Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Executive Director of the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), Prof. Pontiano Kaleebu has said the methods they use to test the coronavirus (COVID -19) are the same as those used for testing hepatitis B and HIV. Prof. Kaleebu’s assertion dispels fears among part …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda People’s Defence Forces –UPDF has cautioned the public against individuals masquerading as security officers enforcing curfew and other Covid-19 guidelines. Brig Richard Karemire, UPDF and Defence ministry spokesperson said it has come to the attention of the security agencies that individuals disguising …

Paris, France | AFP | From being a killer in the shadows, to having its own international day and UN programme, HIV’s emergence into a global reality can offer many lessons in how to respond to COVID-19, the head of the International Aids Society told AFP Thursday. Kevin Osborne, who has lived with HIV for nearly half his …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Gen Elly Tumwine, the Minister of Security has clarified that individuals who have been given stickers to drive their cars despite the ban imposed on vehicle movement across the country are not exempted from the dawn to dusk curfew. President Yoweri Museveni on Monday …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A section of Members of Parliament has questioned why they have been left out in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The MPs have also asked government for financial support to go to their constituencies and sensitize the public and also be issued with …

Baghdad, Iraq | AFP | As crude prices plunge, Iraq’s oil sector is facing a triple threat that has slashed revenues, risks denting production and may spell trouble for future exports. So what are the challenges facing the only significant industry in Iraq, as global oil prices fall to around $25 …

Paris, France | AFP | It’s the key that opens to door from total lockdown: serologic testing, which will show definitively who has contracted COVID-19 and is in theory safe to return to work. “Everyone’s waiting for serologic testing, the whole world,” said France’s Health Minister Olivier Veran. He said that …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Lack of resources, a muddle over confinement and incipient panic are hobbling the response to coronavirus in DR Congo, fuelling fears especially for Kinshasa, one of Africa’s largest and most chaotic cities. Almost all of the infections in the vast central African nation have occurred …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | The British government on Thursday said English Premier League footballers should take a pay cut, amid outrage at top-flight clubs using a furlough scheme for non-playing staff. Tottenham, Newcastle and Norwich have said they will use a government scheme to guarantee 80 percent of salaries …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Tottenham Hotspur’s South Korean striker Son Heung-min will report to a marines boot camp later this month to fulfil military service duties, a report said Thursday. All able-bodied South Korean men are obliged to serve in the military for nearly two years, making up the bulk of Seoul’s 600,000-strong …