Top Kenyan presidential candidate picks female running mate
NAIROBI, Kenya — (AP) — Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga on Monday chose a former justice minister as his running mate in elections set for August, making her the first-ever female candidate on a major presidential ticket in the East African country. Odinga's announcement came the day after his rival, Deputy President William Ruto, picked lawmaker Rigathi Gachagua as his running mate. Both running mates are ethnic Kikuyus — underscoring the importance of that voting bloc that encompasses a wide and ballot-rich part of central Kenya. Opinion polls show a tight race between Odinga and Ruto in the increasingly feisty fight to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta. Ruto and Kenyatta have since been at loggerheads, sometimes attacking each other's records in public.
wftv.comTop Kenyan presidential candidate picks female running mate
Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga on Monday chose a former justice minister as his running mate in elections set for August, making her the first-ever female face on a major presidential ticket in the East African country
washingtonpost.comFormer Kenyan President Kibaki is dead at 90
Kenya Obit Mwai Kibaki FILE - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki listens to former U.N Secretary General Kofi Annan after signing a power-sharing agreement with opposition leader Raila Odinga following weeks of bitter negotiations on how to end the country's deadly postelection crisis, in Nairobi, Feb. 28, 2008. Former Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has died at the age of 90. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, file) (Jerome Delay)NAIROBI, Kenya — (AP) — Former Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has died at the age of 90. Kibaki's death was announced Friday by President Uhuru Kenyatta, who said his passing was a sad day for the country and praised his predecessor as a great Kenyan. “Mwai Kibaki will forever be remembered as a gentleman in Kenyan politics, a brilliant debater and one who steered development in the country," Kenyatta said.
wftv.comKenyan lawyer goes on ICC trial in witness tampering case
A Kenyan lawyer has gone on trial at the International Criminal Court charged with bribing and threatening prosecution witnesses so that they would withdraw their statements in a case that ultimately collapsed amid widespread witness interference.
UN chief: World worse now due to COVID, climate, conflict
As he starts his second term as U.N. secretary-general, Antonio Guterres says the world is worse in many ways than it was five years ago because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and geopolitical tensions that have sparked conflicts everywhere.
Famed paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey dead at 77
Richard Leakey dies: Richard Leakey, Kenyan wildlife conservationist, places a rhino horn to be burned at the zoo in Dvur Kralove, Czech Republic, in 2017. (Petr David Josek/Associated Press, file)NAIROBI, Kenya — Paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey, famous for fossil-finding and conservation work in his native Kenya, has died, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced Sunday. “I would never describe it as a close family,” Richard Leakey said a few years ago. Richard Leakey was director of the National Museums of Kenya, Kenyatta said in a statement. We are deeply saddened to learn about the news of the death of our founder Dr. Richard Leakey.
wftv.comKenyan paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey dies at 77
Kenya Obit Richard Leakey FILE - Richard Leakey, Kenyan wildlife conservationist, places a rhino horn to be burned at the zoo in Dvur Kralove, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. Paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey, known for his fossil-finding and conservation work in his native Kenya, has died at 77. His death was announced Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022 by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File) (Petr David Josek)NAIROBI, Kenya — (AP) — Paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey, known for his fossil-finding and conservation work in his native Kenya, has died at 77, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced Sunday evening. Leakey, the son of globally known anthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey, also held a number of public service leadership roles including director of the National Museums of Kenya and what became the Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenyatta’s statement said.
wftv.comCovid passport a 'leash,' says Brazil's President Bolsonaro
Brazil rules out mandating a Covid-19 'vaccination passport,' despite a recommendation for foreign travellers arriving in the country from the national health regulator. 'I would rather die than lose my freedom,' says the far-right leader.
