KBC Channel 1

Author: KBC Digital

  • Peng Liyuan, OAFLAD initiate event to care for African orphans’ health

    Peng Liyuan, OAFLAD initiate event to care for African orphans’ health

    CGTN

    Ahead of International Children’s Day, Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD) jointly initiated the “Warm Children’s Hearts: a China-Africa Joint Action” event to care for the health of African orphans.

    Chinese embassies and medical teams in relevant African countries visited children in local orphanages and institutions, donating stationery, food, clothes, shoes and medicine, as well as providing free medical services to them.

    China is Africa’s eternal friend and sincere partner, Peng noted in the initiative.

    This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Chinese government sending medical teams to Africa, Peng said, adding Chinese medical teams have actively provided assistance for people in African countries, becoming a messenger of conveying China-Africa friendship.

    It is hoped that the event can convey warmth and care, as well as improve the health and well-being of African children, so as to contribute to promoting the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era, said Peng.

    Monica Geingos, president of the OAFLAD and first lady of the Republic of Namibia, together with members of the OAFLAD, actively responded to the initiative, and spoke highly of Peng’s long-term care and support for the development of women and children in Africa.

    The presidents, wives of presidents and senior officials of many African countries attended the event in their countries, appreciating China’s long-term assistance and support for Africa and voicing hope to write a new chapter of Africa-China friendship to create a better future together.

    (Cover: The “Warm Children’s Hearts: a China-Africa Joint Action” charity activity is held in Juba, South Sudan, May 30, 2023. /Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in South Sudan)

  • Zinga: Edward Mwasi asihi Wakenya kuzingatia masomo ya historia ya nchi

    Zinga: Edward Mwasi asihi Wakenya kuzingatia masomo ya historia ya nchi

    Mkurugenzi wa shirika la Kenya Yearbook Editorial Board Edward Mwasi asema Wakenya wanafaa kuzingatia masomo ya historia ya nchi kama njia mojawapo ya kuhakikisha wanajua wanakotoka na wanakoenda kama nchi.

  • “Twinkle Star Project” launched to screen Chinese cartoons in Africa

    “Twinkle Star Project” launched to screen Chinese cartoons in Africa

    CGTN

    China Media Group (CMG) has launched an animation tour titled “Twinkle Star Project” in Nairobi, Kenya, to screen its original cartoons in schools of Kenya.

    The launch ceremony, held on May 31st, or the eve of the Children’s Day in many countries, saw representatives of international organizations, the Kenyan government, Chinese communities in Kenya as well as school children in Nairobi.
    Peninah Malonza, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage, said during her speech that, “The many programs of the Twinkle Star Project will undoubtedly provide an invaluable boost to the Africa-China cultural cooperation.”
    Selected CMG cartoons include “Monkey King” based on a popular Chinese classic novel, and “Zhang Qian, the Envoy” featuring a Chinese official whose travel outside of China 2100 years ago contributed to the creation of the ancient Silk Road.
    The Twinkle Star Project will also feature a painting competition for Chinese and African children.
    The-event-packed project will run until the end of the year.

  • Digital economy empowers China’s high-quality development

    Digital economy empowers China’s high-quality development

    By Xinhua

    Digitalization, a trend for global economic development, has become an indispensable part of China’s high-quality development.

    Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, blockchain technology, brain-computer interface, and digital transformation of enterprises – digital technology and digitalization are gaining traction in global economic development.

    In recent years, the sector has seen robust growth. The scale of China’s digital economy grew to 50.2 trillion yuan (about 7.09 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2022, with year-on-year nominal growth of 10.3 percent and ranking second globally, according to a report on the development of China’s digital industry.

    The share of the digital economy in the country’s GDP rose to 41.5 percent, the report said.

    “China’s digital progress has been spectacular,” Thomas C. Tuttle, former president of the World Academy of Productivity Science, said via video link at the just-concluded Zhongguancun Forum, adding that China has done a better job of creating digital platforms that provide rich sources of market data from customers that can be analyzed to drive innovation.

    The policy supports provided a thrust for the growth of the sector. Wang Jianwei, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at the forum that over the past few years, China has rolled out plans to facilitate the development of the digital economy and to integrate its industrial sector with information technologies in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), while local governments have introduced more than 300 supporting policies.

    Other than government support, enterprises in China have also been blazing their trails toward digitalization, driving the country’s bid to make its industrial, rural, and other sectors more efficient and advanced.

    Telecom provider China Unicom considers digitalization services as one of its major businesses, Li Guangju, president of China Unicom Digital Technology, said at the forum.

    Based on the digital transformation needs of enterprises, China Unicom has built a complete set of digitalization platforms for enterprises to connect their old and new applications.

    So far, the company has provided digitalization services for more than 300 large-scale enterprises in management, operation, and production, Li said.

