- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 9 – Young entrepreneurs have been urged to venture into the blue economy by exploring new business opportunities propelled by BlueInvest Africa. BlueInvest Africa 2024, which is marking its second edition in July, will handpick 30 leading projects from young entrepreneurs…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 9 – M-Pesa is currently unavailable, as the telco attributes the outage to scheduled maintenance. The service is absent on the M-Pesa app, USSD code, and SIM card tool. A spot check by Capital Business confirmed the downtime in what could see several services brought to a halt.…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 9 – If you are planning to buy goods or services but lack money, worry less! Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is a growing consumer financing segment that allows customers to acquire services and commodities on an installment basis and pay later. Growing demand has attracted firms into…
- RIYADH – Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud met Monday with visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the kingdom’s oasis city of Al-Ula to discuss the ongoing conflict in Gaza and bilateral relations, the Saudi Press Agency reported. During the meeting, the Saudi crown…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 9 – All club bouncers will be required to pay taxes as the Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA) rolls out a sensitization campaign. Sections 21 and 28 of the Private Security Regulation Act require all private security service providers to be vetted, registered, and…
- LONDON, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) — Hundreds of post office managers across Britain, wrongly accused of theft and fraud because of a computer hiccup, were thrown a lifeline by the government on Monday. This incident, described as one of the most significant miscarriages of justice in British history,…
- ABUJA, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) — Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Monday suspended Betta Edu, minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, over a controversy about a recent financial transaction made by her office. The suspension took immediate effect, to allow for a thorough investigation by…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 9 – A flower exporting company, Packed at Source (PASA), has opened up a flower packaging facility for export at Africa Logistics Properties (ALP) in Nairobi. PASA, which is a subsidiary of the Dutch Flower Group, announced that the new facility will also serve as a hub for…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 8 – Kenya Airways (KQ) last month faced a cyber attack where an unauthorized actor tried to access the airline’s systems. According to sources, however, the attackers managed to obtain limited information that included identity documents, telephone numbers, investigation reports…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 8 – Kenya Airways (KQ) last month faced a cyber attack where an unauthorized actor tried to access the airline’s systems. According to sources, however, the attackers managed to obtain limited information that included identity documents, telephone numbers, investigation reports…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 8 – The County Assembly of Kirinyaga will set aside funds toward talent identification, acquisition, and development in all wards. This was revealed by the county speaker, Muteti Murimi, during a talent search event at Tebere Secondary School organized by Gathigiriri Member of…
- LONDON, United Kingdom, Jan 8 – Concern is growing in Germany that the far-right Alternative for Deutschland party, or AfD, will use the country’s biggest agricultural sector protest in years to stir up discontent and anger toward the ruling coalition government. Last week, police used pepper spray…
- LONDON, United Kingdom, Jan 8 – The Dutch flower-growing industry has expressed “significant concerns” about its readiness for the United Kingdom’s scheduled introduction of new post-Brexit border checks and has called for a delay until 2025. The UK government plans to implement new paperwork…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 8 – Showmax, an online video subscription service, customers are set to enjoy more contents as it moves to rebrand next month. The streaming platform will also debut 21 Showmax Originals from four African countries and the continent’s first standalone Premier League mobile…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 8 – Syvester Nzioka will lead Jubilee-Allianz business operations in Kenya after being appointed to the post. Nzioka will now serve as the insurer’s chief operating officer and principal officer. He takes over from Adja Samb, who has been serving in the post since July 2021.…
- NEW DELHI, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) — India’s civil aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Monday said the checks of Boeing 737-8 Max planes have been completed satisfactorily. The aviation watchdog on Saturday had directed domestic airlines to immediately inspect emergency exits of…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 8 – Kenya emerged as number one in funds raised by startups last year, beating countries such as Egypt, South Africa, and Nigeria. According to Africa: The Big Deal, a platform for startup deals, capital raised in the country represented 28 percent of all funds raised on the…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 8 – Kenya is facing a backlash over the visa-free entry policy introduced for all foreigners this month, with some terming it “hectic”. President William Ruto announced the policy last month to advocate for a visa-free travel within the African continent. Kenyan authorities have…
- MANILA, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) — Inflation is the most urgent concern of Filipino adults, according to a national survey released on Monday. Pulse Asia Research Inc. said in its poll conducted in December last year that 72 percent of the 1,200 respondents identify inflation as an urgent issue that needs…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 8 – Family Bank has extended its Sh9.3 billion right issue to January 31, 2024. The exercise, which was first unveiled in October last year and was to end in a subsequent month, will see the lender offer its existing shareholders an extra share for every two owned at a cost of…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 8 – The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will promote 36,000 teachers in this financial year as the government seeks to address shortages in schools. It’s CEO, Nancy Macharia, also announced plans to hire 20,000 educators in the next financial year. Speaking in Eldoret, ahead…
- BRUSSELS, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — European Council President Charles Michel has informed Belgian media of his decision to run for the election of the Member of European Parliament (MEP) in June, leading to his early departure from the Council presidency in July. Reflecting on his four-year term as a…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 8 – Opinions are divided in Kenya as the country’s civil aviation authority lays down the rules to govern the visa-free entry policy. Despite travelers from other countries welcoming the move and urging other African countries to follow suit, a number of Kenyans feel the…
- ROME, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) — Global food prices declined again in December, falling by 1.5 percent from the previous month and ending the year 10.1 percent below its year-earlier level, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday. The FAO said that in December, prices rose…
- ISTANBUL, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Istanbul to discuss bilateral ties and international issues, according to the Turkish presidency. Erdogan and Blinken held their talks behind closed doors at Vahdettin…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 7 – President William Ruto has called for cooperation among independent institutions in serving Kenyans instead of undermining one another. He said there was no need for supremacy battles and sabotage among the Executive, Judiciary and Parliament, pointing out that such moves…
