Kenya

NAIROBI, April 25 (Reuters) - Rebellious Tigrayan forces are completely withdrawing from the neighbouring region of Afar in Ethiopia, a rebel spokesperson told Reuters on Monday, saying he hoped it meant that desperately needed food aid could finally pour into famine-hit Tigray.

"Our forces have left all of Afar," Getachew Reda, a spokesperson for the Tigray People's Liberation Front, told Reuters on Monday.

Reuters could not immediately independently confirm Getachew's statement.

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — Agricultural workers in the east and Horn of Africa are preparing for their most severe drought in 40 years, as authorities warn that higher temperatures and less than normal rainfall was recorded by weather agencies in March and April this year.

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — Climate activists are urging more banks and insurers not to back the controversial $5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline that is primed to transport oil from the Hoima oilfields in Uganda to the Tanzanian coastal city of Tanga.

Influential climate activists Vanessa Nakate and Hilda Nakabuye have lent their support to opponents of the pipeline citing the need for Africa to stay away from fossil fuels.

NAIROBI, April 12 (Xinhua) -- More than 29 million people are facing food insecurity in the Eastern African region, a regional bloc said in a new report launched in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, Monday.

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) said eastern Africa is facing the very real prospect that the rains will fail for a fourth consecutive season, placing Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia into a drought of a length not experienced in the last four decades.

NAIROBI, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Kenya and the Netherlands on Monday signed an agreement to facilitate the export of horticultural products through the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

James Macharia, the cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works, told journalists in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, that the deal involves the development of a cool logistics corridor on the railway system for the transportation of fresh produce to the port of Mombasa for onward export to Europe.

NAIROBI, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Kenya and Huawei on Friday signed an agreement to boost the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capacity in the country.

Joe Mucheru, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs said in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, that under the agreement, a total of 20,000 Kenyans will receive training including 12,500 civil servants over the next three years.

NAIROBI, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has so far vaccinated 15.9 million adults against COVID-19, the Ministry of Health said Monday in a report, putting the country on course to achieve its target of wholly vaccinating 70 percent of its adult population by June.

According to the ministry, 7.9 million people are fully vaccinated with two doses. Kenya plans to fully vaccinate 19 million adults by mid-year and an entire adult population of 27 million people by the end of the year.

NAIROBI, Mar 18 (NNN-KBC) – The World Bank approved 85.77 billion shillings (about 750 million U.S. dollars), to help accelerate Kenya’s ongoing inclusive and resilient recovery, from the COVID-19 crisis.

The World Bank said in a statement released yesterday that, the Development Policy Operation (DPO), will help Kenya strengthen fiscal sustainability, through reforms that contribute to greater transparency and the fight against corruption.

NAIROBI, March 8 (NNN-KBC) — Kenya and Moderna have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the first mRNA manufacturing facility in Africa.

Moderna is building this state-of-the-art mRNA facility in Africa with the goal of producing up to 500 million doses of vaccines each year.

The Company anticipates investing up to $500 million in this new facility which will focus on drug substance manufacturing on the continent of Africa for Africa, and could also be expanded to include fill/finish and packaging capabilities at the site.

NAIROBI, March 4 (NNN-KBC) –Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced the creation of a peace and environment award dubbed “Amani and Mazingira Global Award” as part of the celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The President said the bi-annual award, which will be sponsored by the Government and the people of Kenya, will be given to persons or institutions that champion environmental sustainability and peace.