news.yahoo.comKenyan, South African presidents urge cease-fire in Ethiopia
South Africa Kenya Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, left, and his South Africa counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa address the media after their meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday Nov. 23, 2021. Kenyatta is in South Africa on a state visit to discuss political and economic issues. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) (Themba Hadebe)PRETORIA, South Africa — (AP) — Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa have called for increased cooperation to bring peace to conflict-ridden regions in Africa, at the start of the Kenyan leader's two-day state visit to South Africa. South Africa exported about $500 million worth of goods to Kenya in 2020, compared to imports of about $22 million, according to official statistics. The two leaders said they would like to see trade between South Africa and Kenya being more balanced.
wftv.comBlinken warns of global "democratic recession" as he visits Africa amid simmering crises in Ethiopia and Sudan
3-nation visit is part of a long-delayed mission aimed, at part, in answering China's outreach to the continent, but it comes amid war in Ethiopia and a military takeover in Sudan.
cbsnews.comAP PHOTOS: 'If they die, we all die': Drought kills in Kenya
The withered carcasses of livestock are reminders that drought has descended yet again in northern Kenya, the latest in a series of climate shocks rippling through the Horn of Africa. As world leaders address a global climate summit in Glasgow, pastoralists watch their beloved animals suffer from lack of water and food. Yusuf Abdullahi says he has lost 40 goats.
news.yahoo.comUrgent efforts to calm Ethiopia as war reaches one-year mark
All sides in Ethiopia's yearlong war in the Tigray region have committed abuses marked by "extreme brutality" that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the U.N. human rights chief said Wednesday. (AP Photo) (Uncredited)NAIROBI, Kenya — (AP) — Urgent new efforts to calm Ethiopia’s escalating war are unfolding Thursday as a U.S. special envoy visits and the president of neighboring Kenya calls for an immediate cease-fire while the country marks a year of conflict. Rival Tigray forces seized key cities in recent days and linked up with another armed group, leading the government of Africa’s second most populous country to declare a national state of emergency. On Wednesday, Facebook said it had removed a post by Abiy with that language, saying it violated policies against inciting violence. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
wftv.comKenya’s president Kenyatta: Africa is at a crossroads
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta said Thursday that Africa is at a crossroads, poised on one hand to reap the economic benefits of its youthful population and economic reforms but facing the spread of terrorism and insurgency on the other that are challenging almost all 54 nations on the continent. Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo pointed to multiple threats to the territorial integrity of some African countries, many civilians facing serious threats, and instability in some nations complicated by the interests of different actors not only within conflict areas but also from outside the continent. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also cited “worrying trends” in Africa -- too many countries where the military has seized power and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which has exacerbated “poverty, inequalities and all the drivers of conflict.”
news.yahoo.comBiden discusses 'transparency' with Kenya president
Biden US Kenya President Joe Biden, right, listens as Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, left, speaks during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON — (AP) — President Joe Biden and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta discussed financial transparency during their White House meeting Thursday, as the East African leader faces scrutiny over revelations that he and his family stashed millions of dollars in hidden offshore accounts. “And I’m committed to further elevating our ties with Kenya and nations across Africa as a whole. But Kenya is key to this.”White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted that Biden has been vocal about what he sees as “inequalities” in the international financial system. The meeting was Biden’s first one-on-one, in-person engagement as president with an African leader.
wftv.comBiden says he'll discuss 'transparency' with Kenya president
Biden US Kenya President Joe Biden, right, listens as Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, left, speaks during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021. He and his relatives have some $30 million in offshore holdings, according to reporting by The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Biden did not directly address the Pandora Papers revelations in a brief appearance with Kenyatta at the start of the Oval Office meeting. “Our nations share a deep commitment to fairness in .. .respect with equity and I’m committed to further elevating our ties with Kenya,” Biden said. “The Biden administration should make these issues front and center in discussions with President Kenyatta and other senior Kenyan officials this week,” Risch said.
wftv.comBiden to meet Kenya president facing Pandora Papers scrutiny
Pandora Papers FILE - Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta attends the annual tech conference "Inno Generation" organized by French investment bank Bpifrance in Paris, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020. Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta is one of 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of the secret accounts. President Uhuru Kenyatta is under scrutiny over revelations that he and his family stashed millions of dollars in hidden offshore accounts. The consortium obtained millions of leaked documents that detail the hidden wealth of prominent world leaders, politicians, corporate executives and celebrities. “The Biden administration should make these issues front and center in discussions with President Kenyatta and other senior Kenyan officials this week,” Risch said.
