At least 164 people across the globe were killed in 2018 while seeking to protect their land, water and other environmental rights, according to a Global Witness report released this week. That works out to more than three people each week, with the greatest losses in the Philippines and the…
International aid organization Oxfam says more than 15 million people in the Horn of Africa region need assistance because of an ongoing drought, with lives at risk because lessons learned from drought conditions earlier this decade are being ignored. Parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are affected again after sparse…
President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya was on hand Friday for the launch of the Lake Turkana wind energy project, which is expected to increase the country’s electricity supply by an estimated 13 percent. The project, the largest in Africa, has an installed capacity of 310 megawatts of clean renewable energy,…
President Salva Kiir of South Sudan and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta focused on sustainable urban development as the two participated in a panel discussion on cities at the United Nations Habitat Assembly in Nairobi. Kenyatta said the future represents a massive challenge for urbanization, with the need for alternative solutions…
The UN human rights agency said Friday it was dismayed by the Kenyan High Court decision to uphold the nation’s ban on same-sex relations. “Criminalizing acts targeting certain individuals based on who they are and whom they love is inherently discriminatory,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet….
The hippopotamus is contributing to ecosystem health in African lakes and rivers in a way that scientists haven’t considered before, and it’s because of the beneficial silicon that hippos are transferring through their poop. “Hippos differ from other large grazing animals in the savannah,” said biologist Jonas Schoelynck from the…
President Xi Jinping of China, speaking Friday at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, focused on sustainable global development as he assured world leaders that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aligns with their own initiatives. “From the Eurasian continent to Africa, the Americas and…
Malawi on Tuesday became the first African nation to launch a pilot program to administer the world’s first malaria vaccine to children ages 2 and under, according to the World Health Organization. The vaccine known as RTS,S has taken 30 years to develop and so far is the only vaccine…
Paleontologists at Ohio University in the United States say they have discovered a new species of large carnivore, after taking a second look at fossils stored in a drawer at the National Museums of Kenya. The 22-million-year-old fossils were found in Kenya decades ago by researchers focused on ancient apes,…
Peter Tabichi is a science teacher in rural Kenya who gives away 80 percent of his salary each month to people in the community who need it more than he does. Now he’s been named the winner of the Global Teacher Prize, a USD$1 million award supported by the Varkey…
A cannabis company based in the United States says its plans for production operations in Kenya are moving forward – but the Kenyan government is denying that’s true in a country where cultivation and use remain illegal. GoIP Global (GOIG) announced in early March that it has secured the initial…
It’s been one year since the death of Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino. He lived to be 45 before age-related health complications and infections claimed his life at Ol Pejeta, the conservancy in Nanyuki, Kenya, that Sudan called home. He left behind a daughter, Najin, and her…
Students in Kenya marched to the edge of the Karura Forest in Nairobi to demand action on climate change, joining young people in 123 countries who participated in Friday’s Climate Strike – a massive undertaking in more than 2,000 cities. “Every single person who came out to march today is…
World Bank Group announced Thursday it is providing USD$22.5 billion to Africa for climate mitigation and adaptation across five years beginning with 2021, adding to the $17 billion already committed through the Africa Climate Business Plan. The announcement was made during the One Planet Summit in Nairobi, with President Uhuru…
A team of medical researchers are calling attention to the links between liver disease in sub-Saharan Africa and the role of chewing khat, the plant commonly known as miraa in East African nations. In a letter to The Lancet medical journal, the researchers from Norway, the UK and Ethiopia praise…