Kasese, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A cholera outbreak has hit Kasese district in the past week and has so far killed three people in Nyakiyumba subcounty. The Ministry of Health has confirmed that up to 73 suspected cases have been handled so far by local health officials, with 53 of …
Read More »Fight to control national drugs body
Executive Director Kusemererwa’s troubles raise questions about why NDA’s top job has always been controversial Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | “I talk to you as who?” asked Donna Asiimwe Kusemererwa before denying the Independent an interview appointment. The Executive Director at National Drug Authority was probably still getting …
Read More »Madagascar plague kills 24, triggering WHO fears
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | The World Health Organisation said Sunday it was boosting its response to a plague outbreak in Madagascar that has killed 24 people, as the government banned public meetings to reduce infections. In a televised address Saturday, Prime Minister Olivier Mahafaly Solonandrasana said no public meetings or …
Read More »Don’t bathe more than once a week says designer Westwood
Paris, France | AFP | Flamboyant fashion designer Vivienne Westwood revealed the secret of her eternal youth Saturday — only taking a bath once a week. The 76-year-old queen of punk fashion let it slip after watching her husband Andreas Kronthaler’s spectacularly idiosyncratic show at Paris Fashion Week. Asked by reporters …
Read More »Thousands march in Dublin against Irish abortion laws
Dublin, Ireland | AFP | Thousands of demonstrators marched in Dublin on Saturday in favour of liberalising Ireland’s tight abortion laws ahead of a planned referendum on the fiercely-debated issue. Protesters chanted, “My body, my choice” and waved placards reading “Not the church, not the state, women should decide their fate” …
Read More »Fear of epidemic disaster as disease stalks Rohingya camps
Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh | AFP | Rashida Begum steers clear of the water pump near the reeking latrine shared by more than 100 families in a grim corner of Bangladesh that has grown into one of the world’s largest refugee settlements in just weeks. “The pump works, but the water stinks, …
Read More »Trump’s scandal-hit health secretary resigns
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump’s embattled health secretary was forced out of the US administration Friday amid a scandal over his use of costly private jets for government travel. Tom Price was the latest top official to join in a stream of steady and embarrassing exits …
Read More »Bed bugs are trying to get into your dirty laundry
Paris, France | AFP | Like a pining lover, bed bugs will seek out your smell and snuggle up to your worn clothes when you are not around, researchers said Thursday. This explains how these tiny, flightless, reclusive creatures have managed their meteoric spread around the world — by catching a …
Read More »Dutch website offers US ‘antidote’ to daily news grind
Amsterdam, Netherlands | AFP | A Dutch ad-free news website, which actively seeks contributors’ help in its reporting and foregoes breaking news in favour of deeper analysis, is about to expand across the Atlantic. Amid the blaring headlines, the breathless drama of 24-hour TV news, the lure of clickbait and …
Read More »Zika virus mutated around 2013, leading to birth defects: study
Miami, United States | AFP | Zika has been around for decades but only recently began to cause birth defects due to a single mutation the mosquito-borne virus likely acquired in 2013, researchers said Thursday. The report in the US journal Science explains for the first time how this once relatively …
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