Moscow, Russia | AFP | The coronavirus pandemic might have brought the film industry to a halt but Andrei Konchalovsky, one of Russia’s most renowned film and theatre directors, is as busy as ever. He wants to make a documentary about daily life under quarantine, exploring the poetic side of the …
Read More »Spaniards flock outdoors as European countries ease lockdowns
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Spaniards took to the streets to jog, cycle and rollerskate for the first time following 48 days of confinement on Saturday as some European nations cautiously eased coronavirus lockdowns while Russia reported a sudden surge of infections. As governments weigh lifting restrictions to restart economies, US …
Read More »Masindi COVID-19 patient transferred to Hoima regional referral hospital
Masindi, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A patient who tested Positive to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Masindi district has been transferred to Hoima Regional Referral hospital for specialized medical attention. The patient who is a police officer attached to Masindi Central police station was confirmed on Saturday through the ongoing health …
Read More »Las Vegas torn by virus as casinos clamor to reopen
Las Vegas, United States | AFP | A smattering of cars drove past the eerily quiet hotels and casinos, shuttered since mid-March, while a handful of tourists gathered by the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign to take photos. But beneath the quiet of the world-famous Strip, Sin City is in …
Read More »In defense of Shs 10 billion for MPs
Why Kadaga is right and Museveni is wrong about the role of MPs in the Coronavirus fight THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | Uganda’s elites are very angry that their legislators allocated themselves Shs10 billion to aid the fight against the coronavirus. Many see the act as a …
Read More »Kadaga, Museveni fight
It’s not just about money Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga is facing a public relations disaster for allocating Shs20 million to each MP, ostensibly to do supervisory and advocacy work in the government fight against the Coronavirus disease COVID-19. But her reaction to President …
Read More »‘It doesn’t come this far’: how rural S.Africa views coronavirus
Letsitele, South Africa | AFP | From his garden in South Africa’s remote Limpopo province, Gilbert Phakola chuckled at a group of healthcare workers knocking on doors to test rural inhabitants for coronavirus. “You guys are coming to fight the virus?,” asked the 80-year old pensioner, bemused by the mask-clad parade …
Read More »Robot helps Tunisia medics avoid infection from virus patients
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Medics have deployed a robot in a Tunisian hospital caring for coronavirus victims to limit contact between staff and infected patients, in a first for the North African country. The tall, single-limbed machine is mounted on wheels and is capable of taking pulses and checking temperatures and blood oxygen levels. It …
Read More »Yemen’s qat markets flourish despite virus threat
Sanaa, Yemen | AFP | While many of the world’s markets have closed to curb the spread of coronavirus, in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, downtown districts selling qat — the ubiquitous mild narcotic — still bustle with people. Flouting social distancing rules, Yemenis jostle to select bunches of the chewable leaf from …
Read More »A decade after debt crisis, Greece on verge of virus recession
Athens, Greece | AFP | Ten years after sinking into its worst economic crisis in living memory, Greece once again faces the spectre of a grave recession in the midst of a global coronavirus lockdown. Though the country has so far been spared the death toll of other European nations at …
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