    In the meantime, the application and promotion of digital technology in the field of agriculture and rural affairs have spawned new business forms, new platforms, and new models, Gao Liqiang, vice president of China’s online retailer giant JD.com said when delivering a speech at the forum.

    Gao said JD.com has been promoting the digital upgrading of the whole process of agricultural products from production to sales with its digital supply chain technology.

    The development of China’s digital sector brought more opportunities for international cooperation.

    The digital economy offers tremendous opportunities for job creation, economic growth, and social development, said Luigi Gambardella, chairman of the China-Europe Digital Association.

    “Europe and China, as two major players in the digital arena, have a crucial role in shaping this shared future. By joining hands, we can set new standards, establish common frameworks, and drive the digital agenda forward,” Gambardella said.

    For the next move, China will continue to strengthen the layout of 5G, the industrial internet, artificial intelligence, and other digital infrastructure, level-up sectors such as big data and basic software, and build internationally competitive digital industrial clusters, Wang Jianwei said.

    Efforts will also be made to cultivate a cross-industry and cross-field comprehensive industrial internet platform, and conduct digital transformation in the manufacturing sector to promote the digital transformation to a more profound level, said Wang.

  • Scrap metal dealers pledge support for ongoing war on vandals

    Scrap metal dealers pledge support for ongoing war on vandals

    Traders under the United Scrap Metal Association (USMA) umbrella body are engaging stakeholders in the sector as they seek to find lasting solutions to the vandalism menace.

    Through their chair Joseph Wandaka, the group met with top officials from Kenya Power, Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO), Ministry of Roads, Transport, and Public Works to come up with the most effective ways of stopping vandalism of government infrastructure.

    The dealers who were meeting in Nakuru agreed to expose any suspected vandalized property in the supply chain to relevant state agencies and hand over culprits to authorities for further action.

    “If we find any of our members with scrap metal suspected to have been vandalized from public infrastructure, we will take them to the police ourselves. We have put our members on notice not to buy stolen materials.” Said Wandaka.

    He termed vandalism of power lines and other investments as economic sabotage and called for stiffer penalties against those found engaging in the vice even as he urged state agencies to embrace innovation by deploying Information Communication Technology to protect critical government infrastructure.

    While expressing their intent to support ongoing efforts by the government to crack down on vandals, USMA vice chairperson Samuel Wanjine however called on the two levels of government to harmonize licensing of scrap metal business to make it sustainable noting that it was a source of direct and indirect employment for thousands of Kenyans.

    “Scrap Metal Council domiciled in the Ministry of Trade and Industrialization charges Ksh. 50,000 for one to operate a yard, the County Governments demand payment of at least Ksh.100, 000, while the National Environmental Management Authority’s scrap metal dealership license costs 30,000 shillings, “he lamented.

    The Ministry of Energy and its agencies have been the most affected with key critical infrastructure being the target.

    Report by Sally Namuye/KNA

     

  • Sia reveals autism diagnosis

    Sia reveals autism diagnosis

    “I’m on the spectrum and I’m in recovery.” – Sia

    Australian singer Sia has revealed that she has autism in a recent podcast.

    Speaking on the  “Rob Has a Podcast,” which featured Carolyn Wiger, a former contestant on the reality competition “Survivor”, the singer and songwriter opened up about living with autism and substance abuse.

    “I’m on the spectrum and I’m in recovery. There’s a lot of things,” Sia told Survivor contestant Carolyn Wiger during the podcast. “Being in recovery and also knowing about which neuroatypicality you may have or may not have, I think one of the greatest things is nobody can ever know you and love you when you’re filled with secrets and living in shame.”

    Adding, “For 45 years I was like, ‘I’ve got to go put my human suit on.’ Only in the last two years have I become fully, fully myself.”

    She had previously disclosed that she had sought treatment for substance abuse.

    “When we finally sit in a room full of strangers and tell them our deepest darkest most shameful secrets and everybody laughs along with us, and we don’t feel like pieces of trash for the first time, we feel seen for the first time in our lives for who we actually are and then we can start going out into the world as operators just operating as humans,” the singer continued.

    Autism is characterized by some degree of difficulty with social interaction and communication. Other characteristics are atypical patterns of activities and behaviours, such as difficulty with transition from one activity to another, a focus on details and unusual reactions to sensations, according to the World Health Organisation.

  • Government issues bursary cheques to schools in Rarieda, Siaya

    Government issues bursary cheques to schools in Rarieda, Siaya

    The government has adopted a comprehensive plan to ensure job creation for jobless youths in the country.

    Information, Communication and Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo made the disclosure Tuesday in Rarieda, Siaya County where he joined his education counterpart Ezekiel Machogu, in disbursing government infrastructure support funds to several schools.