wftv.comBiden to meet Kenya president as war roils nearby Ethiopia
Biden President Joe Biden speaks about the September jobs report, Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, from the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON — (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to hold his first bilateral talks as president with an African leader on Thursday, hosting Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta as war and a humanitarian crisis roil neighboring Ethiopia, according to the White House. But the situation appears to have only worsened on the ground, with Tigray forces saying Ethiopia’s government has launched a long-threatened major military offensive against them in an attempt to end the war. A statement from the Tigray external affairs office earlier this week alleged that hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian “regular and irregular fighters” launched a coordinated assault on several fronts. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
wftv.comThe Latest: Kenya's president outlines his UN priorities
UN General Assembly Kenya In this photo taken from video shown at United Nations headquarters, Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta remotely addresses the 76th session of the U.N. General Assembly in a pre-recorded message, Wednesday Sept. 22, 2021. (UN Web TV via AP) (United Nations)The Latest on the UN General Assembly:___UNITED NATIONS — With Kenya poised to assume the presidency of the United Nations Security Council next month, the country’s president outlined his priorities. Uhuru Kenyatta said Wednesday in a pre-recorded speech at the U.N. General Assembly that he believes multilateral systems need to be fair, inclusive and effective. ___UNITED NATIONS — Jordan’s monarch recalled the 11-day Gaza War of this past summer in his speech before the United Nations, saying Tuesday the latest round of conflict was a reminder that the status quo is unsustainable. In an address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, Croatia’s president also called for electoral reform in Bosnia, saying its Croats were marginalized.
wftv.comWorld pledges $4B in push to repair COVID's education damage
Britain Global Education Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson alongside former PM of Australia Julia Gillard during a summit to raise funds for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), in London Thursday July 29, 2021. The UK last month pledged 430 million pounds (dollars 700 million US) to the project, which aims to secure at least five billion US dollars over the next five years. The commitments came Thursday at a conference in London hosted by Britain, Kenya and funding organization the Global Partnership for Education. He told conference delegates that education was “the silver bullet … that can solve virtually every problem that afflicts humanity.”Britain has pledged 430 million pounds ($600 million) to the Global Partnership for Education. But Johnson is facing criticism for slashing the U.K.’s international development budget from 0.7% of national income to 0.5%, cutting around 4 billion pounds ($5.6 billion) from projects that help the world’s most vulnerable.
wftv.comSeven Kenyan soldiers killed in jihadi ambush in Lamu county
NAIROBI, Kenya — (AP) — A Kenyan police official says that seven soldiers have been killed and one is missing in Lamu county after a bomb and ambush by Islamic extremist al-Shabab rebels from neighboring Somalia. The attack happened just days before President Uhuru Kenyatta is to launch a multi-million dollar port in Lamu county on Thursday. The military had said that the soldiers were on routine duty in the Baure area of Lamu county were attacked Tuesday morning after their vehicle ran over an explosive device along the Bodhei-Kiunga road. Al-Shabab has vowed revenge on Kenya for sending its troops to support the Somali government against their jihadi rebellion. Earlier this month, at least two people were killed in Lamu county near Kenya's eastern border with Somalia when their vehicle ran over an explosive device suspected to have been planted by al-Shabab.
wftv.comKenya's president names country's first female chief justice
NAIROBI, Kenya — (AP) — Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed Court of Appeal Judge Martha Koome as the East African country's first woman chief justice and head of the judiciary. She replaces David Maraga, who made history by leading the Supreme Court when it annulled Kenyatta's 2017 re-election victory citing “illegalities and irregularities” and ordering a fresh election. Before that historic decision, it was unprecedented in Africa for an opposition party to succeed in getting a court decision to overturn a president's election. Koome won the chief justice position over nine other candidates, including some of the country's most prominent lawyers and academics. None of the sitting Supreme Court judges applied for the position of chief justice, raising speculation that they were afraid to take up the mantle due to the pressure that Maraga received following the annulment of Kenyatta’s re-election.
