- BRUSSELS, May 21 (Xinhua) — The European Council announced on Tuesday that ministers from the European Union (EU) member states have given their final approval to the bloc’s artificial intelligence (AI) act. The AI Act has adopted a risk-based approach, subjecting higher-risk AI applications to…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 21 – Clothes exported from Kenya to the United States of America (USA) dropped by Sh5.9 billion to Sh50.8 billion last year, eaten by the global recession and slowdown in the US market. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that exports dropped from Sh56…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 21 – Joe Levy has been confirmed as the CEO of Sophos, a global company that offers cybersecurity services. Levy, who has been acting in this capacity since February 15, has also picked Jim Dildine as the new chief financial officer (CFO) as well as other senior managerial…
- NAIROBI, Kenya May 21 – The Kenya Association of Air Operators (KAAO) now says the proposed deletion of certain Value Added Tax (VAT) exemptions in the 2024 Finance Bill will impede growth and investment in the sector. According to the association, the bill seeks to eliminate VAT exemptions…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 21 – A total of 18 Kenyan students have left the country for China to participate in this year’s Huawei ICT Competition Global Final in Beijing. The challenge attracted more than 120,000 students from 2,000 universities and colleges in 74 countries and regions worldwide. Six…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 21 – Subscribers of mobile money decreased from Sh38.6 million in 2022 to 38.0 million in 2023, indicating a shift in consumer behavior on patterns of making payments due to the hiked fees imposed on mobile money transactions. The latest report on the 2024 Economic Survey…
- BERLIN, May 21 (Xinhua) — Up to 50 percent of the world’s rangelands are degraded, endangering food security and the wellbeing of billions, warned the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in a report on Tuesday. Rangelands constitute 54 percent of Earth’s land cover, account for one…
- By Ali Hajji Adam and Mekdes Daba NAIROBI, Kenya, May 21 – Global progress on improving maternal, newborn, and child survival has stalled. Many regions of the world continue to experience persistently high rates of maternal and child mortality, and despite improvements between 2000 and 2015,…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 21 – The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has issued additional regulatory approval to LemFi to offer remittance services in Kenya. RightCard, which operates under the name LemFi, says that the approval now allows it to partner with local partners. LemFi rolled out its operations in…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 21 – Passport issuance in Kenya last year dropped by 5.2 percent, coming on the back of printing machine breakdowns that impacted production. The latest Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) report shows that a total of 404,028 passports were issued in 2023, down from 383,…
- ST. PETERSBURG, May 20 (Xinhua) — Russia has decided to suspend the ban on gasoline exports introduced earlier this year, the government said in a statement on Monday night. According to the statement, the Russian government has temporarily allowed fuel producers to export gasoline until June 30,…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 21 – The implementation of the Universal Health Coverage is in limbo over budgetary cuts with legislators questioning the success of the program which is a key flagship project for President William Ruto’s administration. Documents tabled before the National Assembly Committee…
- CANBERRA, May 21 (Xinhua) — The operator of Australia’s electricity grid has warned of a heightened risk of blackouts due to delays to key projects. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on Tuesday released an update to its 10-year outlook for the National Electricity Market (NEM), renewing…
- NAIROBI, May 20 (Xinhua) — Kenya’s exports to other African countries increased by 21.6 percent to 435 billion shillings (about 3.32 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023 compared to 2022, the country’s statistics bureau said in a report launched on Monday. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS)…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 20 – The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has raised alarms over the government’s proposal to increase the Import Declaration Fund (IDF) from 2.5 percent to 3.0 percent. KAM argues that the move will significantly elevate the costs of raw materials, thereby stifling the…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 20 – Individual and firms importing dirty palm oil for repackaging before selling will face higher taxes as the state moves to introduce new taxes on such commodities. According to local manufacturers, the government’s move to introduce a 25 percent excise duty on vegetable oils…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 20 – Business support NGO TechnoServe has unveiled the Millers for Nutrition Program, an industry-led coalition to support millers and the nutritional value of the communities served. The initiative, which will be rolled out in Kenya on June 4, will provide millers with the…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 20 – Online lending platform Tala has been listed on CNBC and Forbes prestigious global lists for advancing innovation in the digital space. This is the eighth time that the Francisco-based company appears on Forbes’ Fintech 50 list and fifth under CNBC’s Disruptor 50. According…
