- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 8 – The Ministry of Roads and Transport is seeking public views before increasing the fuel levy by Sh7 to Sh25 per liter. The exercise, which started today, was being done simultaneously in Nairobi, Central, North Rift, South Rift, Upper Eastern, Lower Eastern, Nyanza, North…
- JULY 8 – One of Hollywood’s oldest companies, Paramount Global, has agreed to merge with independent film studio Skydance Media. Under the deal, Paramount’s non-executive chair Shari Redstone will sell her family’s controlling stake in the company in a complex transaction that will result in a new…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 8 – Motor vehicle dealer CFAO Mobility Kenya plans to expand its business portfolio to include the sale of electric vehicles (EVs), whose adoption is growing. The firm’s managing director, Arvinder Reel, announced that the company will soon introduce its EVs. Demand for EVs in…
- JULY 8 – Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after the US found the company violated a deal meant to reform it after two fatal crashes by its 737 Max planes that killed 346 passengers and crew. The Department of Justice (DoJ) said the plane-maker had also agreed…
- by Xinhua Writers Zheng Bofei, Larry Neild LONDON, July 8 (Xinhua) — The ascension of the Labour government injected rare impetus into Britain’s capital market, accompanied by many positive economic signs. On Friday, the first day of the newly-elected Labour government, the domestically-focused…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 8 – The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has clarified that if an employer provides meals valued above Sh48,000 annually to an employee, the entire value of those meals no longer qualifies as a non-taxable benefit under Section 5(4)(f) of the ITA. This was according to a circular…
- JUKY 7 – Helen Young still has nightmares about the fortnight that she was made to believe she was on China’s most wanted list. Scammers posing as Chinese police manipulated the London-based accountant into believing she was under investigation for a massive fraud back in her homeland. Helen was…
- NAIROBI, July 7 (Xinhua) — A lone post at the edge of a road in Kenya’s northwestern county of Samburu announces a partnership to provide water to the area. Both the words on the signboard and the stone water tank next to it go unnoticed by residents like Jovana Lengile, who walk past it daily […]
- NEW DELHI, July 7 (Xinhua) — India’s federal minister of parliamentary affairs Kiren Rijiju Saturday said the newly elected government will present its first federal budget in the lower house of parliament on July 23. According to Rijiju, the budget presented will be for the fiscal year 2024-2025…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 7 – Women’s World Banking has continued its efforts to advance women’s financial inclusion. The organization hosted industry leaders, policymakers, and advocates from across Africa in an event aimed at spotlighting the urgent need to empower nearly one billion women excluded…
- COLOMBO, July 6 (Xinhua) — Sri Lanka’s earnings from tourism rose to over 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in the first six months of 2024, a 77.9-percent increase year on year, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said in its latest weekly report. Tourist arrivals in the first half was 1.01 million, up 61…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 6 – The Chairman of East African Cables, M.G. Waweru, has passed on, the Board of TransCentury has announced. Waweru, who died yesterday, has been serving as the EA Cables Board Chairman since 2017. “He was not only a visionary leader but one with unwavering dedication,…
- JAKARTA, July 6 (Xinhua) — Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan clarified the nation’s proposed 200 percent import tariff amid rising speculations on Friday, noting that the tariff is not aimed at any particular country. Luhut emphasized the…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 6 – Faulu Microfinance Bank has received a Sh900 million investment from its parent company, Old Mutual, to boost operations. The lender also announced plans to grow its digital banking offering as well as enhance support for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This…
- KISUMU, Kenya, July 6 – Smart Applications International Ltd (Smart), a leading ICT solutions provider in Africa, has commissioned a state-of-the-art Biometric Time Attendance and Access Control System in partnership with the Kisumu County Government. This initiative marks a significant…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 6 – Did you know that Kenya is among the leading African nations to embrace drone technologies in various sectors? This fact was recently revealed by Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) enthusiasts in the continent during the Elevate Africa UAS Summit 2024. According to the summit…
- ANKARA, July 6 (Xinhua) — A combination of a new visa program and lower overall expenses is driving a surge of Turkish tourists to the Greek Islands, industry officials and travelers report. Engin Celik, a university teacher from Ankara, recently enjoyed a four-day trip to Rhodes, a popular tourism…