wftv.comSomalia says it has resumed diplomatic ties with Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya — (AP) — Somalia says it has resumed diplomatic ties with neighboring Kenya after severing relations late last year. A government statement on Thursday thanked Qatar for its mediation efforts. Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed recently caused an uproar by approving a controversial two-year term extension. That move brought extraordinary scenes of rival groups of soldiers firing on each other in the capital, Mogadishu. Somalia's federal government had accused Kenya of meddling in politics in the country's south, where Kenya has soldiers fighting the al-Shabab extremist group.
wftv.comTanzania's new president on two-day state visit to Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya — (AP) — Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is on a two-day state visit to Kenya aimed at improving trade relations between the two East African neighbors which had deteriorated as a result of her predecessor's denial of COVID-19. Hassan was Tanzania's vice president and became the country's first woman president following the death of John Magufuli in March. She was welcomed to Kenya by President Uhuru Kenyatta and given a full military parade. Magufuli’s COVID-19 denial prompted Kenya to close its border with Tanzania in May last year except for cargo traffic. Kenya is the biggest investor in Tanzania and Tanzanian exports to Kenya have been rising over the last ten years, according to Kenyan officials.
wftv.comTanzania's new president on two-day state visit to Kenya
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is on a two-day state visit to Kenya aimed at improving trade relations between the two East African neighbors which had deteriorated as a result of her predecessor's denial of COVID-19. Hassan has agreed to border measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, a significant departure from the policies of Tanzania's previous leader. Hassan was Tanzania's vice president and became the country's first woman president following the death of John Magufuli in March.
news.yahoo.comThe Latest: Las Vegas casino capacity, crowds increase
Virus Outbreak Vegas Revival In this March 25, 2021, file photo, people gamble while wearing masks as a precaution against the coronavirus at the opening night of the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas. On Saturday, May 1, casino capacity limits in Las Vegas increase to 80% and person-to-person distancing drops from 6 feet (1.8 meters) to 3 feet (0.9 meters). (AP Photo/John Locher, File) (John Locher)LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas has increased its casino capacity and more pandemic-weary tourists are arriving at the entertainment city. ___TORONTO — Drugmaker Pfizer says it will start sending U.S.-produced COVID-19 vaccines to Canada next week. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says starting next week, Canada will be receiving 2 million doses a week from Pfizer alone.
wftv.comThe Latest: May Day marchers: Job protections amid pandemic
___WARSAW — Thousands lined for hours Saturday to get immunized with the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine in hopes of engaging in activities and travel. The mRNA vaccine from the U.S. manufacturer joins vaccines from AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson in receiving the WHO’s emergency use listing. ___TORONTO — Drugmaker Pfizer says it will start sending U.S.-produced COVID-19 vaccines to Canada next week. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says starting next week, Canada will be receiving 2 million doses a week from Pfizer alone. More than 1 million people were tested at the stadium and the number of vaccine doses administered there has topped 420,000, according to the city.
wftv.comKenya eases curfew, other virus measures after cases decline
NAIROBI, Kenya — (AP) — Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta loosened infection-control measures Saturday after the number of new COVID-19 cases confirmed in the country dropped from an early spring surge. Kenyatta announced in his May Day speech that a nightly curfew was being moved to 10 p.m. following a 72% reduction in new cases. Kenya’s 7-day rolling average of new confirmed cases more than doubled in March, from 1.02 new cases per 100,000 people on March 11 to 2.29 new cases per 100,000 people on March 25, according to Johns Hopkins University. The country’s mortality rate quadrupled during the same period, going from a 7-day rolling average of 0.01 deaths per 100,000 people to 0.04 deaths per 100,000. Kenya, with a population of 53 million, has reported a total of 159,318 confirmed cases and more than 2,700 deaths in the pandemic.
