Cape Town, South Africa | XINHUA | A new round of rolling power blackouts plunged South Africa into darkness on Tuesday as the country was struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a drop in demand due to the COVID-19 lockdown, Eskom has implemented three rounds of load shedding since the …

Madrid, Spain | XINHUA | FC Barcelona on Tuesday confirmed that sporting director Eric Abidal has left the club less than 24 hours after Quique Setien was sacked as team coach. The club gave the news in a communique which reads “FC Barcelona and Eric Abidal have reached an agreement …

Nairobi, Kenya | XINHUA | African countries should leverage on robust bilateral ties with China to boost action on COVID-19 pandemic and hasten growth of the continent’s manufacturing sector, experts said on Tuesday. Speaking at a virtual forum in Nairobi, the experts from Africa and China noted that Africa’s COVID-19 battle …

Kigali, Rwanda | XINHUA | Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) on Monday launched an automatic disinfection gate at its office in Rwandan capital city Kigali, as the Rwandan government plans to install such gates at the entrance of all public facilities to contain further spread of COVID-19. These gates will strengthen the …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | XINHUA | As the operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is expected to take place on Jan. 1st, 2021, the African Union (AU) says it keeps AfCFTA in track with digital technology in the wake of COVID-19. For the AfCFTA operationalization timeline to be …

Geneva, Switzerland | XINHUA | The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that the world needs to prevent vaccine nationalism so as to guarantee the equitable access and fair allocation of COVID-19 vaccines. Speaking at a virtual press briefing from Geneva, the WHO head said that …

Arua, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Five staff of Radio Pacis in Arua have been isolated at Arua hospital after they tested positive for COVID-19. The five include two security guards stationed at the radio station’s transmission mast, the station cashier and two presenters attached to the 94.5 fm studios …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Democratic Party-DP President Norbert Mao has said although the party was saddened by the defection of 11 of its 15 Members of Parliament and other senior members to the National Unity Platform-NUP headed by Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, they are working around the clock …

Rukungiri , Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Roland Mugume Kaginda, the incumbent Rukungiri Municipality Member of Parliament has been defeated in the Forum for Democratic Change- FDC party primaries. Kaginda lost to Dr Wallen Niwagaba Tumwiine who polled 130 votes against Kaginda’s 62 votes while Ingrid Turinawe, the National political …

Mbale, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Mbale Regional Referral Hospital has for the second time stopped admitting COVID-19 patients due to lack of space. The hospital director Dr Emmanuel Tugaineyo says that all the 50 beds in the COVID-19 isolation unit are occupied. Mbale Regional Referral Hospital serves 16 districts …