A furious China launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan on Thursday in what it said was a response to “separatist acts”, sending up heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated President Lai Ching-te. The exercises, in the Taiwan Strait and around groups of Taiwan-controlled islands beside the Chinese coast, come just three days after Lai took office, a man Beijing detests as a “separatist”. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, denounced Lai’s inauguration speech on Monday, in which he urged it to stop its threats, saying the two sides of the…
Author: KahawaTungu Editor
Kenya’s KCB Group’s (KCB.NR) pretax profit for the first quarter of this year jumped 53%, helped by higher interest income, it said on Wednesday. The bank, which also operates in Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Burundi, said pretax profit rose to 21.16 billion shillings ($160.91 million) from 13.85 billion shillings in the same period of last year. Net interest income rose to 31.06 billion shillings from 22.06 billion shillings. Gross loans increased 12.2% to 1.13 trillion shillings, while loan-loss provisions stood at 6.3 billion shillings, up from 4.12 billion shillings. “This was as a result of…
Ireland, Spain and Norway announced on Wednesday that they would recognise a Palestinian state on May 28 and hoped other Western countries would follow suit, prompting an angry response from Israel which recalled its ambassadors from the three capitals. All three countries painted the decision as a move aimed at accelerating efforts to secure a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. “We hope that our recognition and our reasons contribute to other western countries following this path, because the more we are, the more strength we will have to impose a ceasefire, to achieve the release of the hostages held…
Earnings from semiconductor bellwether Nvidia (NVDA.O), on Wednesday are set to provide the latest test for a U.S. stock market rally that has taken indexes to record highs this year. A 90% run in Nvidia’s shares this year has made it the third-biggest U.S. company by market value, trailing only Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Apple (AAPL.O). Its influence on broader markets has also grown. Because Nvidia’s chips are the gold standard in artificial intelligence, its results are widely seen as a barometer for the burgeoning AI industry, whose evolution has stoked investor enthusiasm and helped drive the bull run in U.S.…
Nigerian Singer, Oludipe Oluwasanmi David, popularly known as Spyro, has expressed admiration for Big Brother Naija reality star Nengi Hampson, recounting his first encounter with her. In a post via his Instagram handle, the singer recalled when an interviewer had asked him which female celebrity he would avoid being alone with. He mentioned Nengi humorously, adding that he tries not to act like Jesus since he’s merely His follower, and thus steers clear of the former BBNaija star to avoid temptation. Also Read: Burna Boy joins Nollywood “An interviewer recently asked me, which female in this industry would you never allow…
Grammy-winning singer, Damini Ogulu, aka Burna Boy, has ventured into the movie industry. The ‘African Giant’ crooner is set to make his debut as an executive producer in Black Mic Mac’s upcoming movie ‘3 Cold Dishes.’ Burna Boy would executively produce the movie through Spaceship Films, a company he co-founded alongside Bose Ogulu, his mother. The movie will be co-produced by Black Mic Mac, Ifind, Alma Prods, Asurf Films, and Martian Network. Also Read: I’ll have kids when I’m ready; Burna Boy Directed by Asurf Oluseyi and written by Tomi Adesina, ‘3 Cold Dishes’ is a story set across Nigeria, the…
Iran proclaimed five days of mourning for President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday, though the muted atmosphere revealed little of the spectacular public grief that has accompanied the deaths of other senior figures in the Islamic Republic’s 45-year history. While government loyalists packed into mosques and squares to pray for Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, both killed in a helicopter crash, most shops remained open and the authorities made little effort to interrupt ordinary life. A year after Raisi’s hardline government cracked down violently to end the biggest anti-establishment demonstrations since the 1979 revolution, opponents even posted furtive video…
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Tuesday more than 569 metric tons of humanitarian assistance has been delivered so far across a temporary floating pier to Gaza, but not all the aid has reached warehouses. Aid deliveries began arriving at a U.S.-built pier on Friday as Israel comes under growing global pressure to allow more supplies into the besieged coastal enclave. The U.N. said that 10 truckloads of food aid – transported from the pier site by U.N. contractors – were received on Friday at a World Food Programme warehouse in Deir El Balah in Gaza. Also Read: Israel War…
China’s embassy in Japan on Tuesday said it firmly opposes Japanese lawmakers visiting Taiwan and expressed firm protests. “The Japanese government and some politicians ignored China’s strong opposition and congratulated Taiwan’s Lai,” an embassy spokesperson said according to a statement. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te asked China on Monday to stop its military and political threats, saying in his inauguration speech that peace was the only choice and that Beijing had to respect the choice of the Taiwanese people. By Agencies.
Ebrahim Raisi, who died aged 63, rose through Iran’s theocracy from hardline prosecutor to uncompromising president, overseeing a crackdown on protests at home and pushing hard in nuclear talks with world powers as he burnished his credentials to position himself to become the next supreme leader. Raisi died when a helicopter carrying him back from a visit to the Azerbaijani border crashed in mountainous terrain, killing all aboard, a senior Iranian official said. Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was among those killed. Elected president in a closely controlled vote in 2021, Raisi took a tough stance in the nuclear negotiations, seeing…
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has disappeared after the helicopter he was in went down in the country’s East Azerbaijan province. The 63-year-old political heavyweight has long been regarded as the natural successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran. An established presence with deep connections in the judiciary and religious elite, Raisi – a hardline and religiously conservative politician – first ran for the presidency in 2017 but failed. He was eventually elected in 2021. Early years Raisi began studying at the renowned Qom religious seminary at the young age of 15, and proceeded to learn under several…
Israeli government splits over the war in Gaza broke open this week, after the Defence Minister publicly demanded a clear strategy from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as troops returned to battle Hamas fighters in areas thought to have been cleared months ago. The comments from Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who said he would not agree to setting up a military government in the enclave, reflect growing unease in the security establishment at the lack of direction from Netanyahu over who will be left to run Gaza when the fighting stops. They also brought out the sharp split between the two…
Mikel Arteta says “hopefully something beautiful is going to happen” as he prepares his Arsenal team for the final game of the Premier League season with the title still on the line. The Gunners, chasing their first English top-flight crown for 20 years, are two points behind champions Manchester City ahead of their home match against Everton on Sunday. If City lose or draw against West Ham at the Etihad, an Arsenal win would make the Gunners champions. “The only thing that we discussed (with his players) is that we have to give ourselves the opportunity to live a beautiful…
The Thirdway Alliance Kenya led by Dr Ekuru Aukot has filed a new lawsuit seeking to prevent the government from sending police to violence-plagued Haiti as part of a UN-backed mission. Dr Aukot and Miruru Waweru lodged the complaint on Thursday, arguing that the government had “blatantly disregarded” a January court order prohibiting the deployment as unconstitutional and illegal. The lawsuit said that its petitioners were “reliably informed” that the Kenyan deployment may take place no later than May 23, “hence the urgency of this application”. Haiti has suffered from poverty, political instability and natural disasters for decades, and the…
Ethiopian running legend Kenenisa Bekele will return to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years after he was named in a 10-member team for the Paris Games on Thursday. Bekele, 41, last competed in the Games in London in 2012 when he finished fourth in the men’s 10,000m before being overlooked for the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. However, a remarkable second-place finish at the London marathon in April was enough to earn him a place for the Paris Olympics in a squad which also features women’s world record holder Tigist Assefa. Bekele, who has won three Olympic golds…