wftv.comKenya tightens restrictions amid a spike of COVID-19 deaths
A nurse, left, prepares a shot of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and provided through the global COVAX initiative, from a portable cold storage box, center, in Machakos, Kenya, Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)NAIROBI – With Kenya's COVID-19 cases and deaths surging, President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced tightened restrictions in five of the most affected counties. “A third wave of COVID-19 is at hand in Kenya," said Kenyatta in a nationally televised address. The country's rate of deaths has quadrupled, with the 7-day rolling average of daily deaths surging from 0.01 deaths per 100,000 people on March 11 to 0.04 deaths per 100,000 people on March 25. “I am personally convinced that the cost of not acting now will be far greater," he said Friday as he and his wife received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at State House, his official residence in Nairobi.
5 die in stampede to view body of Tanzania's Magufuli
Members of the military carry the body of former president John Magufuli to lie in state at Uhuru stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Saturday, March 20, 2021. Tens of thousands of Tanzanians came out to view Magufuli's body at Uhuru Stadium in the country's largest city, Dar es Salaam, over the weekend. Suzan Mtua, 30, died with four school-age children from the same family when there was a stampede of people wanting to view the body Sunday, Heri Mtua, a family spokesman, said. “The children had demanded they also attend the funeral of President Magufuli,” he said. President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was Magufuli's vice president and succeeded him, was joined by nine African heads of state on Monday for Magufuli's state funeral.
Death of Tanzania's Magufuli draws sorrow but ire from some
A man reads a copy of the Daily Nation morning newspaper reporting the death of neighboring Tanzania's President John Magufuli on a street in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, March 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi)NAKURU – News of the death of Tanzania's President John Magufuli drew mixed reactions; sorrow from many but bitterness from a critic who said he suffered during the president's rule which he said shrank the country's democratic space. As tributes come in from other African heads of state, Tanzania's opposition leader has been outspoken in his criticism of Magufuli. “It's poetic justice," opposition leader Tundu Lissu said Thursday of Magufuli's death, alleging that he succumbed to COVID-19. Many Tanzanians, however, mourned Magufuli's death and praised his rule.
Kenyans fear they're on their own as COVID-19 surges again
Other doctors say they cannot afford the treatment they administer to COVID-19 patients, yet many work while dangerously exposed without protection. Some health care workers organize fund drives for colleagues to pay medical bills. And yet last week, Kagwe said the government's health insurer will not assist Kenyans in paying for their admission and treatment and treatment for COVID-19. And he told lawmakers investigating claims that private insurance companies weren't covering the cost of COVID-19 treatment that such coverage wasn't feasible. Ten doctors and 20 other health care workers have died of COVID-19 so far, he said, and their colleagues had raised some $20 million for their bills in intensive care.
UN failures on coronavirus underscore the need for reforms
The coronavirus that has claimed nearly 1 million lives has underscored the failure of the United Nations to bring countries together to defeat it. We are in fact talking about ourselves, because the U.N. is its member states. Born out of the ashes of World War II with 50 members, the United Nations has since expanded dramatically. “We are in fact talking about ourselves, because the U.N. is its member states. Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez said the U.N. not only needs Security Council reform but new energy to live up to its mandate.
Leaders to UN: If virus doesn't kill us, climate change will
In a year of cataclysm, some world leaders at September 2020's annual United Nations meeting are taking the long view, warning: If COVID-19 doesn't kill us, climate change will. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)JOHANNESBURG – In a year of cataclysm, some world leaders at this week’s annual United Nations meeting are taking the long view, warning: If COVID-19 doesn't kill us, climate change will. Meanwhile, the U.N. global climate summit has been postponed to late 2021. That hasn’t stopped countries, from slowly sinking island nations to parched African ones, from speaking out. World powers cannot shirk their financial commitments to fighting climate change during the pandemic, Remengesau said, even as economies are battered.
