First Independent Mena Newspaper
To offer developing countries an “alternative” to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the EU launched, in 2021, its €300 billion Global Gateway scheme but as Kenya’s case shows, the EU’s initiative struggles to challenge its Chinese rival. For the European Union, investing in trade routes is about economic development and a way to push […]
African nations have been divided over which side to support in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, but African leaders have still unanimously called on warring parties to halt deadly confrontations that erupted on 7 October when the Palestinian militant group launched a surprise assault. With the African Union (AU) having been divided over the […]
Kenya’s president William Ruto has welcomed the UN Security Council’s resolution to send a a multinational armed force led by the East African nation to Haiti to help combat violent gangs, pledging “not fail the people of Haiti.” Ruto made these remarks on Tuesday (2 October), only hours after Monday’s vote at the UN that […]
Kenyan lawmakers are considering changes to the Mining Act of 2016, thus following in the footsteps of Uganda that passed its Mining and Minerals Act in October 2022, aiming to reform its nascent mining industry to improve the state’s control and oversight of the critical industry. The Mining (Amendment) Bill that was tabled in the […]
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has potential to increase cross-border remittances by migrants, according to a new report by World Bank, even as international markets remain the largest sources. The AfCFTA has the potential to make cross-border transactions such as remittance transfers by migrants within Africa cheaper through the Pan-African Payment and Settlement […]
Sweden’s Right Livelihood Award, known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize”, has in 2023 honored work of two women activists from Africa to provide safer abortion access in the continent and in the area of environmental protection in Kenya, as well as a humanitarian group that rescues migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. The 2023 laureates “stand […]
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and Moscow’s withdrawal in July from the Black Sea Grain Initiative has driven up global food and commodity prices, severely affecting farming sectors in countries all across Africa. Russia’s withdrawal from a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that allowed the safe passage of Ukrainian grain through the […]
The inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS) that officially opened in Nairobi on Monday (4 September) has been hailed as an “unparalleled opportunity” to benefit from action to tackle global warming. The ACS comes ahead of a flurry of diplomatic meetings leading to the November COP28 climate summit in the United Arab Emirates, which will likely […]
As Kenya is preparing to host the Africa Climate Summit next month, African leaders should be ready for serious and frank discussions about the climate change challenges that threaten to make large parts of the continent uninhabitable. The event will take place alongside Africa Climate Week (ACW) 2023 and a pre-event, the 11th Conference on […]
Danfoss, a Danish energy solutions company, is eyeing the growing data centre market in Kenya’s data center sector, partnering with local companies and institutions to grow its foothold in the East African country that has long harbored the ambition to become the regional petroleum hub. Through partnerships with Kenyan companies, alliances with universities, and internship […]