Rukungiri , Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Farmers in Rukungiri district are battling the invasion of black coffee twig borers. The farmers argue that the disease has affected their expected output. Adrine Twakiire, a farmer from Buhunga sub county says that her two acres of coffee plantations were growing perfectly last …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ministry of Health has rescheduled the planned yellow fever mass vaccination campaign that was expected to start this week. The exercise was scheduled to take place in Bulisa, Maracha, Koboko, Yumbe, Moyo and Obongi districts which reported cases of yellow fever 2019. The vaccination …

Hoima, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Blood Transfusion Service-UBTS is struggling to get blood donors in Hoima region. Hoima region supplies blood to 18 health facilities, among them; Hoima Regional Referral Hospital, Kagadi Hospital, Buliisa Hospital, Kiboga Hospital, Masindi Hospital, Kibaale Hospital, Kikuube Health Centre IV, Ntwetwe Health Centre …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Few generals would choose to fight a war on two fronts, against a foe that is nearly invisible and at times seems to have the terrifying ability to surface anywhere. Yet this is exactly the mission that Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe has taken upon himself, and …

Paris, France | AFP | In the emergency rooms of virus hotspots around the world, medical staff are seeing a greater number of men than women suffering severe symptoms of COVID-19, with obesity emerging as another potentially aggravating factor. But experts are still unsure why. What first began to appear as …

Rome, Italy | AFP | Criminal organisations in Italy are distributing food and ordering interest-free lending to the needy to try to extend their influence, Italian anti-mafia author Roberto Saviano has warned. Italy’s mafia groups are also poised to snatch up struggling businesses as the country — which is in crisis …

Zurich, Switzerland | AFP | FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Friday said that “no match” is worth “risking a single human life” and that world football’s governing body would be able to help financially national federations during the coronavirus pandemic. The majority of top football leagues and international competitions have been suspended due to the …

Paris, France | AFP | The Archbishop of Paris led a small prayer ceremony Friday at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, marking the start of the Catholic Easter weekend one year after a fire that nearly destroyed the world heritage monument. “There is still life here,” Archbishop Michel Aupetit said after he …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kampala Central Police Station –CPS has launched a manhunt for security guards accused of locking up suspected thugs in a city building. It follows the arrest of 30 suspected thugs from Platinum Complex in Nakasero on Thursday night in an operation led by Ivan Nduhura, …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Health Organisation on Friday denied having brushed off a Taiwanese warning on human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus soon after its outbreak in China late last year. The US has accused the body of “putting politics first” by ignoring Taiwan’s warning in late December, …