    He said the government agenda was to equip learning institutions with digital material to build capacity for learners with technological know-how.

    Owalo (L) and Machogu (R) in Rarieda
    Owalo (L) and Machogu (R) in Rarieda

    This, he said, was possible through collaboration by the two ministries to ensure youth were competent in digital knowledge to ensure they leverage the platform to earn a living.

    He said every TVET institution will have a digital laboratory and every ward a digital hub in the near future.

    “The Kenya Kwanza Government under the leadership of H. E. the President, Dr. William Samoei Ruto, recognizes the role of Education as a critical success factor in its Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA)” said Owalo.

    Several schools benefitted from funds disbursed amounting to Ksh 9 million.  Siger Secondary School received (Ksh.5 Million); Kametho Primary School (Ksh.2 Million); and Siger Primary School (Ksh. 2Milion).

    On his part, Machogu assured that at least 45,000 children from needy backgrounds who excelled in their last year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education will receive national government scholarships to pursue their university education.

    Among those present were the Deputy Regional Director of Education for Nyanza, Nicholas Oyucho; the TSC Regional Director Ms. Jane Njage; Rarieda DCC Kennedy Lunalo; teachers; parents; and the local community.

  • Mudavadi: African leaders should promote constitutionalism, democracy

    Mudavadi: African leaders should promote constitutionalism, democracy

    By PCS Press Service

    African leaders should build strong political foundations for the growth of democracy and economic power in the continent, Prime Cabinet Secretary (PCS) Musalia Mudavadi has said.

    He said it is high time that African leaders seize the opportunity being presented by the changing global dynamics to promote constitutionalism, progressive democracy and fidelity to the rule of law.

    “The tenets of democracy call for fidelity in the rule of law and adhering to the set guidelines stipulated under the constitution. African leaders should rise to the occasion and be an example of leaders who mean well for their people by applying what is right at all the times.” said Mudavadi.

    Mudavadi made the remarks in sideline bilateral talks, when he represented President William Ruto at the inauguration of the 16th President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    With the tough economic times being witnessed globally, Mudavadi said African countries have found themselves in a precarious situation.

    This, he stated, calls for political stability, peace and sustainable democratic space if countries are to build a new economic frontier for sustainable growth.

    Once African countries, through their leaders, embrace political competition to demonstrate the will of the people in progressive democratic growth, he affirmed that Africa will rise to be counted on the global map.

    “In democracy, you have to agree there is a moment you will win and there is a moment you will lose. Leaders should always remember that the will of the people through a transparent, credible, verifiable, legal and accepted process prevails over personal selfish interests. It is always paramount to let the will of the people be done,” he stated.

    He lobbied for an enhanced bi-lateral collaboration between Kenya and Nigeria, saying that the two countries continue to enjoy cordial relations cutting across many spheres.

    The PCS said Kenya and Nigeria have recently had extensive discussions on key areas of interest that will benefit citizens of not only both countries but also the continent.

    He cited a number of instruments of cooperation signed between the two countries as an anchor to commitments in trade, service delivery and growth in democracy.

    “We have signed quite a number of agreements including one that establishes a joint commission for cooperation dating back to 2013, one on cooperation in immigration matters signed in May 2014, and many more,” pointed Mudavadi.

    He called upon Ministries of Foreign Affairs in the two countries to work closely with respective High Commissions to ensure progressive evaluation and monitoring of resolutions when the instruments of cooperation were signed.

    Mudavadi said there lies a huge potential if some of the other agreements can be fully actualized including the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Bilateral Air Service Agreement, the Bilateral Trade Agreement of 2014 and the MoU on a Five-Year multiple entry VISA for prominent business persons.

    “Establishing a joint trade and investment committee as envisaged in the Bilateral Trade Agreement of 2014 is one of the areas we need to quickly operationalize. This will be a key starting point that will open critical areas of discussion and shape collaboration ties for Kenya and Nigeria,” said Mudavadi.

    Also during the talks, the current situation in the transport connectivity between Kenya and Nigeria were deliberated upon, with the latter’s domestic flight sector said to have a massive potential in which Kenya’s national carrier, Kenya Airways can tap into.

    Kenya and Nigeria are important players in their respective regions.

    While Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa, Kenya is a major economic hub in East Africa thus the many opportunities for trade and investment between the two countries.

    The main exports from Kenya to Nigeria include tea, horticultural products, textiles, and processed foods, while Nigeria exports petroleum products, cement, and chemicals to Kenya.

    Another area of interest is shared diplomacy of conflict management, where Kenya is ingrained in seeking solutions to conflicts in EAC and IGAD countries while Nigeria keeps watch on the volatile western rim of Africa.

