Combining two different COVID-19 vaccines provides protection on par with that of mRNA vaccines — including protection against the Delta variant | EWEN CALLAWAY | Study after study has shown that people who receive two different COVID-19 vaccines generate potent immune responses, with side effects no worse than those caused …
Read More »Afreximbank’s platform to promote cross-border trade in Africa
The digital platform is set to build trust and cut the transaction costs of trading in AfCFTA Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | The African Export-Import Bank’s new digital Customer Due Diligence (CDD) platform, called Mansa, is set to promote cross-border trade in Africa, says the product head Maureen Mba. …
Read More »Writers ignore risks to provoke Museveni
The Ugandan government is known for cracking down on writers who express strong dissent to President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the African country for 35 years. Despite the risks, two writers recently composed deliberately provocative pieces criticising the president. | HALIMA ATHUMANI | Early this month, Ashaba Annah wrote …
Read More »Uganda’s multi-pronged approach to revive economy
Outlook remains overcast by a mutating virus | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s economy has been struggling for some time now since the outbreak of coronavirus but the government and the private sector are coming up with numerous options to reverse the trend. On Oct. 20, the government released Sh 5.8trillion …
Read More »Nobel Peace Prize goes to journalists
It serves as reminder that freedom of the press is under threat from strongmen and social media | THE INDEPENDENT | Thirty-two years ago next month, I was in Germany reporting on the fall of the Berlin Wall, an event then heralded as a triumph of Western democratic liberalism and …
Read More »Sex, hope and activism
Meet ‘Uganda’s rudest woman’ | THE INDEPENDENT | Her sexually explicit protests have been likened to pornography, but Ugandan activist and writer Stella Nyanzi says sex is the most effective – and entertaining – way to shake people out of their apathy. “I learnt very early that there are some …
Read More »A facelift for Facebook
The business models of tech companies shouldn’t retain users’ private data as their real cash cow COMMENT | STEVEN HILL | If the testimony of whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former Facebook data scientist, before a U.S. Senate subcommittee told us anything, it was that tech companies cannot be relied upon …
Read More »Land acquisition for oil pipeline
Processes provide support to affected persons to ensure adequate compensation and improved livelihood COMMENT | GLORIA SEBIKARI | The Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) has noted recent media reports published in some local dailies alleging that the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Project Affected Persons (PAPs) are being mishandled …
Read More »Africa’s post-COVID-19 recovery
Countries need stronger data for coordinated and effective actions | COMMENT | NATHALIE DELAPALME AND JOHANNES JÜTTING | As a third wave of COVID-19 infections sweeps across Africa; the full impact of the pandemic on serious illness and mortality remains to be seen. In economic terms, the picture is already …
Read More »Scream therapy
The mental health benefits of horror movies | THE INDEPENDENT | Monsters under the bed, zombies rising from the grave, and chainsaw-wielding maniacs aren’t exactly the first things that come to mind when one is trying to conjure soothing images. Yet, for many horror movie aficionados, part of the draw …
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