- KISUMU, Kenya, Jan 9 – AFRESA Sacco, operating in western Kenya, has launched a bold initiative to engage the informal sector, aiming to expand its customer base and bridge the financial gap within the segment. AFRESA Sacco CEO, Dr. Berry Odhiambo, highlighted the sector’s vast potential, citing…
- NAIROBI, Jan 9 (Xinhua) — Kenya’s tea export volumes surged 20.8 percent in the first ten months of 2024, boosted by increased demand in destination markets, the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) said Wednesday. The TBK said export volumes stood at 500.8 million kg, an increase from 414.5 million kg…
- JAN 9 – The pound has fallen to its lowest level for nine months after UK government borrowing costs continued to rise. The drop came as UK 10-year borrowing costs surged to their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis when bank borrowing almost ground to a halt. Economists have warned the…
- JAN 9 – Nairobi Fashion Week, Kenya’s premier fashion event, is set to return for its seventh edition with a bold new theme: Regenerative Fashion Renaissance: Restoring Culture and Nature. This year’s event will shine a spotlight on fashion that not only reduces harm to the planet but actively…
- JAN 8 – Kenya and Angola will work together to ensure Kenya Airways resumes direct flights to Luanda, Angola, beginning March this year. This was announced after a meeting between Presidents William Ruto and João Lourenço of Angola at the Angolan presidential palace in Luanda on Wednesday, marking…
- KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) — Economists and institutes are optimistic about the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which was announced on Tuesday to boost investment between the participants. Maybank Investment Bank said in a note that the SEZ is primed to drive construction,…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 8 – The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has released Sh3.5 billion for elderly and disabled individuals under the Inua Jamii Cash Transfer program. The disbursement aims to benefit 1.8 million Kenyans enrolled in the initiative. Payments commenced on January 7, 2025,…
- JAN 8 – With Donald Trump positioning himself for a return to the White House, African nations are carefully evaluating the potential impact of his policies on the continent. His “America First” approach and emphasis on U.S. domestic priorities shaped his first term, leaving a complex legacy for…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, January 8: The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has issued a tender notice inviting applications for the minting and supply of currency coins. This move is part of CBK’s efforts to enhance its procurement processes for currency production, which is a crucial component of Kenya’s…
- JAN 8 – The Washington Post announced it will lay off nearly 100 workers, or 4% of its staff, in an attempt to stem growing losses, according to media reports. The cuts reportedly will affect mainly employees on the business side of the storied US newspaper owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The…
- JAN 8 – Luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce will expand its Goodwood factory and global headquarters to meet the growing demand for bespoke models. It will invest more than £300 million so it can build more highly-customised versions of its cars for its super-rich clientele. The 120-year old British brand…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 8 – Kenyan startups secured Sh82.3 billion ($638 million) in funding in 2024, propelling the country to the top position in Africa’s startup funding rankings. This highlights Kenya’s growing dominance in the continent’s tech and innovation space. Driving Factors Kenya’s strong…
- By Nicholas Mundia JAN 8 – Generation Zs represent the first generation of true digital natives, seamlessly navigating an overwhelming array of online content to connect, entertain, and inform themselves and others. With their expertise and comfort in the digital landscape, this generation is…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 8 – Manufacturers and importers in Kenya are bracing for difficult times following the Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) introduction of revised excise duty rates, effective December 27, 2024. The changes will impact over 25 goods and services, including sugar, cigarettes,…
- JAN 8 – OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman’s sister, Ann Altman, has filed a lawsuit alleging that he regularly sexually abused her between 1997 and 2006. The lawsuit, which was filed on 6 January in a US District Court in the Eastern District of Missouri, alleges that the abuse started when she was…
- JAN 8 – As the criminal case against Boeing continues for the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, Ribbeck Law Chartered has announced its intention to investigate the recent crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216. The crash occurred on December 29, 2024, in Muan, South Korea,…
- NEW YORK, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday, as stronger-than-expected economic data raised doubts about the Federal Reserve’s likelihood of cutting interest rates later in the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 178.20 points, or 0.42 percent, to 42,528.36. The S&P…
