- LONDON, United Kingdom, Mar 15 – The five major North Sea oil and gas producing countries are failing to align their drilling policies with agreed targets, posing a significant threat to global efforts to combat the climate crisis, according to a report. Neither the United Kingdom, Germany, the…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 – Television and radio are still the biggest recipients of advertising spending, despite growing competition from digital channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, among others. According to the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA), firms spent a total of Sh17…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 – The High Court has issued a restraining order stopping a businesswoman and her agents from encroaching on a property located in Karen and measuring 66 acres. Environment and land Court division judge Ogutu Mboya issued an injunction barring Dorcas Kiptoo from interfering…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 – Hospitals affiliated to the Kenya Healthcare Federation are set to adopt cash-only terms for National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) patients from next Thursday. According to the organisation’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Theuri, providers will furnish their clients…
- SINGAPORE, March 15 (Xinhua) — Singapore Airlines transported 1.99 million passengers in February, up 29.7 percent year-on-year, according to the operating statistics revealed Friday. The low-cost airline Scoot within the same group recorded over 1.06 million passengers in February, a year-on-year…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 – Kenya Airways (KQ) has added two flights to its weekly schedule to New York in the United States of America (USA) in anticipation of pent-up demand. The two flights will be distributed between Thursday and Saturday, with one in the morning and another in the afternoon.…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 – 21 Kenyan students have been awarded under the 2023/24 Huawei ICT Competition, out of nearly 6,000 participants. 18 of the national winners will represent Kenya at the global finals in China, surpassing other countries in the region. The students also got cash prizes and…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 – Facebook and WhatsApp are the most used social media platforms among Kenyans, as they offer cheaper alternatives to communication than traditional voice and messaging services. The latest Communications Authority of Kenya’s (CA’s) Audience Measurement and Industry Trends…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 – The USAID Kuza is set to host three county-based investment conferences in the Northern Kenya Region that aim to boost capital mobilization for investment in the region. In a statement, USAID said that the first event, the Turkana and West Pokot County Investment Conference…
- MOMBASA, Kenya, Mar 15 – South Sudan has assured that there will be maximum security at the Kenya-Sudan border and on South Sudan roads for Kenyan drivers transporting cargo into the country. This was assured by the South Sudan Revenue Authority Commissioner of Customs, Adout Ajang, who met the…
- BEIJING, China, Mar 15 – China on Thursday slammed the passage of a bill that could see TikTok banned in the United States by the House of Representatives, saying the move “puts the US on the opposite side of the principle of fair competition and international trade rules”. The bill, approved on…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 – National Treasury Cabinet Secretary (CS) Njuguna Ndung’u has said that the country’s property taxes have remained unchanged since the 1970s, necessitating re-evaluation. Speaking during the 12th African Fiscal Forum, Ndung’u suggested that by properly re-evaluating property…
- SYDNEY, March 15 (Xinhua) — The fire authority in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) on Friday expressed concern over the rising rate of lithium-ion battery fires as crews responded to four separate incidents in one single day. In one of the incidents all reported on Thursday, an e-bike…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 – Kenya has started marketing and promotion campaigns to increase the number of tourists from North America entering the country. According to the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), the main goal is to capture a portion of the more than 360 million prospective tourists in the area.…
- By Philani Mzila NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 – In 2023, with $3.5bn raised from 547 deals, African venture capital (VC) experienced a significant downturn. Year-on-year, total funding and deal count declined by 46% and 28% respectively. This downturn marks a significant phase in the nascent and…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 – Ashden, a UK-based climate solutions charity, has announced the finalists for this year’s Ashden Awards. Rooftop Power Stations, Rainforest Defenders, and Refugee Pioneers are in contention for this year’s awards. The annual event recognizes outstanding climate innovation…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 – Hungary has pledged to invest in Kenya’s agricultural sector, particularly in the value addition of tea and coffee. Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mithika Linturi, who hosted the Hungarian Minister for Agriculture Istvan Nagye, announced that the two countries held…