- NAIROBI, July 6 (Xinhua) — Revenue generated from Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) freight services rose 3 percent in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, according to data released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on Friday. The growth in revenue was…
- BY VICTORIA GORO JULY 6 – The film and television industry is an exciting one, full of opportunities, rapid innovation and constantly shifting collaboration networks. However, the same factors that make the sector so attractive, also make it hard for film and TV professionals to build financial…
- BY BENTE KROGMANN JUKY 6 – Despite the stagnant penetration rate of below three percent, the insurance landscape in Africa holds promise, brimming with opportunities and potential. Given Africa’s high mobile penetration, especially with smartphones becoming more affordable, insurance services are…
- NAIROBI, July 5 (Xinhua) — Kenyan President William Ruto on Friday appointed an independent taskforce to conduct a forensic audit of the country’s public debt, aiming to reduce government spending. Addressing a televised news conference in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, Ruto announced the dissolution…
- ADDIS ABABA, July 5 (Xinhua) — The Ethiopian House of Peoples’ Representatives (HoPR), the lower house of parliament, approved a record budget of 971.2 billion Ethiopian birrs (about 16.83 billion U.S. dollars) for the 2024/2025 Ethiopian fiscal year, commencing on July 8. The new budget represents…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 5 – The Health Ministry has pledged to ensure all outstanding remittances are settled before the end of the transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the new Social Health Authority (SHA). Health Cabinet Secretary Suzan Nakhumicha revealed the fund owed…
- By Dr. Mercy Korir NAIROBI, Kenya, July 5 – Nicotine use can be traced back to 12,300 years ago. Global tobacco trends show a decline, with 1.25 billion people still smoking. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 19 million stopped smoking two years ago which is a positive step. However…
- KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 (Xinhua) — A gas leak at an aircraft engineering facility in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport affected 39 people, authorities said. The leak occurred at the aircraft engineering facility separate from the passenger terminals and affected staff from several…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 5 – The government plans to borrow more to fill the budget hole left after the removal of the Finance Bill 2024 by President William Ruto, which was to raise Sh346 billion in additional taxes. In an address to the nation, the Head of State announced that the state will borrow…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 5 – Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza has urged Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o to correct an error in her report indicating that Meru County spent close to Sh1 billion on foreign travels, while the actual spend was Sh42 million in the County Assembly and Sh910,000 in the…
- JULY 5 – Mortgage costs are still the biggest challenge facing homebuyers and those coming to the end of fixed-term deals, the UK’s biggest mortgage lender has said. However, the squeeze caused by higher interest rates is likely to ease gradually as incomes rise and house price growth remains…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 5 – Revenue collected by Nairobi County hit a record high of Sh12.8 billion in the 2023–2024 financial year (FY) that ended July 31, buoyed by improved collection in various sectors. The administration had in the last fiscal year set targets across various revenue streams,…
- JULY 5 – Sex toys and many other erotic items are to be banned from online marketplace Etsy – sparking a backlash from sellers. Also prohibited from 29 July will be items which – when modelled – expose body parts such as female nipples or the cleft between the buttocks. Etsy – which focusses on […]
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 5 – A total of 24 lecturers drawn from different universities have completed the Microsoft Africa Development Centre’s (ADC) intensive upskilling programme, which was launched in partnership with Microsoft Leap. The 2nd cohort covered Zetech University, Kabarak, Multimedia…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 5 – More multinational companies will stop buying tea from Toror Factory after the appointment of John Chebochok as a new director. Lipton Tea and Infusions Company has announced that it will no longer purchase tea from the Tegat/Toror factory. In a letter directed to…
- By Ken Omami JULY 5 – About 7.4 million Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of Kenya’s economy, contributing 40% of its GDP and employing nearly 78% of its working population. Yet, amidst this socio-economic vitality lies a sobering reality – a large portion of the…
- CANBERRA, July 5 (Xinhua) — Dating app companies have pledged to do more to protect Australian users under the government’s new online safety code. Michelle Rowland, minister for Communications, and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth on Friday announced that the companies that own and…
