World’s authoritarian regimes revel in Trump’s foreign aid freeze, term affected Washington allies ‘disposable tissue’
In Venezuela, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, the main enforcer of the ruling socialist party’s security apparatus, boasted last week on state TV that the aid channelled by USAID to the opposition was a “black box of corruption” that he vowed to investigate. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on X that he hopes the “notorious Deep State doesn’t swallow” Musk for pulling the plug on the agency.
Tit-for-tat: China responds swiftly to US trade tariffs with its on hefty levies on American goods
President Donald Trump looks on as he signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, on January 31, 2025. Credit: Reuters
Kenyan journalists told to priotise own safety as country’s press freedom index falls from 66 to 116 in the world
Senior Kenya Union of Journalists official Kwamboka Oyaro told journalists to always carry proper identification as well as don appropriate attire for the assignment. She pointed out that journalists must always assess the risk, be aware of the weapons being used around them and know when to stop reporting and run to safety.
With 80 per cent of Kenya arid, state drafts agriculture irrigation masterplan to address food security, employment
The principal secretary said that the irrigation plan is in line with the government’s development pillar, the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which envisages transformation in the agricultural sector to address food insecurity and unemployment.
Powerful Elon Musk called ‘fourth arm of government’ shuts down US’ largest humanitarian aid agency
Musk has been increasingly critical of USAID, calling it a left-wing agency unaccountable to the White House. Musk critics say his accusations are often lodged without evidence and may be ideologically driven.
Africa takes GDP recalculation campaign to G20 summits, but scepticism abounds
African nations often have lower credit ratings and face high lending costs because of their perceived riskiness. For example, Nigeria and Kenya issued dollar bonds with interest rates of 10 per cent last year, compared with below 5 per cent rates for advanced economies like the United States.
How Trump’s ‘America First’ has hit HIV/Aids programmes in Africa after US aid freeze
More than 8 million in South Africa live with HIV, and authorities say PEPFAR helps provide life-saving antiretroviral treatment to 5.5 million people every day.
Intriguing revelations by retired Kenya government chemist detail how ministers Ouko, Saitoti, Ojode, Mutula Kilonzo and Raila’s Fidel were assassinated by state
The retired government chemist also led the forensic team that investigated ODM party leader Raila Odinga’s son, Fidel Castro Odinga’s death in 2015. He was the lead forensic investigator of the death of former Vice-President George Muthengi Saitoti and assistant minister Joshua Orwa Ojode in 2012.
Suspected al Shabaab gunmen abduct five chiefs in northeast Kenya days before president’s visit
The al Qaeda-allied al Shabaab has been fighting for years in Somalia to topple the central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.
Why false and empty promises are likely remain the currency that drives Uganda’s politics and governance
False promises in governance are an aspect of bad governance since we cannot build meaningful and effective leadership, governance, equity, equality and justice, nor sustain patriotism in the country in the long term. Patriotic people are not made through a chain of false or empty promises, especially when some sections of the population actually get promises fulfilled discriminatively at the expense of others.