- By Pieter Prickaerts NAIROBI, Kenya, May 20 – One of the concerns in the health insurance industry is the increase in claims frequency in recent years, consequently leading to additional increases in costs. The increase in claims has intensified the burden of claims processing, hence impacting…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 20 – The Government says the Kenyan economy has recorded a significant bounce back after it reported a GDP growth rate of 5.6 percent in 2023, up from a revised 4.9 percent. A newly released 2024 Economic Survey Report shows the growth was primarily driven by a 19 percent…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 20 – Effective governance and financial control provide an apt opportunity for businesses to identify distress, the latest Deloitte Restructuring Survey has revealed. The survey themed ‘Early Identification of Distress’ stresses that timely identification allows businesses to…
- VIENTIANE, May 20 (Xinhua) — Smoking-related illnesses kill 6,700 people annually in Laos, according to Laos’ Ministry of Health. “About 18 people in Laos die each day from smoking-related illnesses, equal to 6,700 people a year. The death rate from smoking amounts to 15 percent of all deaths…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, My 20 – Kenya and the United States of America (USA) have agreed to complete ongoing trade negotiations under the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP). This was said during the fifth round of STIP negotiations between USA Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Kenya’s …
- MAY 20 – China will have no choice but to take retaliatory measures against the European Union if the bloc continues its anti-subsidy investigations targeting Chinese companies, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the EU says. The CCCEU, which represents thousands of Chinese companies in the bloc,…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 20 – Mi Vida Homes, a property developer, targets growing home sales through sacco members. Already, the firm has partnered with Kimisitu Sacco, allowing its members to invest in its residential projects within Garden City, Nairobi. Sited on 47-acre land with a mixed-use urban…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 20 – FaidiHR, a cloud Payroll and Human Resource (HR) Platform Provider, has launched its flagship mobile application designed to empower employees and enhance their payroll and HR experience. The app, dubbed “FaidiHR App,” is aimed at streamlining HR processes and delivering…
- ABUJA, May 20 (Xinhua) — Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Sunday has appointed Ajuri Ngelale, his main spokesman, as Nigeria’s first-ever special presidential envoy on climate action. The appointment reinforces the stance of Tinubu’s government on climate action and green economy solutions. In an…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 20 – Those working as information, communication, and technology (ICT) professionals will now be required to get a license to operate if the proposed ICT Authority Bill 2024 is enacted into law. The legislative proposal by the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of ICT and Digital…
- MAY 21 – Solar panels are among the Chinese products causing tensions with Washington and Brussels China has launched an anti-dumping probe into imports of a widely used plastic from the US, EU, Taiwan and Japan. The announcement from the Ministry of Commerce that Imports of polyoxymethylene…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 20 – Marsabit County Governor Mohamud Ali has been ordered to provide information and records on a 300 megawatt (MW) wind farm project by the China Water and Electricity Company within 7 days. This follows an application request dated April 20, 2023, made by James Gitau,…
- COLOMBO, May 19 (Xinhua) — Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe met with founder and CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk in Indonesia during the 10th World Water Forum on Sunday, Sri Lankan President’s Media Division (PMD) said in a statement. Wickremesinghe discussed the implementation of Starlink in Sri…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 19 – Max Schiff has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP). Schiff will oversee management responsibility for Kenya and Africa’s largest wind power plant following the exit of Phylip Leferink, who served for two years during his…
- MAY 19 – Buoyant electric car sales are a must if we’re to hit our climate targets. But EV sales in the West are down and if governments want them to recover it may have to be at the expense of their own economies. The numbers Any motorway driver will know the feeling: you’re cruising […]
