Vaccination remains a key tool to prevent severe cases and deaths from COVID-19 infection Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua | The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Friday urged African health authorities to intensify COVID-19 prevention measures amid the emergence of a new variant. The Africa CDC …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Parliamentary Committee on Trade, Tourism and Industry has directed Uganda National Bureau of Standards-UNBS and National Drug Authority-NDA, to test all energy and health drinks to ascertain the levels of adulteration and caffeine. While meeting officials from UNBS, NDA and Uganda Communications Commission-UCC on …

Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | Tanzania’s national flag carrier, Air Tanzania, resumed daily flights to Kenya on Friday after a hiatus of more than 20 years amid renewed business relations between the two east African neighbors. The arrival of the Airbus A220-300 at 6:45 a.m. local time in Nairobi marked the …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Human rights lawyers have petitioned the Uganda Human Rights Commission-UHRC over extrajudicial killings of terror suspects. The lawyers under their umbrella, the Uganda Muslim Lawyers Association, Muslim Center for Justice and Law, and Network for Public Interest Law-NEPTIL, want the commission to open and conduct …

Brussels, Belgium | Xinhua | The European Union will not renew its mandatory approval system for COVID-19 vaccine exports when it expires at the end of the year, the European Commission said on Friday. This means that vaccine producers will no longer have to request authorization to export vaccines outside the …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Development Bank has developed a special financing program for women entrepreneurs, in response to concerns that most of the women cannot afford the terms and conditions generally set by the industry for capital. This is part of the bank’s measures aimed at rebuilding …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden announced Friday that the United States will impose travel restrictions on eight African countries as a new variant of the coronavirus has been detected on the continent. Per advice from his chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci, Biden said that starting Monday, his …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda People’s Defence Forces-UPDF is holding their own for allegedly supplying military and police uniforms to three suspected imposters. Arthur Nuwagaba, a warrant officer II attached to the finance office in the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence-CMI, Mbuya in Kampala was arrested on Thursday. His …

Hoima, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | People affected by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project in the Bunyoro sub-region are protesting delays by the government to compensate them for their land. The 1,443km crude oil export pipeline will transport Uganda’s crude oil from Hoima in Uganda to the Chongoleani …

Omicron (B.1.1.529): SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) classified on Friday the latest variant B.1.1.529 of SARS-CoV-2, which was first reported from South Africa, as a “Variant of Concern” (VOC), and asked countries to enhance surveillance and sequencing efforts. South Africa has seen …