Coronavirus death toll hits 1,000

As the death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak exceeds 1,000 people, the top two health officials in central China's Hubei's province, the epicenter of the outbreak, have been removed from their posts.

Chinese state media reported Tuesday that Zhang Jin, the Communist Party boss of Hubei's provincial health commission, and Liu Yingzi, the commission's director, have been dismissed.

The firings come a day after another 103 deaths were reported in Hubei province, where millions remain under lockdown and people are complaining of food shortages.  A total of nearly 43,000 cases across China have been confirmed by the central government.  

President Xi Jinping visited coronavirus patients at a Beijing hospital Monday and called for "more decisive measures" to contain the outbreak, Chinese state television reports.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday the spread of coronavirus between people who had no history of travel to China could be "the spark that becomes a bigger fire."

"In recent days, we have seen some concerning instances of onward transmission from people with no travel history to China," he said, citing new cases in Britain and France.

Britain declared the virus a "serious and imminent threat" to public health after reporting four new cases Monday, bringing the number of confirmed British cases to eight. Health Minister Matt Hancock's declaration gives the government more power to isolate people to keep the virus from spreading.

The center of the outbreak is China's Hubei province, where millions of people remain under lockdown and complaints of food shortages are rising. China's central bank is making $43 billion available to help businesses involved in fighting the epidemic.

The death toll from the coronavirus is higher than the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2002-03, which is believed to have killed 774 people and sickened nearly 8,100 in China and Hong Kong.

U.S President Donald Trump said Monday he expects the coronavirus outbreak to disappear in April because of the warmer weather. "The heat, generally speaking, kills this kind of virus," he said.

Health experts say the spread may ease in warm weather when people get out of doors and are not in such close contact with each other. But this is a new strain of coronavirus and some of the experts believe it is too soon to say if spring and summer will kill it off.

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Bebe Cool gifts manager, Producer with cool rides

By Paul Waiswa Bebe Cool has proved once again that he is a man with a big and golden heart. On Sunday, the singer surprised two members of his team with car gifts. Bebe gifted his manager, Ronnie Mutabazi and producer Ronnie, the brain behind hit songs like Enyanda by Sheebah, Tatizo by Chameleone, most […]
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“You Will Breathe Me In Up Close And Personal”-Maro Promises Ahead Of Valentine’s Day Concert

Singer Maro last hosted his fans at a concert dubbed 'Nzilanago' which he held in his district of birth Jinja, in September 2017. From that time, the fans have been waiting for yet another time to be taken on a 'Maro music trip' and finally, it  is this Friday the 14th of February at Mestil […]

The post “You Will Breathe Me In Up Close And Personal"-Maro Promises Ahead Of Valentine's Day Concert appeared first on Chano8.

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Golfers Party As Janzi Band Lights Up Ugandan-Themed Singleton Challenge

Over the weekend Afro-fusion outfit Janzi Band treated golfers and guests at The Singleton Challenge to a soothing performance at the 19th hole as the tournament's first round concluded at Entebbe Club. The gifted performers spiced the Ugandan Night themed event with a cocktail of traditional classics and a repertoire of notable covers. Clad in […]

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Fik Fameica copies WizKid

By Hussein Kiganda When Apass said Ugandan artists lack creativity, many puffed their mouths into their noses in anger but sincerely, he seems to be right. Ugandans are fond of copying Jamaicans, Americans and now have switched to fellow Africans from Nigeria. We are now copying the beats, the dances and the ideas as though […]
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Locusts: Gov't sends 18,000 litres of pesticides to Karamoja

Government has dispatched some 18,000 litres of pesticides to Amudat district in Karamoja sub-region to aid the aerial spraying of locusts that entered Uganda through the northwest Pokot area on Sunday.

The chemicals were loaded and airlifted this morning from Kololo airstrip by ministry of Agriculture and Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) personnel to combat the ravaging pests which have already destroyed acres of vegetation specifically in Okorikeya and Loro villages. 

The locusts entered Uganda yesterday at around 3.00 pm through Amudat, Nabilatuk and Nakapiripirit districts in Karamoja sub-region that share a common border with Kenya.

 

Government had earlier announced that three types of chemicals will be used for spraying the locusts, which are also plaguing other East African countries including Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya as well as Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen.

The chemicals to be sprayed include Fenitrothion 96 per cent low volume formulation, which is a phosphorothioate insecticide, Malathion, an organophosphate insecticide commonly used to control mosquitoes and a variety of insects that attack fruits, vegetables, landscaping plants, and shrubs as well as Pyrethroid a special chemical class often used by pest management professionals. 

Yesterday, state minister for Agriculture Aggrey Bagiire said that ministry of Agriculture has already prepared both manual and automatic pumps for dispatch early morning to Karamoja. He discloses further that they have in stock the chemicals for spraying some using motorized spray pumps and others manual. 