- NAIROBI, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — Kenya’s exports in the third quarter of 2024 increased by 5.5 percent to 284.4 billion Kenyan shillings (about 2.19 billion U.S. dollars) compared to the same period in 2023, the country’s national statistics bureau said Tuesday. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of…
- NAIROBI, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) — Chinese telecoms firm Huawei has partnered with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to promote the conservation of a marine protected area on Kenya’s south coast. The three-year project, which was unveiled Monday, seeks to protect the ecological…
- NEW DELHI, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — American tech giant Microsoft on Tuesday announced it will invest 3 billion U.S. dollars in India on cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and training over the next two years. The announcement was made by Microsoft’s chief executive officer…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 7 – Kenya’s economy grew by 4 percent in the third quarter of 2024, a noticeable slowdown from the 6 percent recorded in the same period in 2023, according to the latest findings by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). The deceleration in growth was primarily…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 7 – The Policyholders Compensation Fund (PCF) has extended the management and operations of Xplico Insurance Company Limited for an additional three months. PCF, in a statement, announced that the statutory management of Xplico, which was originally implemented in December 2023…
- JAN 7 – Apple has said it will update, rather than pause, a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that has generated inaccurate news alerts on its latest iPhones. The company, in its first acknowledgement of the concerns, on Monday said it was working on a software change to “further clarify”…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 7 – Rendeavour, the owner of Tatu City, has appointed David Kippen as the new chairman, taking over from founding Head of Board Frank Mosier. Mosier, the founding chair and the largest shareholder, will henceforth assume the Board of Director position. The new city builder in…
- JAN 7 – The boss of US computer chip giant Nvidia has unveiled the firm’s next-generation of gaming chips, known as the RTX 50-series. The announcement was part of Jensen Huang’s keynote address at CES, an annual technology show in Las Vegas. The new family of chips will use Nvidia’s Blackwell…
- JAN 7 – Meta has announced the appointment of three new board members including the chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and close Donald Trump ally, Dana White. It comes as Meta’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, appears to be making efforts to mend ties with Trump, ahead…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 7 – Kenya’s private sector activities remained healthy in December last year, the latest Stanbic Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) shows, buoyed by new orders and business activity growths. According to the PMI, the country recorded a score of 50.6, above 50 points…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 7 – A recent survey by the Rural and Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA) has revealed that as of December 24, 2024, a staggering 80% of contracted private healthcare facilities under the Social Health Authority (SHA) had not received any payments. The study…
- JAN 7 – The US has added several Chinese technology companies, including gaming and social media giant Tencent and battery maker CATL, to a list of businesses it says work with China’s military. The list serves as a warning to American companies and organisations about the risks of doing business…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 7 – Omani low-cost airline SalamAir plans to enter the Nairobi-Muscat flight route next month with a one-way ticket costing from Sh16,788. The airline, which will operate two weekly flights, will see it offer 70 percent cheaper tickets than currently available fares. “We are…
- NEW YORK, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — A New York judge overseeing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money case on Monday rejected Trump’s motion to delay sentencing set for Friday. Juan Merchan, justice of the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, said in a decision that Trump’s motion was mostly…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 7 – The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has reported a 2 percent drop in the annual weighted overall corporate governance score for issuers of securities in the 2023/2024 financial year. According to the seventh State of Corporate Governance report, which evaluated 52 issuers…
- DOHA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) — Qatar’s Hamad International Airport hosted 52.7 million passengers in 2024, marking a 15 percent increase compared to 2023, according to a statement released by the airport on Monday. The airport saw a 10 percent rise in aircraft movements, reaching 279,000, while passenger…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 6 – The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has proposed new regulatory measures to combat the rising tide of illegal Internet Service Providers (ISPs) operating in urban centers across the country. This includes introduction of levies that would impose stricter controls on…
