Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Bank of Uganda has further cut growth forecasts to just over 2 percent an indicator that the impact of coronavirus disease on the economy is deeper than earlier thought. In the June monetary policy statement issued on Monday, the central bank said that the …
Read More »Masaka activists warn of increased wetland encroachment under lockdown
Masaka, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | There is uncontrolled encroachment on wetlands in Greater Masaka region because of the ongoing lockdown, a survey by Action for Sustainable Development Initiative-ASDI has revealed. Antonio Kalyango, the Executive Director ASDI, says encroachers have taken advantage in the laxity of enforcing environmental protection laws …
Read More »Health experts warn of more COVID-19 cases in coming weeks
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandans should expect more Covid-19 positive cases and possible deaths according to health experts. Although Uganda has been reporting several Covid-19 cases since March, 2020, health officials say the pandemic has just arrived in the country. The officials say positive Covid-19 cases are set …
Read More »It’s 2021 or never for Tokyo, confirms senior Olympic official
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | High-ranking Olympic official Pierre-Olivier Beckers on Saturday made plain that the delayed Tokyo Olympics “will be held in 2021 or not at all”. The Belgian was reiterating the stance put forward by Japan and International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach that next year was the last chance to hold …
Read More »Brazil threatens to quit WHO, Trump says US beating pandemic
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has threatened to pull out of the WHO over “ideological bias,” as his counterpart Donald Trump said the US economy was recovering from the coronavirus pandemic while Europe slowly reopens its borders. From Africa to Europe to Asia, governments are …
Read More »USAID maternal health project exposes flaws in free health care
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has recommended that the government drops the public free healthcare system in favour of mechanisms that allow the low-income earners and the informal sector pool resources to service their health bills. The development comes as the …
Read More »International students seek help to return to their countries
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | International students want the government and Foreign Affairs Ministries in their home countries to make arrangements to evacuate them from Uganda given the economic hardships they are facing because of the lockdown. The students, some of whom have been in the country for three …
Read More »US faces unemployment crisis amid record trade drop
Washington, United States | AFP | In further signs of the crisis facing the world’s largest economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, new data Thursday showed US a record plunge in US exports as layoffs exceeded 42 million. The two key reports on economic health indicate that even as Wall Street regains …
Read More »Africa CDC tries to ramp up coronavirus tests as lockdowns ease
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Africa needs to triple its coronavirus testing in the coming months “to move ahead of the curve” as more countries ease lockdown measures, the director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. The continent has so far conducted 3.4 million tests, a figure that director …
Read More »Ugandan security teams have killed six people in COVID-19 operations
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Six lives have been lost in the hands of security agencies implementing COVID-19 guidelines over the last 75 days when the country was under a lockdown which was declared to contain the spread of the deadly disease. The victims were shot by soldiers of the …
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