The Latest: Venezuela's Guaidó urges nations to decry Maduro
Member state flags fly outside the United Nations headquarters during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)TANZANIA – The Latest from the U.N. General Assembly (all times EDT):8:10 p.m. But U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó still put out his own online message during this year’s gathering of world leaders. Guaidó is recognized by nearly 60 nations as Venezuela’s president and has been in a nearly two-year standoff with Maduro. This week at the U.N. gathering of world leaders, African nations again have made it clear it’s time that changed.
Oil companies accused of wanting to dump plastics in Africa
Plastic waste meant for recycling has piled up in dumps in Kenyan cities. Meanwhile, oil companies are under pressure as more countries, notably Kenya, aim to shift away from fossil fuels for their energy needs. They want Kenya to reverse its strict limits on plastics, including 2017 plastic bag ban! Its a NO! tweeted James Wakibia, who pushed hard for Kenya's plastic bag ban. The American Chemistry Council said it did not know whether the Office of the United States Trade Representative had taken its recommendations into consideration.
US-China spats rattle world, prompting calls for unity
France has avoided echoing Trumps criticism of Beijings handling of the coronavirus, but legislators applauded Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian last week when he condemned abuses of minority Uighurs in Chinas northwest. That rancor has spread to include Hong Kong, Chinese Muslims, spying accusations and control of the South China Sea. Trump complains about the cost of stationing 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea to protect against North Korean threats. The U.S.-Chinese row has thrown a question to South Korea" about which side to choose, the newspaper Dong-A Ilbo said in an editorial Monday. We are making clear: Beijings claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a July 13 statement.
Virus cases up sharply in Africa, India as inequality stings
Covid-19 patients are being treated at the Tshwane District Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday July 10, 2020. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize this week said South Africa could run out of available hospital beds within the month. Inequality concerns are growing as health workers seek better protection while some among the rich are hoarding equipment at home. South Africa now has more than 250,000 confirmed cases, including more than 3,800 deaths. More than 8,000 health workers across Africa have been infected, half of them in South Africa.
Kenya launches second phase of billion-dollar Chinese railway project
Two years after the completion of the first phase of the Standard Gauge Railway project, Kenya's largest infrastructure project since independence, President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday launched its second phase. NAIROBI, Kenya - Two years after the completion of the first phase of the Standard Gauge Railway project (SGR), Kenya's largest infrastructure project since independence, President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday launched its second phase. According to Kanze Dena, spokeswoman for the President's office, SGR's second phase has four terminals and its trains will operate three times a day. The development of Kenya's rail service has been part of China's One Belt, One Road initiative, a billion-dollar infrastructure project throughout Asia, Europe and Africa. Phase one and two are not the end of the line for the railway project.
Kenya launches largest wind power plant in Africa
In this file photo taken in 2016 wind turbines of the Lake Turkana Wind Power project (LTWP) are seen in Loiyangalani district, Marsabit County, northern Kenya. (CNN) - Kenya has launched Africa's largest wind power farm in a bid to boost electricity generating capacity and to meet the country's ambitious goal of 100% green energy by 2020. State-owned power company KenGen produces approximately 80% of electricity consumed in Kenya, and of that, 65% comes from hydro-power sources, which it sells to Kenya Power, the country's main electricity transmission company,Kenya's LTWP is not the only existing wind power project on the continent. Africa has fully operational wind farms in Morocco, Ethiopia, and South Africa providing sustainable energy. In South Africa, wind energy is already boosting electricity.
Kenya telecoms giant Bob Collymore dies of cancer at 61
(CNN) - Bob Collymore, chief executive officer of Safaricom, Kenya's largest mobile service provider, died of cancer on Monday, the company announced on Monday. Collymore began receiving treatment for leukemia in 2017, but his condition worsened in recent weeks, Safaricom Chairman Nicholas Nganga, said in a statement. "He has been undergoing treatment for his condition since then in different hospitals and most recently at Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi. In recent weeks, his condition worsened, and he succumbed to the cancer at his home in the early hours of Monday," the company said. "It is with deep sadness that I have this morning received news of the death of Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore after years of battling cancer.