As a ‘late bloomer’ in digital culture the smartphone is a bad intruder in our 44-year-old marriage
The smartphone is a bad intruder in our home. We talk far less than ever before, yet talking and laughing together have in the past has glued us together, sharing our ups and downs. We hardly watch television together because of the smartphone. The smart phone consumes a lot of time that would go to keep the old people talking to one another. Worse still, when our children and their children visit us, each one has a smart phone.
US to build five new military bases for Somali army, which faces insurgency by extremists
The UN Security Council has authorised the reduction of the peacekeeping force in Somalia and the Somali government says it is achieving progress in improving security.
Kenya targets lower budget deficit in next fiscal year after decade of debt-fuelled infrastructure spending
To cover the deficit, the government will raise 326.1 billion shillings in net external financing, and another 377.7 billion shillings in net domestic borrowing. Overall spending will rise to 4.19 trillion shillings ($28.90 billion) from an estimated 3.90 trillion shillings in this fiscal year, the ministry said.
Why modern farmers and scientists are keen on growing more crops for cows and cars, not food for humans
To see the yield gap in action, compare two important corn producers: the US and Kenya. In the US, the average yield is around 10.8 tonnes per hectare, while in Kenya it’s 1.5 tonnes. While the US is very close to its maximum theoretical corn yields, Kenya – taking into account its different climate – is way below its theoretical maximum. In other words, the US barely has a corn yield gap at all, while Kenya has a yield gap of about 2.7 tonnes per hectare below its theoretical maximum.
More sinned against than sinning: How successive regimes in Uganda exploited, abused and impoverished once rich Busoga
Because the Basoga are easier to divide than unite, Busoga has been a perennial loser in terms of development, transformation and progress in Musevenite times. It has lost opportunities, resources, properties and land to foreigners since precolonial times. The precolonial rulers of Busoga – Buganda and Bunyoro – exploited Busoga to their advantage when the indigenous Basoga were not united and only depended on shifting agriculture and hunting only for food. The precolonial rulers stole ivory, leopard skins and gold and traded them with other peoples. The Baganda colonisers even abducted the beautiful Basoga women.
Mortar explosion demed result of ‘indirect fire’ kills two South African soldiers in eastern DRC
Violence in the conflict-hit region has increased in recent weeks, with many blaming attacks on the M23 rebel group that has been fighting Congolese soldiers in the region for years. The Congo government says M23 receives military support from neighbouring Rwanda, which Rwanda denies.
Plan by Kenya to buy back $1.4 billion of international bond eases investor jitters it might default
The pressure on the Kenyan government’s finances has forced it to try to squeeze every shilling it can from taxpayers, angering voters who had supported the current government on the premise it would lower the cost of living.
Henry Rono, Kenyan long distance runner who set four world records in 81 days, dies aged 72
Between April and June of 1978, Rono, a student at Washington State University in the United States and relatively unknown on the international stage, set world records in the 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 metres and the 3,000 metre steeplechase.
M23 rebels go on rampage in eastern DR Congo and uproot 135,000 people near Lake Kivu
The presence of unexploded ordnance poses a particular threat to children, it added, noting that since the first week of February, at least 15 civilians had been killed and 29 injured around Goma and Sake. Chansa Kapaya, UNHCR Regional Director for Southern Africa said that men, women and children have been targeted in relentless confrontations.
Central Bank of Kenya buys dollars to slow down strengthening of the shilling against hard currencies
The government also sold a 70 billion shilling infrastructure bond, receiving over 288 billion shillings of bids, a 412 per cent subscription rate, with strong offshore investor participation. The Kenyan shilling extended gains on Wednesday, hitting its strongest in more than three months as confidence the government would pay off a Eurobond maturing in June buoyed investor appetite.
