Author: KahawaTungu Reporter

The US may require foreign nationals from certain countries to pay a $15,000 (£11,300) deposit for a tourist or business visa. The 12-month pilot programme aims to curb visa overstays “or where screening and vetting information is considered deficient”, according to a notice published by the US state department. It does not specify which countries are covered by the pilot programme. The US administration has taken several steps to further President Donald Trump’s agenda of stemming illegal immigration. Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his second term to this effect. The state department notice, published on…

Online creators from dozens of countries, led by MrBeast and popular science YouTuber Mark Rober, are launching a $40 million fundraiser to build water quality projects around the world. The month long crowdfunding campaign, touted as the biggest YouTube collaboration and called #TeamWater, promises to rally their combined 2 billion subscribers around combating unsafe water sources. Funds will primarily benefit WaterAid, an international nonprofit that builds community-tailored infrastructure ranging from solar-powered wells to rainwater harvesting systems. More than 2 billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water as of 2022, according to the United Nations. Organizers want to put…

Rescuers are looking for dozens of people who are feared trapped after a massive cloudburst triggered heavy rains and flash floods in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. Teams, including army and paramilitaries, have reached Dharali village in Uttarkashi district, which is believed to have borne the brunt of the floods. Dramatic videos of the disaster show a giant wave of water gushing through the area, crumpling buildings in its path. A tourist spot, Dharali is populated with hotels, resorts and restaurants. A cloudburst is an extreme, sudden downpour of rain over a small area in a short period of…

Unemployment ranked first as the most critical problem facing the country today followed by corruption, poverty and high cost of living. The other problems are, inadequate health care, poor infrastructure and poor leadership. The National Ethics and Corruption Survey, 2024 shows giving of bribes (52.1%) was the most common form of corruption witnessed in public offices. This was followed by receiving of bribes (41.9%), favoritism (22.5%), abuse of office (14.6%), tribalism and nepotism (11.8%) and embezzlement of public funds (11.7%). The proportion of those who encountered bribery (demanded, expected and offered) was 30.5 percent. About 19 percent were explicitly asked…

A man was stabbed and killed in an altercation in a bar in Mutitu area, Kirinyaga County. Peter Muriithi Gikunju, 30 was stabbed in the neck in an altercation with a man known to him, police said. Police said the incident happened at Fanjo Two Bar located at Mombasa Ndogo in Ngomongo area on Monday August 4 at night. The suspected assailant removed a knife from his pocket and stabbed the deceased on the neck leaving him bleeding on the ground and fled from the scene. Members of the public rushed the deceased to Kerugoya Referral Hospital where he was…

At least five people, among them an infant died after their vehicle was involved in a grisly road crash at Mbaruk area in Gilgil along the Nakuru-Nairobi Highway. Nakuru County Traffic Enforcement Officer Allan Ogolla said the Monday evening accident involved three vehicles with all the five victims on board one private car. Police said the driver of a Toyota Fielder was overtaking a fleet of vehicles but was caught up before he got back to his lane, colliding head on with a saloon car. After the collision, the driver of the Toyota Fielder lost control of the vehicle and…

There was drama at the premises of a church in Ngara area, Nairobi when a pastor shot to the air to scare a group of auctioneers who had visited the premises. The pastor is a licensed firearm holder. He used his Glock pistol to shoot to the air to scare the auctioneers from the Shalom Grace Church compound on Monday evening. Police said no one was injured but the group of auctioneers had to flee for their safety. The group had obtained a court order to attach some of the property of the church in a civil case that had…

Detectives arrested a Mombasa based tiktoker popularly known as Hon Mosquito in connection with what they termed as a seditious video that was widely circulated on TikTok on August 1, 2025. Shedrack Omondi Okindo, alias Hon. Mosquito was arrested from his hideout in the Miritini area of Mombasa County following the publication of the video that he was defending three former security agents now under arrest, police said. The inflammatory clip, which contained threats of violence and incitement against public order, quickly went viral, triggering public concern and swift action from security agencies. Following forensic leads, detectives trailed Okindo to…

India has called Donald Trump’s threat of “substantially” higher tariffs over its purchase of oil from Russia “unjustified and unreasonable”. In a post on Truth Social, the US president warned he would raise levies, saying India “don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine”. India is currently among the largest buyers of Russian oil. It has become an important export market for Moscow after several European countries cut trade when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Trump did not specify what the new tariff would be, but it comes just…

Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered that the former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro be put under house arrest. He is standing trial over allegations he plotted a coup, which he denies. The judge in charge of investigating Bolsonaro, Alexandre de Moraes, said the decision was because Bolsonaro hadn’t complied with restraining orders put on him last month. In response to the order, Bolsonaro’s legal team denied breaching any restraining order and said they would appeal the ruling, according to Reuters news agency. In a statement on X, the US state department said it “condemns” the court order and “will hold accountable all…

US Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered prosecutors to open legal proceedings into allegations of a so-called Russiagate conspiracy that Donald Trump has long claimed was concocted by political foes to smear him. Bondi has ordered a federal prosecutor to seek a potential indictment, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS News. It is unclear, however, what the possible charges might be and who could be charged. Last month, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accused former President Barack Obama and his national security team of a “years-long coup” against Trump as she released a declassified report that Democrats…

Texas Republicans have voted to track down and arrest dozens of Democratic legislators who have fled the state to block passage of a partisan redistricting plan. The vote passed by 85 to 6, following Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s threat of bribery charges against the absent Democrats. After the vote, the governor ordered state troopers “to locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans”. The proposed congressional map, unveiled last week by Republicans, would create five more Republican-leaning seats in the US House of Representatives, where President Donald Trump’s party currently holds…

President Donald Trump praised actress Sydney Sweeney in the wake of a social media backlash against an advertisement she features in. “Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the HOTTEST ad out there,” he wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday. “Go get ’em Sydney!” The Emmy-nominated actress, who starred in Euphoria and The White Lotus, appears in a jeans advertisement for American Eagle where she says: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.” Some criticised the 27-year-old blue-eyed star’s wordplay in the commercial,…

The M-PESA Sokoni Caravan has now made a grand entrance into the Nairobi Region, bringing with it a range of exciting prizes for Safaricom customers. Nairobi marks the climax and final leg of the nationwide tour, which began in June and has been delighting customers across the country. The caravan tour kicked off in Kibera (Kwa DC) today and is expected to visit various estates in Nairobi, including Waithaka stage, Zambezi, Limuru stage and Wangige to celebrate customers as part of the M-PESA @18 celebrations. “We officially kicked off our M-PESA Sokoni campaign in June. Since then, we have traversed…

Former Lands Commissioner and ex-Baringo Central Member of Parliament Sammy Silas Komen Mwaita was Monday arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts, where he faced multiple charges related to a land fraud scheme involving property worth Sh150 million. Mwaita was charged with unlawfully creating two title deeds with the intent to defraud the rightful owners of two prime parcels of land. Mwaita’s co-accused, Kiplangat, failed to appear for plea-taking, prompting Senior Principal Magistrate Ben Mark Ekhubi to issue a summons for his appearance on Tuesday. Mwaita pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on a bond of Sh10 million…