- MOGADISHU, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Saturday evening nullified an agreement reached between Ethiopia and Somaliland that would see Addis Ababa have seaport access in return for the recognition of Hargeisa, the largest city in Somaliland. Mohamud said he signed…
- SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) — The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Saturday ordered the temporary grounding of some Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or in U.S. territory. The order was issued following a serious mid-air incident on Friday when a part of a Boeing…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 7 – The application for this year’s Equity Group’s Wings to Fly scholarship program has attracted 56,000 students. Out of this, only 1,000 learners studies will be supported by the lender. Annually, the initiative offers full scholarships for the students throughout their high…
- SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) — Alaska Airlines announced Friday night that it is temporarily grounding all 65 of its Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft for inspection after a serious incident in Portland, in the U.S. state of Oregon. According to multiple reports, a piece of the fuselage blew out on an…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 6 – Mombasa County Governor Abdulswammad Sherrif Nassir has said that the impending direct flights between Mombasa and Dubai by Air Dubai will boost the region’s economy. The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) announced on Thursday that the debut flight will start on January 17. Fly…
- CANBERRA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) — The Australian government will publish the gender pay gap at large companies in a bid to improve income equality. From Feb. 27, the pay discrepancies between male and female employees at every company with over 100 employees in Australia will be made available online…
- DAR ES SALAAM, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) — The Tanzanian government has expressed its commitment to enhancing Tanzanian participation in mining activities, the state-owned newspaper Daily News reported on Saturday. To push forward the goal, the government is on its way to implementing effective strategies,…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 6 – The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has identified the failure to implement its recommendations as a primary cause of the rampant corruption cases in the counties. According to the EACC, the devolved units lack effective accountability mechanisms, rendering them…
- WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) — U.S. employers added 216,000 jobs in December amid slowing job growth, with the unemployment rate unchanged at 3.7 percent, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday. The report noted that employment continued to trend up in government, health care, social assistance…
- GABORONE, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) — Botswana is planning to allow a 1.51 percent depreciation of its currency until December 2024 to counter inflation, the finance minister has announced. The depreciation against a basket of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) currencies and the South African rand has been…
- NAIROBI, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) — The number of Kenyans in need of humanitarian assistance stands at 1.5 million, with a majority of them having been affected by floods caused by the recent El Nino rains, the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) said in a report Thursday. “An assessment of the…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 5 – Twenty-seven hospitals at the centre of the Sh171 million National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) fraud have been suspended. According to Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha, an investigation into the fraud revealed that a Sh20 billion had been lost. “Between January…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 5 – The first batch of visa-free visitors have arrived in Kenya after the state amended a section of the law to allow them to come into the country without having to show visas. Immigration and Citizens Services Permanent Secretary Julius Bitok said that the foreigners arrived…
- SAO PAULO, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) — Sales of new vehicles in Brazil grew 9.7 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, the best performance in the past four years, the National Federation of Motor Vehicle Dealers (Fenabrave) said Thursday. According to the association of dealerships in Brazil, 2,308,140 units…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 5 – The Jua Kali Contractors National Umbrella organization has defended President William Ruto’s housing project and urged him to ignore court orders temporarily halting its progress despite uproar from the Opposition. President Ruto has vowed to ignore court orders stopping…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 5 – An agreement reached between landlocked Ethiopia with the self-declared republic of Somaliland on Monday over sea access has drawn sharp criticism from neighboring Somalia. Somaliland seceded from Somalia more than three decades ago, but the move is not recognized…
- MURANG’A, Kenya, Jan 5 – Chairperson of parliamentary committee for budget and appropriations Ndindi Nyoro has said monies meant for bursaries under the NG-CDF kitty will be released before students report for first term. Nyoro on Thursday noted the government is working around the clock to ensure…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 5 – Akshay Grover has stepped down as Cellulant Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) amid leadership changes. Grover, who is leaving to focus on personal matters, joined the financial technology company in 2021 before taking over as CEO in the same…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 5 – The government has made some amendments to the Citizen and Immigration Regulation, 2023, to support the implementation of a visa-free regime. In a special Gazette notice issued by Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, the word ‘Visa’ has…
- LONDON, United Kingdom, Jan 5 – France will issue around 70,000 visas completely online to athletes, journalists, and delegations for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, making it the first European Union member state to offer a fully digital application procedure for a Schengen visa. On Monday…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 5 – The Court of Appeal has allowed the government to proceed with collecting the Housing Levy for this month. A three-judge bench, consisting of Lydia Achode, John Mativo, and Mwaniki Gachoka, upheld the status quo regarding the levy’s collection. While extending the…
- UNITED NATIONS – Global economic growth is projected to slow down from an estimated 2.7 percent in 2023 to 2.4 percent in 2024, according to the UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2024 report, launched on Thursday. Weakening global trade, high borrowing costs, elevated public debt,…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 5 – Kenyan online contents removed by Google on its platform grew by nearly 10 times in the six months to June last year as the state sought to stop abuse of the internet. The latest data from the tech giant shows that a total of 58 items were removed from the […]
- AMMAN, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) — Jordan’s imports of electric vehicles (EV) surged by 146 percent to 38,277 units in 2023, the state-run Petra news agency reported Thursday. A total of 74,000 vehicles were imported last year in the Zarqa Free Zone, a 37-percent increase from 2022, Mohammad Al-Bustanji,…