Partial solar eclipse may be visible from Horn of Africa

Partial solar eclipse may be visible from Horn of Africa

Skywatchers and stargazers who rise early enough on Thursday morning may catch a glimpse of a partial solar eclipse visible across the Horn of Africa. The eclipse will move from east to west with a full “ring of fire” effect for other nations across the Indian Ocean and into Southeast…

Scientists in Botswana find rare fragments from asteroid impact

Scientists in Botswana find rare fragments from asteroid impact

Researchers working in Botswana say they’ve found asteroid fragments scattered across the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), a discovery that followed the sudden arrival of the asteroid and subsequent meteor fireball witnessed last month across southern Africa. This is only the second time in history that a small asteroid observed…

Kenya: Media closure, MP arrest and tear gas follow ‘subversive’ Odinga swearing-in

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga’s symbolic swearing-in ceremony in Nairobi is considered “a well- choreographed attempt to subvert or overthrow the legally constituted Government of the Republic of Kenya,” according to a statement released Wednesday. Interior Minister Fred Matiang’i said full investigations into Odinga and his Nasa “co-conspirators and facilitators” are…

Kenya: Nasa sends formal election withdrawal letter to IEBC

Kenya’s electoral commission says it has received official word from political opposition candidate Raila Odinga and the Nasa party confirming their intent to withdraw from the October 26 elections that followed the unprecedented overturning of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory in August. The letter sent to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries…

New protests in tense Kenya as country moves toward elections

In Kenya, street protests ahead of the new presidential elections on October 26 turned violent Friday in Kisumu, one of many locations where authorities have used tear gas while dispersing crowds. Supporters of candidate Raila Odinga and the Nasa political opposition party, protesting to demand reforms from the country’s Independent…

Kenya’s chief justice condemns threats over election decision

Amid the contentious political climate in Kenya, the country’s chief justice has issued a remarkable statement defending the role of an independent judiciary – one that ruled to overturn the results of the nation’s August 8 presidential election, and expects to be protected from threats and intimidation. The statement comes…

Kenya’s IEBC sets October date for new elections

Kenya announced an October 17 date for new elections following a Monday meeting of the country’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in Nairobi. The new date follows last Friday’s 4-2 ruling by Kenya’s Supreme Court that annuls the results of the August 8 elections. The court set aside a…