- RIYADH, March 14 (Xinhua) — Non-oil economic activity in Saudi Arabia has achieved a milestone by contributing 50 percent of the country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday. It is the highest level on record, according to the Ministry of Economy…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 – The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has revealed that the newly recruited Revenue Service Tax Assistants have helped raise 180.6 million in additional collections. According to KRA Commissioner General Humphrey Wattanga, who briefed the parliamentary committee on National…
- SYDNEY, March 15 (Xinhua) — A new study led by Australian researchers has shown that playing video games for three hours a day can lead to physical problems including eye fatigue, hand or wrist pain, and back or neck pain. Scientists examined data from 955 individuals aged between 18 and 94 from…
- CANBERRA, March 15 (Xinhua) — Electric vehicle (EV) sales in Australia more than doubled in 2023, a report has revealed. According to the Electric Vehicle Industry Recap 2023, which was published by peak industry body the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) on Friday, Australians bought 98,346 new…
- NAIROBI, March 14 (Xinhua) — Energy regulators from across Africa began a two-day meeting in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, Wednesday to discuss ways of accessing electricity in the region. The African Development Bank (AfDB) electricity workshop brought together electricity regulators from 21…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 14 – The Moi International Airport (MIA) in Mombasa has been recognized as Africa’s best airport by size and region in the under 2 million passenger per year category in 2023 by the Airport Council International (ACI). In a statement by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), the…
- UNITED NATIONS, March 13 (Xinhua) — Uneven development progress is leaving the poorest behind, exacerbating inequality, and stoking political polarization on a global scale, according to a new report released Wednesday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The result is a “dangerous…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 14 – Credit provider Watu today received client protection certification from the Microfinanza Rating (MFR) certification committee for ensuring that its financial products and services are not harming clients. The committee evaluated Watu on various parameters of client…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 14 – Kenyan business leaders have been urged to view the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Dubai as hubs of commercial potential rather than just as posh vacation spots. This call comes ahead of a four-day Africa-UAE Summit webinar series scheduled for March 14th and running…
- MOGADISHU, March 14 (Xinhua) — The Paris Club, an informal group of creditor nations whose objective is to find workable solutions to payment problems faced by debtor nations, has agreed to cancel more than 2 billion U.S. dollars of debt Somalia owed to its members to help the East African country…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 14 – A 16 percent value-added tax (VAT) on milk and bread is being considered by the Treasury as part of a new initiative to increase revenue collections from middle-class households. Speaking during the 12th African Fiscal Forum, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u said…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 14 – Kenyans can now breathe a slight sigh of relief after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) cut fuel prices by between Sh7 and Sh4. Therefore, a liter of petrol at midnight in Nairobi will cost Sh199.15 with a Sh7.21 slash. The regulator has also reduced the…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 14 – Kenya has emerged at the top of the 2023 Eastern Africa Youth Digital Readiness Index, a report released by Qhala, a digital transformation and innovation management company shows. The study also indicates that several countries witnessed an upsurge in mobile money adoption…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 14 – The National Assembly Public Petitions Committee has urged the Auditor-General to conduct a forensic audit on all public expenditures by the National Government between July and September 2022. This follows a petition tabled in Parliament for consideration by Stephen Mutoro…
- LONDON, United Kingdom, Mar 14 – Special legislation is to be passed by the United Kingdom government to quash the convictions of hundreds of former employees of the national postal delivery service, the Royal Mail, who were innocent victims of the country’s biggest miscarriage of justice in terms…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 14 – Collaborations between state and non-state actors in the ICT sector have been singled out as key factors driving Kenya’s digital transformation. Speaking during an engagement forum with ICT industry stakeholders, Kenneth Mwige, the Director General of Kenya Vision 2030,…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 14 – The Employment and Labour Relations Court has halted the doctors’ strike pending an inter-parties hearing and agreement between Labour ministry and Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU). The orders were issued by Justice Byram Ongaya in response to a…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 14 – The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has highlighted that the 4G mobile network is leading with 51.5 percent of total mobile data subscriptions in the country. CA attributes this to the increasing popularity of fast internet connectivity among consumers. The network…