- NAIROBI, May 16 (Xinhua) — As the Chinese market is a competitive one with a promising future, it will always be a pillar of our global business, a senior executive of Kenya’s national carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) has said. “We see a good fiscal year ahead since China’s aviation performance is robust…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 19 – Online retailer Copia Kenya has announced plans to lay off 1,060 employees due to financial constraints. The decision comes as the company battles ongoing financial challenges, despite efforts to secure additional funding and navigate the obstacles it faces. “In light of…
- MAY 19 – The men of the Yumuri sugar co-operative in Cuba have worked the cane fields around the city of Cienfuegos since they were old enough to wield a machete. Cutting cane is all Miguel Guzmán has ever known. He comes from a family of farm hands and started the tough, thankless work as […]
- MAY 19 – Boeing shareholders have signed off on the plane-maker’s plan to grant outgoing boss Dave Calhoun a 2023 pay package worth nearly $33m (£25m). A majority voted in favour of the plan, which had drawn criticism as the company grapples with a crisis sparked by the mid-air blowout of a panel…
- WASHINGTON, USA, May 18 – The Joe Biden administration’s doubling of the import tax on Chinese solar cells to 50 percent on Tuesday has been opposed by some US contractors. The White House said the increase “will protect against China’s policy-driven overcapacity that depresses prices and inhibits…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 18 – National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has asked MPs to allow Kenyans to read and understand the proposed Finance Bill, 2024, on their own. Wetang’ula said that the law allows ordinary people to read and understand the Bill that is intended to guide revenue collection…
- ROME, May 17 (Xinhua) — Prices in Italy rose last month less than any of the European Union’s (EU) large economies, data released Friday by Eurostat showed. Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, said prices rose in Italy by just 0.9 percent in April compared to a year prior. The equivalent rate for…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 18 – M-KOPA has been named Africa’s fastest growing company in 2024 for the third time in a row in the Financial Times (FT). The company appeared on the FT list for providing affordable financing for smartphones, electric motorbikes, and digital financial services such as…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 17 – Experts have said that technology and technical skills are vital in combating the pressing issue of climate change by mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and building a more sustainable future. Head of UNESCO-UNEVOC’s International Center for Technical and Vocational…
- MAY 17 – Chinese authorities have unveiled their most significant steps yet to address the crisis that has been dragging on the country’s property sector in recent years. The new measures include cutting the amount home buyers need for a deposit and encouraging local authorities to purchase unsold…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 17 – Tax advisory firm Ernst & Young (EY) has raised concerns about the potential negative impacts of the proposed amendments to the VAT Act, 2013, particularly regarding the insurance sector. The proposal aims to limit VAT exemptions to insurance and reinsurance premiums,…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 17 – Investment, Trade, and Industrialization Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano has termed the De-Risking, Inclusion, and Value Enhancement of Pastoral Economies (DRIVE) initiative by the Kenya Development Corporation (KDC) a boost to Kenya’s pastoral economy. Speaking during the…
- LONDON, UK, May 17 – A new way of measurement proposed by researchers in Italy could see millions more middle-aged people finding themselves classed as obese. A study of 4,800 adults aged 40-80 led by the University of Tor Vergata in Rome focuses on body fat percentage, rather than the usually…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 17 – Kenyan bankers are against a proposal by the government to introduce a 16 percent VAT on financial transactions under the Finance Bill 2024. While VAT applies to payments for goods and services, the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) says that bank charges are not a direct…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 17 – The Chairman of the National Assembly Finance Committee, Kuria Kimani, has said that the proposed 16 percent tax on bread was recommended by the National Treasury based on diabetes concerns. Speaking on Thursday in an interview with Citizen TV, Kimani also said that they…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, May 17 – Over 300 African entrepreneurs driving innovations have benefited from the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). While celebrating 15 years of advancing innovation and entrepreneurship, the center promised to…
- STOCKHOLM/BERLIN, May 17 (Xinhua) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson have cautioned against tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) following Washington’s announcement of hefty levies. Scholz and Kristersson expressed reservations about possible European…
