Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has announced a 14-day ban on public transport to curb the spread of the coronavirus. In a televised address on Wednesday, Mr. Museveni said the ban will take effect immediately. This includes the ubiquitous boda-bodas, as the motorcycle taxis are locally known. Private cars will only be allowed to carry three […]

Kenya has banned the importation of second-hand clothes, popularly known as “mitumba”, as a way of limiting the spread of coronavirus. “Importation of used clothes is suspended with immediate effect to safeguard the health of Kenyans and promote local textiles,” Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper quoted Trade Minister Betty Maina as saying. Many people buy second-hand […]

India on Thursday announced a 1.7 trillion rupee ($22.6 billion) economic stimulus plan that will be released through direct cash transfers and food security measures aimed at giving relief to millions of poor hit by the nationwide lockdown in the country. “We have come with a package which will immediately take care of the welfare […]

Two rockets slammed into the Iraqi capital’s high-security Green Zone early Thursday, hours before US-led forces were set to pull out of a second base in the country. Some 7,500 troops are in Iraq as part of the US-led coalition helping local troops fight jihadist remnants, but those numbers are being significantly drawn down this […]

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday ordered a nighttime curfew to curb the spread of the coronavirus, while taking a massive pay cut and unveiling tax breaks to ease the economic impact of the crisis on citizens. In a lengthy address to the nation, Kenyatta warned he would not hesitate to take “more drastic measures” […]

A Paris appeals court on Wednesday granted Malian musician Rokia Traore conditional release despite ruling she could be extradited to Belgium over a child custody dispute — a decision her lawyer vowed to contest. Singer and guitarist Traore was arrested on a European arrest warrant issued over a child custody battle when she arrived from […]

Israeli parliamentary speaker Yuli Edelstein on Wednesday announced that he would be resigning, after facing pressure from the opposition and a deadline from the Supreme Court. His unexpected announcement opens the way for a vote to elect his successor, for which the court had set a Wednesday deadline. Edelstein, a member of Israeli Prime Minister […]

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s former Health Minister and his financial advisor have been jailed five years with hard labour for misappropriating funds meant for the fight against the Ebola virus. According to court papers, ex-Minister Oly Illunga and his associate stole monies to the tune of $400,000 from Ebola funds. The two were convicted […]

Brazil’s top football clubs are handing over their stadiums to allow health authorities to turn them into field hospitals and clinics to fight the coronavirus pandemic. With football in the country suspended until further notice, more than half the clubs in Brazil’s Serie A have given up their stadiums as authorities in densely populated Sao […]

A Zimbabwe spokesman warned people against flocking to church Sunday in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, and even claimed that worshippers risked going to hell. “A quick survey around town (in the capital Harare) shows a lot of religious activity above 100 people,” government spokesman Nick Mangwana said on Twitter. “Let’s be responsible. All […]