The locusts, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), travel in dense crackling swarms which can contain as many as 80 million locusts per square kilometre. They travel at least 150 kilometres a day and can destroy about 192 million kilograms of vegetation in two days.

Uganda has not had to deal with a locust infestation since the 1960s. FAO warns that locusts can reproduce rapidly and, if left unchecked, the current numbers could grow 500 times by June. A swarm can destroy as much food crops in a day as is sufficient to feed 2,500 people.     

 

United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres says the sudden locust infestation is a result of climate change. Guterres says that because the seas have become warmer, as a result of increased human activity, the world is seeing more cyclones, creating a perfect breeding ground for locusts. Heavy rainfall and warmer temperatures are favourable conditions for locust breeding according to environmentalists.

"Warmer seas mean more cyclones generating the perfect breeding ground for locusts," he said, calling for more ambition for mitigation and, especially for Africa's sake, more ambition on adaptation and financing to build the resilience of African countries and communities as they battle the locust invasion. 

Guterres was addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the annual African Union Summit, a gathering of 55 African nations in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa last evening.

He emphasized that although Africa has done the least responsible for accelerated global warming, it is suffering the most devastating effects, calling on the developing countries to rise up 'for Africa's sake' and control their emissions. 

"I express my deep solidarity with the people and communities affected. The United Nations has issued an urgent appeal for assistance. I ask the international community to respond with speed and generosity to ensure an effective response and control the infestation while we still have the chance," Guterres said. 

He equally commended Africa's longstanding moral and political leadership on the climate emergency. FAO has estimated that $76 million is needed to scale up efforts to control the rapid spread of this pest and FAO director-general QU Dongyu has called for urgent action to combat the upsurge. So far, more than $18 million has been donated to the efforts to fight the upsurge.

The agency is already working with local and national governments and partners, supporting surveillance and control operations and initiating efforts to safeguard livelihoods and assist in the longer-term recovery and resilience of those affected.

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Juma Seiko shoots, injures four in Kalerwe shooting

Lt. Col. Juma Seiko on Sunday shot and injured at least four people in Kalerwe, Kawempe Division following a motor vehicle accident.

The flamboyant Seiko was arrested and taken to Kawempe police station on charges of attempted murder after he opened fire when a driver of Fuso truck registration number, UAF 293T knocked his vehicle, a Toyota Alteza registration number UBD 890H. Seiko was heading towards to Mbuzi off Gayaza road. 

According to eyewitnesses, following the accident, Seiko blamed the truck driver, Ali Jjuko for the accident and ordered him to "sit down."  Jjuko reportedly defied the 'order' and told Seiko to wait for traffic officers to sort out the issue. It is at this point that Seiko allegedly shot Jjuko in the leg. 

Angry residents who had watched the altercation all along then pounced on Seiko and attempted to lynch him, blaming him for misusing his gun. He then fired more bullets that hit Joseph Lule (a taxi driver) and Zimula Kasirye a bicycle taxi rider. The identity of the fourth victim wasn't readily available.     

Seiko was arrested and taken to Kawempe police station where he was disarmed before being directed to record a statement. He was later released on police bond. Seiko said shortly after being released that he opened fire in self-defense because the injured wanted to grab his pistol.    

"Even if am armed and I see somebody has pulled a gun, I keep off because you never know. But this man wanted to grab my pistol and he bit me. How do you bite an officer? How do I fight a big crowd because I did not have an escort?" Seiko said. 

Seiko is not new to cases of gun misuse. In 2019, his former bodyguard Alex Cherotich was sentenced to 35 years in jail for the murder of boda boda riders Lameck Ogwang and Fred Sembatya who were shot dead at Seiko's home in Nakaseo in 2016.

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“Go To Hell, I Don’t Care What You Say”. Salvado Fires Back At ‘Haters’ Over Meeting The President

Comedian Patrick Salvado Idringi has been on fire the whole of this morning as he responded to his critics and haters. The furious comedian appeared on Dembe FM's Talk n Talk Show to talk about his upcoming Africa Laugh's Comedy Show on February 14th 2020 at Kololo Airstrip. However, he was irked by his critics […]

The post "Go To Hell, I Don't Care What You Say". Salvado Fires Back At 'Haters' Over Meeting The President appeared first on Chano8.

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LT. Col. Juma Seiko akubye amasasi mwenda mu bantu!

LT. Col. Juma Seiko yakubye amasasi mwenda mu bantu! Essasi eryasoose lyakutte gwe yabadde afunye naye obutakkaanya olwo amalala ne gakwata abalala babiri abaabadde bazze okulaba ogubadde. Okufuna obutakkaanya,...

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