London, United Kingdom | AFP | Stock markets picked up Wednesday on hopes for a strong US economic rebound even though retailers reported mixed results and US-China tensions continued to mount. Equities have enjoyed a broad advance for several weeks as virus infection and death rates slow, allowing governments to lift …
Read More »UEFA chief hopes Champions League will finish by ‘end of August’
Lisbon, Portugal | AFP | UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin is aiming to finish this year’s Champions League by the end of August as football in Europe slowly starts to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic. “Our plan is to finish it between now and the end of August,” Ceferin said in an interview with Portuguese …
Read More »Trump blames Chinese ‘incompetence’ for ‘mass Worldwide killing’
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump again lashed out at China Wednesday over the coronavirus pandemic, blaming Beijing for “mass Worldwide killing.” The early morning tweet, which also referred to an unidentified “wacko in China,” was the latest heated rhetoric from the White House, where Trump is making attacks on Beijing …
Read More »Egypt hospitals near ‘critical threshold’ in virus fight
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Three months after Egypt reported its first novel coronavirus case, medical experts warn the strained healthcare system of the Arab world’s most populous nation is nearing a “critical threshold”. Hospitals have been hit by a flight of doctors abroad in recent years while the frontline staff …
Read More »Burundians vote despite virus outbreak
Bujumbura, Burundi | AFP | Burundians voted Wednesday in tense elections to replace their long-ruling president, despite a coronavirus outbreak that the East African nation has largely ignored. The election comes after five years of turmoil sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term, which unleashed unrest that left …
Read More »Virus vaccine will be ‘global public good’: top US official
Washington, United States | AFP | If the United States is the first to develop an effective vaccine against the novel coronavirus, it has to quickly share it with the world, the head of the National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins, told AFP in an interview. President Donald Trump’s administration has …
Read More »Jinja RDC Erick Sakwa secures order to stay interdiction
Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Erick Sakwa, the Resident District Commissioner of Jinja has secured an interim order to return to the office until an application challenging his interdiction is disposed off. Sakwa was interdicted on May 4, 2020, but declined to vacate office on account that the interdiction …
Read More »Education Ministry asked to expedite guidelines for reopening schools
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Parliament has directed the Minister of Education to urgently present guidelines to be followed by parents with learners in candidate classes. While addressing the nation on Tuesday in regard to the easing of the lockdown occasioned by the outbreak of coronavirus disease in the …
Read More »Relief food distribution in Mukono halted over lack of fuel
Mukono, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Mukono district Covid-19 task force has failed to distribute relief food due to lack of fuel and personal protective equipment. Mukono was added to Kampala and Wakiso among the districts receiving food from the Office of the Prime Minister. The food is meant for …
Read More »Court pardons 43 persons arrested for violating lockdown guidelines
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | 43 men who were jailed for violating presidential directives on preventing the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have been cautioned and released by the court. The victims were arrested from different parts of Wakiso district and charged with doing an act that is most …
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