- JUOY 5 – The Kenyan government is reorganizing the budget following the withdrawal of the Finance Bill 2024, which sparked protests across the country in the past three weeks, President William Ruto said Thursday. Ruto, who chaired a Cabinet meeting in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, said the National…
- SEOUL, July 5 (Xinhua) — South Korea’s tech giant Samsung Electronics saw its earnings surge in the second quarter, the company said Friday. Preliminary operating profit reached 10.4 trillion won (7.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the April-June quarter, over 15 times larger than 670 billion won (486.1…
- BRUSSELS, July 4 (Xinhua) — The European Commission announced on Thursday it will impose provisional countervailing duties on imports of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from China starting Friday, sparking backlash from various business sectors. The duties, ranging from 17.4 percent to 37.6…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 4 – Kenya’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Forum has unveiled the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) Voluntary National Review (VNR) Report 2024, in a significant move towards achieving the goals. The 2024 VNR report is a comprehensive documentation of Kenya’s progress…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 4 – Kenya’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Forum has unveiled the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) Voluntary National Review (VNR) Report 2024, in a significant move towards achieving the goals. The 2024 VNR report is a comprehensive documentation of Kenya’s progress…
- NAIROBI, July 4 (Xinhua) — The number of foreign tourist arrivals in Kenya for 2024 is expected to reach 3 million, up from 2 million posted in 2023, Alfred Mutua, cabinet secretary for the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, has said. “The increase in numbers means more money for the country and…
- DAR ES SALAAM, July 4 (Xinhua) — Tanzania’s central bank said Thursday it had decided to keep the key interest rate unchanged at 6 percent for the third quarter. Its assessment of the economy’s outlook and the balance of risks indicated that the implementation of monetary policy in the previous two…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 4 – The Public Service Commission (PSC) has appointed Raphael Owino as the new Director General of Public Debt Management at Treasury. In a statement, the National Treasury expressed confidence in Owino, adding that he has a good track record from his previous engagement at the…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 4 – APA Insurance joined hands with Hollard Health, a South African insurer, to unveil an international medical cover targeting individuals, families, SME’s, and corporations. The plan covers Africa, India, Europe, and other worldwide jurisdictions with five comprehensive plans…
- COLOMBO, July 4 (Xinhua) — Sri Lanka has successfully concluded discussions on restructuring international sovereign bonds worth 12.5 billion U.S. dollars out of the total external debt of 37 billion U.S. dollars, a state minister said on Thursday. In a social media post, State Minister of Finance…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 4 – African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI), a pan-African insurance company, saw its net profit grow by 204 percent to Sh8.9 billion in the twelve months to December last year. This was an improvement from a profit after tax of about Sh3 billion during a…
- NAIROBI, July 4 (Xinhua) — The volume of Kenya’s tea exports went up 19 percent in the first quarter of 2024, boosted by increased shipment to key markets, the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) said Wednesday. The exports rose to 155.8 million kg, up from 131.1 million kg posted in January-March 2023, the…
- JULY 4 – Colleges in the United States are struggling financially, so much so that about one college is shutting its door every week on average this year, an analysis found. On June 10, the board of trustees at Pittsburgh Technical College, or PTC, announced that it will cease instruction at the…
- JULY 4 – Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says he will sell another 25 million shares in the technology giant, worth nearly $5bn (£3.9bn). It comes after the company’s stock market value hit a record high on Wednesday. In February, he announced that he would sell Amazon shares worth around $8.5bn. That…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, July 4 – The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has announced the arrival of the first consignment of directly imported Ugandan fuel in the Port of Mombasa. The consignment was received yesterday at the new Kipevu Oil Terminal by the Principal Secretary of the State Department of Petroleum…
- JULY 4 – Thursday, 4 July 2024: On 7 July, the world will celebrate World Kiswahili Language Day, recognizing the global importance of Kiswahili in uniting communities across Africa. TikTok, known for inspiring creativity and spreading joy, has become a hub for practical solutions to real-life…
