Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Lessons encouraged by the Education Ministry during the lockdown do not promote learning and acquisition of life skills but push learners to cram according to educationists. Radio and television stations are currently conducting lessons in line with a call to ensure that every child …
Read More »Premier League’s ‘Project Restart’ gathers pace
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Tottenham became the latest Premier League club to open their doors to players on Tuesday as part of the “Project Restart” plan to finish the English top-flight season. The Premier League has been suspended since March 13 due to the coronavirus crisis but there …
Read More »UK develops virus contact-tracing app despite privacy fears
London, United Kingdom | AFP | A smartphone app developed by Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) could be rolled out within three weeks, its technology chief said on Tuesday, despite privacy concerns. Matthew Gould, head of the state-run service’s digital innovation arm NHSX, said the in-house app — reportedly favoured over …
Read More »Egypt tech firm aids virus fight with 3D-printed face shields
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Many healthcare workers in Egypt’s threadbare hospital system must provide their own protective gear, so when a digital design company started 3-D printing face shields, they gratefully accepted. Since the novel coronavirus first hit Egypt, medical doctor Yahya Diwer has been working all-night shifts as head …
Read More »Virus could double food insecurity in nine African countries: UN
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The spread of COVID-19 risks devastating countries across East Africa, where food insecurity could more than double in just three months, the United Nations warned Tuesday. The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that some 20 million people currently do not have secure provisions of food across nine countries in the …
Read More »Lift sanctions to prevent ‘disaster’ in Sudan: UN
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Sudan risks being plunged into a humanitarian disaster by COVID-19 unless sanctions are lifted and donors provide financial support, the UN rights chief said Tuesday. Without international backing, the country’s transition towards peace and stability could swing into reverse, Michelle Bachelet said in a statement. A year has passed since …
Read More »UGX 1.7bn recovered since establishment of State House Anti-Corruption Unit
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The State House Anti-Corruption Unit has recovered a total of 1.73 billion shillings since its inception two years ago. Addressing a press conference at the media centre on Tuesday about the achievements of the unit, Ofwono Opondo, the Executive Director of the Media Centre …
Read More »President Museveni finally signs Sugar Bill into Law
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has assented to the controversial Sugar Bill putting to an end the push and pull he had with parliament. The president had earlier on declined to assent the bill saying the absence of zoning in the sugar industry would kill the economy …
Read More »Jinja hospital director disowns postmortem report in RDC Sakwa’s trial
Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The director of Jinja Regional Referral hospital Florence Tugumisirize has told journalists that the postmortem report which confirms that late Charles Isanga died as a result of blunt force trauma was not conducted at their mortuary. Isanga, a trader from Lwanda village in Mafubira …
Read More »LDUs deployed in Bududa to enforce Covid-19 directives
Bududa, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Local Defence Unit-LDU personnel have deployed in Bududa district following defiance by residents to comply with the presidential directives. Amongst the directives that residents have defied include physical distancing, curfew and social gatherings among others. Stephen Mutsaka, the LCI chairperson Kuushu cell in Kuushu …
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