on damaged bridges in Kasese
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Works and Transport has started rehabilitating bridges in Kasese district that were destroyed by floods. Several bridges were damaged by floods which ravaged the district in May. The destruction has since paralyzed transport and affected social services. Andrew Zirimenya, the senior …
Read More »FPU impounds illegal fishing boats, nets in Apac district
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Fisheries Protection Unit-FPU has recovered about 200 illegal fishing boats and 113 fishing nets in operations covering eight landing sites on Lake Kwania in Apac district. A statement by the army issued on Tuesday says the operations were conducted between August and October 2020, …
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