COVID-19 Updates

Steinebrunn, Austria | AFP |  As in many Western countries, one of the shocks of the coronavirus crisis in Austria was how vulnerable farms were when suddenly deprived of foreign labour — but the country is having some success in getting Austrians to plug the gap. The Schreiber family farm in …

Budapest, Hungary | AFP |  A Budapest care home ravaged by the novel coronavirus has become a frontline in an escalating battle between Prime Minister Viktor Orban, emboldened by new emergency powers, and Hungary’s beleaguered opposition. Orban and the Budapest municipality, run by a liberal mayor, blame each other for a …

Kisoro, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  There is a dispute between local leaders and security officials in Kisoro district over the use of whips to enforce the Covid19 lock down. The disagreement started on Tuesday after soldiers stormed Kisoro and started whipping residents while ordering them to return to their homes. …

Moscow, Russia | AFP |  Elena Milashina had received death threats before. But they were never so direct or brazen. The erratic and iron-fisted leader of Chechnya in southern Russia, unhappy with her journalism about the coronavirus, put out an unambiguous call for violence against the reporter on social media this …

Paris, France | AFP |  The coronavirus pandemic blindsided international organisations, prompted individual states to unilaterally strike out alone and heralded a new chapter in the 21st century’s chief geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China. In the post-COVID-19 era, will multilateralism be dead? Regional and international organisations from the …

Mukono, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  City lawyer, Abdul Kiwanuka from Kiwanuka, Anyango & Tamale advocates has appeared before the Mukono Chief Magistrates’ court on charges of spreading disease. He was arraigned before the Mukono Chief Magistrate, Juliet Hatanga on Thursday following his arrest from Lutengo in Nama Sub County in Mukono …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Joe Burrow, who had a season for the ages in 2019 and was the overwhelming favorite to go No. 1, was snapped up by the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL’s first ever “virtual draft” on Thursday. Burrow was the massive odds-on favorite to go …

Gulu, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  Leaders in Gulu have translated the COVID-19 guidelines into vernacular to boost their response plan against the virus. The translation was done by an eight-member COVID-19 Gulu Task Force subcommittee on Risk, Communication and Community Engagement. The team included senior health workers and the material is …

Washington, United States | AFP |  The new coronavirus is quickly destroyed by sunlight, according to new research announced by a senior US official on Thursday, though the study has not yet been made public and awaits external evaluation. William Bryan, science and technology advisor to the Department of Homeland Security …

Madrid, Spain | AFP |  Real Madrid star Gareth Bale says there should be no rush to restart La Liga during the coronavirus lockdown as the Spanish football federation plans tests and a return to training. Testing players is being discussed with a view to completing the Liga season and thereby …