- NAIROBI, March 13 (Xinhua) — The Kenyan shilling strengthened against major world currencies, hitting a nine-month high against the U.S. dollar Wednesday. The Central Bank of Kenya placed the shilling against the dollar at 138.8, its highest level since the currency started to decline in June last…
- CANBERRA, March 14 (Xinhua) — Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers warned on Thursday that falling commodity prices and an uptick in unemployment will negatively impact revenue projections in Australia’s upcoming federal budget. Chalmers made the remarks in a speech to a committee for economic…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 14 – Tanda has obtained an eMoney Issuer License from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), enabling the launch of TandaPay, a mobile wallet platform. The firm, which becomes the sixth to be issued approval, says that this will enable it promote financial inclusion in Kenya as well…
- JERUSALEM, March 13 (Xinhua) — The Israeli parliament on Wednesday approved a revised state budget for 2024 to fund the country’s war against Hamas in Gaza. According to the Finance Ministry, the updated budget stands at about 584 billion shekels (about 161 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 70…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 14 – The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has disclosed that there has been a 3.1 percent drop in mobile money subscriptions in the country. According to the latest statistics, mobile money subscriptions dropped to stand at 38 million as of December 23, 2023, which is a 0.…
- NAIROBI, March 13 (Xinhua) — It is another planting season in Kenya, where farmers start preparing their farms in March, coinciding with the onset of the long rains that last until May. However, as farmers across the East African country prepare their farms, uncertainty over the rains lingers in…
- The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has announced that it is in the process of launching a proposed hybrid bond market that is set to boost a more informed trading system. The project is in collaboration with KCB and will combine both on-screen and over-the-counter trading of fixed-income…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 13 – Isuzu East Africa today unveiled an asset financing solution to allow schools and businesses facing financial hardships to acquire motor vehicles. The tripartite agreement also involves Cooperative Bank and CIC Insurance. It follows a similar deal with Matatu Operators of…
- MOGADISHU, March 13 (Xinhua) — The United Nations-backed Green Climate Fund (GCF), believed to be the world’s largest multilateral climate fund, has committed 100 million U.S. dollars for a climate action investment program in Somalia over the next year. The funds, announced Tuesday in Mogadishu,…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 13 – Cyber-attacks on Kenyan firms grew by 943 percent to 1.29 billion in the three months to December last year, a new industry report shows, highlighting the growing online risks that organizations in the country are facing. This represented a big leap from the 123.9 million…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 13 – Azimio La Umoja Coalition lawmakers have demanded the immediate resignation of the Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha following her failure to address the imminent doctors’ strike. Led by National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi, they pointed out that the…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 13 – Data and credential theft malware are the top two threats facing small and midsize businesses (SMB), a new report has revealed. According to the Sophos 2024 Threat Report, almost half of all malware detected by Sophos that targets this market segment is related to data and…
- MOSCOW, March 13 (Xinhua) — Russia will deploy its troops and strike systems near Finland and Sweden’s borders following their accession to NATO, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday in an interview with local media. Putin said the countries’ decision to join NATO was based on purely…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 13 – The Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) flagged fraudulent transfers of funds involving the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). According to a report on Fraudulent Transactions on the CDF Accounts presented to the Decentralized Funds Account Committee of the Parliament, the…
- HARARE, March 12 (Xinhua) — Zimbabwe expects a modest cereal production of around 800,000 tonnes in the 2023/24 summer cropping season, down from 2.3 million tonnes last year, owing to the El Nino-induced drought, a senior government official said Tuesday. Obert Jiri, permanent secretary of the…