Why Uganda could incur over Shs 800bn in agricultural losses Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Uganda risks losing up to Shs 800bn (US$218.3 million) in export revenue if the desert locusts are not halted in the coming weeks, according to the agriculture ministry. East Africa’s third largest economy …
Read More »Booming business of the booty-ful nut of the Seychelles
Au Cap, Seychelles | AFP | It is the world’s largest seed, and with a shape suggestive of a woman’s hips and myths of love-making powers, the coco de mer is an icon of the Seychelles. With a 10-kilogramme (22-pound) coconut wedged between his feet, experienced nut cutter Christophe Bristol uses …
Read More »Why coronavirus could help save China’s endangered species
Paris, France | AFP | The novel coronavirus outbreak in China may end up saving one of the world’s most trafficked animals after Beijing announced a total ban on the sale and consumption of the pangolin. The scaly mammal — listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature …
Read More »Sanders roughed up, hits back at Democratic presidential debate
Charleston, United States | AFP | Democratic White House hopefuls rounded on leftist frontrunner Bernie Sanders at a feisty debate Tuesday, attacking him as too extreme for American voters and a flawed challenger to President Donald Trump. Joe Biden, who needs a victory in South Carolina’s crucial primary on Saturday …
Read More »Do stories of bad news leave you feeling bad?
There are ways you can change that | THE INDEPENDENT | The news can be stress-inducing at the best of times. When the news is particularly worrying, many of us experience levels of anxiety so high that we can have difficulty coping. So how can we stay (reasonably) anxiety-free when …
Read More »Alone and frightened
Ugandan students in Wuhan-China cry out Kampala, Uganda | PATRICIA AKANKWATSA | Thomas Kanzira, a 25 old Ugandan is a student in Wuhan; the Chinese city in Hubei Province which is the epicenter of the new coronavirus that has infected over 60,000 people and killed about 2000. Wuhan which is …
Read More »Tycoon and a tea-seller’s son: Trump, Modi forge bonhomie
New Delhi, India | AFP | They hail from vastly different backgrounds — Donald Trump is the son of a property tycoon while Narendra Modi is a descendant of a poor tea-seller. Yet the two teetotallers, loved by right-wing nationalists in their home countries, share striking similarities that have seen …
Read More »Kampala traffic gets big change
What next as city’s busiest street goes car-less, gets recreation parks? Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Luwum Street has been one of the busiest motorized sections of Kampala city for years. Located just a block off the city’s main access; Kampala-Jinja Road, and connecting to the city’s main international …
Read More »War-ravaged South Sudan at a glance
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan is the world’s youngest country and also one of the poorest, crippled by a devastating civil war that has left tens of thousands dead. As rebel leader Riek Machar was sworn in as vice president ahead of the formation of a new …
Read More »Israel readies for third election in less than a year
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israel is bracing for an unprecedented third election in under a year, with voters eyeing an end to the deadlock but polls indicating another tight race despite criminal charges against the prime minister. Two previous votes in April and September last year failed to produce …
Read More »