Billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos enter space race | THE INDEPENDENT | The sky over the Spaceport America in Las Cruces, New Mexico, was afire with lightning on the night of July 10. The storm was sufficiently fierce to postpone Virgin Galactic’s planned rollout of its twin airships, mothership …

Financial scandal rocks inner circle of Pope Francis | THE INDEPENDENT | The Vatican has set a July 27 trial date for 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal and papal contender, on charges related to the Holy See’s 350 million-euro investment in a luxury London real estate venture. It is …

Maternal deaths increase as health workers shift to care for COVID-19 patients Kampala, Uganda | PATRICIA AKANKWATSA | Uganda’s response to COVID-19 has negatively impacted maternal, child and neonatal health, according to data by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The UNFPA says the biggest and longest lasting impact is …

Vaccine linked to rare condition in which the immune system attacks the nerves Africa, the continent with the world’s lowest vaccination rate, is going ahead with plans to procure Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine undeterred by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s warning about the inoculation. The FDA earlier this …

Why do we feel such a strong urge to share a juicy piece of gossip? | FRANK T. McANDREW | According to a Wall Street Journal article, some communities in the Philippines consider gossiping so horrible that they have outright banned it. But aside from the difficulty of enforcing this …

  Spontaneous outbreak or insurrection? South Africa | DAVID EVERATT | South Africans spent most of mid-July glued to their news outlets, from established media outlets to TikTok, from streaming news to old-fashioned printed words, to see just one thing: would Jacob Zuma blink? Would the country finally get some …

  The taxman is optimistic about future performance Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | The Commissioner General for Uganda Revenue Authority, John Rujoki Musinguzi, has an uphill task of collecting taxes from businesses and individuals that continue to face the COVID-19 pandemic hit. His supervisors at the Ministry of Finance …

Lifting the lid on dirty cooking fuels and calling for clean cooking solutions to millions of African households COMMENT | MO IBRAHIM AND MARY ROBINSON | When world leaders gather at summits to discuss global issues, do they ever stop to ask how the food was prepared or by whom? …

The level of intra-Africa trade is still low compared with the other continents in the world | THE INDEPENDENT | Rwanda has withdrawn from hosting the second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2021) citing logistical constraints related to the COVID-19 pandemic that has adversely affected the progress of construction of a new …

The risk of extending the COVID-19 lockdown could delay rebound in economic activity Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Uganda’s private sector activity slowed in June, the second time in a row, with businesses forecasting a dejected outlook for the few months ahead as a result of the ongoing second …