- JAN 6 – Confidence among UK firms has “slumped” as they face a “pressure cooker of rising costs and taxes”, according to a business group. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said its survey of more than 4,800 firms suggested confidence had fallen to its lowest level for two years. Nearly two-…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 6 – The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has declined Kenya Airways’ request to extend the suspension of its shares from trading, which has been in place since July 2020. The suspension, which was originally implemented owing to the airline’s myriad of challenges will end on…
- TOKYO, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) — Japan’s Nippon Steel on Monday reiterated its determination to challenge U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to block its takeover of U.S. Steel. Nippon Steel President Tadashi Imai said in a statement issued Monday that “we will pursue every possible measure” as “we will…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 6 – The submission of comments and views by Kenyans on the proposed introduction of genetically modified maize (Bt maize) into the market is set to close today. The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) will analyze the submissions before making a final decision. The exercise…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 6 – SBM Bank has introduced a sustainability-themed card featuring imagery of a sea turtle to raise awareness about the importance of improving waste management along Kenya’s coastlines. The bank also participated in a beach clean-up exercise in Diani, aimed at reducing marine…
- JAN 6 – Sushi restaurateurs in Tokyo say they have paid 207m yen ($1.3m; £1m) for a bluefin tuna which is about the size and weight of a motorbike. The sale is the second highest price ever paid at the annual new year auction at Toyosu Fish Market in the Japanese capital. Onodera Group, which […]
- SYDNEY, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) — An Etihad Airways flight leaving Melbourne Airport was forced to abort take-off on Sunday night, triggering an emergency response, local media reported. The United Arab Emirates carrier’s Flight EY461 to Abu Dhabi was traveling close to 300 km per hour down the runway…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 7 – The contractor attached to the Kisii Cancer Treatment Centre has been warned over delays in completing the project. Health Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai in a statement confirmed that he led a meeting with the contractor and emphasized the urgency of completing the project…
- THE HAGUE, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) — Widespread snowfall in the Netherlands has caused travel disruptions, including the cancellation and delay of dozens of flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on Sunday, as well as traffic accidents. The Dutch national weather institute, KNMI, issued a code yellow…
- JAN 5 – The government has successfully stabilised the country’s economy and will now turn its focus to the implementation of key development projects, President William Ruto has said. In the past two years, the President noted, key development programmes had stalled due to economic challenges. He…
- JAN 5 – A Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist has resigned from the Washington Post after the newspaper refused to publish a cartoon satirical of its billionaire owner Jeff Bezos. Ann Telnaes, a long-time Washington Post cartoonist, created a cartoon of Mr Bezos and other tycoons kneeling before a…
- JAN 5 – A revolution in vehicle fuel is gaining momentum in Tanzania, but a lack of filling stations means it is stuck in second gear. Like Nigeria and some other countries on the continent, Tanzania is beginning to embrace compressed natural gas (CNG) as an alternative to petrol and diesel. It is…
- NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 5 – National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has called for the expansion of the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway into a dual carriageway road in order to improve the flow of traffic to western Kenya. CS Mbadi noted that the expansion of the single carriageway road into a dual…
- JAN 3 – The High Court has re-instated Captain Kungu Muigai to continue chairing the Kenya Cultural Centre Council pending appointment of a new chairperson. This development came following the courts invalidation of the appointment, citing constitutional violations. In as much the High Court’s…
- SYDNEY, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) — The number of reported snake bites in Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales (NSW) has spiked. According to data released on Friday by the NSW Poisons Information Center, there were 320 reported snake bites in the state between Sept. 1 and Dec. 20, 2024. It…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, December 2 – The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has licensed Kenyan Alliance Asset Management Limited as a fund manager, bringing the total number of licensed fund managers in Kenya to 42. Kenyan Alliance Asset Management will provide wealth and portfolio management services…
