Kenya

25 August 2007, Osaka, Japan (By David Byrd) -- Two Africans and an American have captured gold medals on the first day of the in Osaka, Japan. As VOA's David Byrd reports, Luke Kibet of Kenya, Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba and American Reese Hoffa were winners.

Kenya's Luke Kibet finished the 42.195-kilometer race in 2:15:59 seconds. The Kenyan is the first men's marathon world champion from his country in 20 years. Kibet said that his victory was driven by a promise he made before coming to Osaka.    » read more »

25 August 2007, Osaka, Japan (By David Byrd) -- Kenya has captured the first gold medal of the World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan. As VOA's David Byrd reports, Luke Kibet of Kenya ended his country's long world championship drought on a steamy day in Osaka.

Luke Kibet finished the 42.195 kilometer race in 2:15:59. The Kenyan is the first men's marathon world champion from his country in 20 years. The last Kenyan to win the title was Douglas Wakiihuri.

Luke Kibet said that his victory was driven by a promise he made before coming to Osaka.    » read more »

21 August 2007 -- Kenya’s former President Daniel Arap Moi and members of the opposition KANU-Party are reportedly campaigning for incumbent President Mwai Kibaki ahead of this year’s presidential elections. Observers believe there is a gentleman’s agreement between Moi and President Kibaki for the former president to deliver his party base for Kibaki. Meanwhile, Kalonzo Musyoka, leader of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya (ODM-Kenya) says he is ready to work with members of the other opposition Orange Democratic party (ODM).    » read more »

09 August 2007 -- In Kenya, environmental researchers say they may have discovered a new, effective weapon to combat malaria. The disease kills more than 1 million people worldwide each year. The weapon is a fish commonly found in Western Kenya.

Researchers in Kisumu, on the shores of Lake Victoria, were studying insects and the environment when they discovered that by introducing a fish called the Nile Tilapia into ponds, mosquito numbers fell by more than 94 percent in less than a year.    » read more »

11 July 2007 -- Six African countries – Botswana, Mali, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, and Kenya – rank among the world’s most tolerant societies in terms of religious freedoms. That’s according to the latest study by the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom. It measured the amount of government regulation, government favoritism toward a particular religion, and the amount of social pressures and constraints imposed by other faiths and organized groups in the country.    » read more »

07 July 2007 -- The U.N. food program says Kenya has allowed about 60 of its trucks to cross into Somalia after a wait of several weeks.

The World Food Program said Friday the trucks were allowed to cross the border this week following appeals from the international community.

The agency says there are still about 80 food trucks on the border and it hopes they will be allowed to cross soon.

Kenya closed its border with Somalia in January during fighting that pitted Islamic militia against Somali government troops and their Ethiopian allies.    » read more »

07 June 2007 -- As G-8 leaders debate what action they are going to take to tackle climate change, poor communities in Kenya's highlands are already feeling the impact of global warming. Katy Migiro reports from our Nairobi bureau that increased temperatures are bringing malarial mosquitoes to areas that were previously safe from the disease that kills more Africans than any other.

Africa is considered the continent that has done the least to contribute to climate change, but that has not made it immune to the problems caused by climate change.    » read more »

22 May 2007 -- Lawyers for veterans of Kenya's Mau Mau uprising of the 1950s say the British government has denied responsibility for colonial-era claims of torture and other atrocities.

At a news conference in Nairobi Tuesday, the lawyers presented a letter from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office rejecting the claim.

The letter argues the British government had no direct link to the colonial administration in Kenya at the time. The office also said too much time had passed to consider the claims.    » read more »

10 May 2007 -- Forensic experts are using genetic (DNA) testing to identify victims of Saturday's Kenya Airways crash in Cameroon.

Recovery teams Thursday are in the process of retrieving remains from the swamp where the jet crashed. Officials cautioned that the remains are in poor condition.

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki has declared Monday, May 14, a national day of mourning.

Authorities are probing the cause of the crash that killed all 114 people on board. Officials are also investigating the delay in finding the crash site.    » read more »

10 May 2007 -- Earlier this year, Charity Ngilu, Kenya’s health minister, announced she was running for president of Kenya in this year’s general election. Since then, she has come under criticism for her comments about President Mwai Kibaki’s government, describing it as corrupt and arrogant. Some of her fellow cabinet members described her as inconsistent and a double speaker.

But Ngilu, who first ran for president in 1997 as a candidate for the National Party of Kenya, told VOA she is running for president again to change Africa’s image as a continent of bad leaders.    » read more »

08 May 2007 -- Cameroon has opened an inquiry into the crash of a Kenya Airways plane that killed all 114 people on board Saturday.

Officials Tuesday say the investigation is focusing on why the plane went down and the delay in finding the wreckage.

The crash site was found in a mangrove swamp about 20 kilometers from Douala airport after nearly two days of searching.

Initially, the search focused on an area at least 140 kilometers from Douala based on information received from a satellite signal.    » read more »

06 May 2007 -- Reports from Cameroon, where a Kenya Airways plane crashed shortly after takeoff, say searchers have found wreckage but no sign of survivors.

The six-month-old Boeing 737 jet went down with 114 people aboard early Saturday, during a torrential rainstorm. The airport at Douala, Cameroon's largest city, briefly heard a distress signal, but rescuers were unable to locate the crash site for more than 40 hours.

The plane went down in a mangrove swamp 20 kilometers from the airport, along its flight path, and officials say a dense canopy of foliage concealed it from view.    » read more »

05 May 2007 -- Cameroon state radio says a Kenya Airlines jetliner that went missing shortly after taking off from a Cameroon airport Saturday has crashed.

The report says the Boeing 737-800 jetliner went down near the town of Niete, in southern Cameroon. The plane was carrying 106 passengers and nine crew members.

There is no immediate word on any survivors.    » read more »