    Mudavadi presented congratulatory and message of good will to the new President, with the change of power as million of Nigerians and leaders from across the globe witnessed.

    “Kenya is committed to continuous collaboration with Nigeria on bilateral, trade and diplomatic ties across many sectors ranging from agriculture, technology, renewable energy and the service industry.” said Mudavadi.

    “I am honored to represent Ruto in the ceremony and delivered his message of good will and best wishes on behalf of Kenyans to the new President. We wish President Tinubu a successful and peaceful tenure moving into the future as this is the ultimate expression of democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law,” Mudavadi stated.

    Tinubu of All Peoples’ Congress (APC), won a hotly contested presidential election held on February 25 after garnering 8,794,726 votes.

    Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was second with 6,984,520 votes while Peter Obi of the Labour Party was third with 6,101,533 votes.

    Tinubu, 70, was briefly the senator for Lagos West (1992-93) as well as the Governor of Lagos for two terms between 1999 and 2007.

  • Ola Energy Kenya launches O’Lab Clinic to provide mobile equipment diagnostic services for customers

    Ola Energy Kenya launches O’Lab Clinic to provide mobile equipment diagnostic services for customers

    OLA Energy Kenya has launched the O’Lab Clinic, a pioneer mobile quality control equipment that modernizes vehicle testing by conducting rapid tests conveniently at a customer’s location and giving a snapshot of the condition of their vehicle equipment. The mobile clinic will serve both industrial and automotive customers.

    The O’Lab clinic has equipment to help in condition monitoring and diagnostics. It includes a battery tester to check battery health, an emissions tester to check the health of the vehicle exhaust systems, an engine diagnostics tester to check for errors within the engine, and an infrared thermographic imager to give a spectrum of temperature within operating equipment. It has an oil filtration unit to test for oil viscosity and clean oil that may have dirt. The lab also has a vibration meter, a stroboscope, and a vehicle electronic diagnostics kit.

    During the launch held at the oil marketer’s head office in Muthaiga, vehicle diagnosis and testing, battery and emissions testing were carried out for the OLA Energy staff vehicles. This was done to ensure their safety and educate them on best practices in lubrication. The launch was also held for the staff to appreciate the lab’s benefits and to enlist them as O’Lab brand ambassadors among customers.

    “At OLA Energy, we provide services and products that keep our customers going. The launch of this O’Lab Clinic is one such product that was developed to give a proactive approach to our client’s needs. We can now take tests on-site, do condition monitoring of equipment, and offer technical support to inspect equipment and give recommendations,” said the OLA Energy Kenya General Manager, Dr Yousef Elhemalli.

    The clinic will enable the OLA Energy team to serve its customers at their locations and thus offer a convenient solution to equipment diagnosis. The equipment operators will also be able to give recommendations on how customers can improve their processes and reduce their downtime.

    O’Lab is a highly specialized tool that was added to OLA Energy Kenya to enhance Field Engineering Services and provide value-added services to its current and prospective customers. The lab enables rapid tests to be carried out as opposed to previously when the OLA Energy team had to take samples to a stationary laboratory in Mombasa and wait for days to receive results. O’Lab is part of OLA Energy Kenya’s aftersales Technical Support Service that are offered free of charge to customers.

  • Stolen language: Is Moldovan president stealing culture, history and independence from people?

    Stolen language: Is Moldovan president stealing culture, history and independence from people?

    By Guest Writer

    The President of Moldova Maya Sandu has declared the intention to achieve the country’s accession to the European Union as soon as possible. She tries to explain such plans through the fear of Russian aggression, but the country’s population has already stopped trusting the government, which seeks to turn an independent state into one of the Romanian provinces under any pretext.

    The former Moldovan Soviet Republic gained independence after the collapse of the USSR, but almost immediately faced many economic and political problems. In addition to Moldovans, the country is home to very significant groups of Russians, Ukrainians, and Turkic-speaking Gagauz. Back in 1991, a region of Moldova inhabited by Russian-speaking citizens declared its independence and even managed to defend it against an armed attack by the central authorities.

    In addition to the de facto sovereign Transnistrian republic, Moldova also has an autonomous Gagauz republic, which is extremely jealous of its linguistic, cultural, and religious identity. In addition to these two regions, the rest of this tiny Eastern European country is also home to many Russians, Ukrainians, and other peoples of the former Soviet Union.

    Over the past decades, there has been an ongoing public debate in Moldova about the vector of the country’s development. Despite the close economic and cultural ties with Russia, part of the political elite actively tried to disassociate itself from the former metropolis and join neighboring Romania, which was already part of the European Union and pursued a policy aimed at absorbing Moldova.

    In 2020, for the first time in the country’s history, a Romanian citizen Maia Sandu came to power in Chisinau as a result of highly questionable elections, and from the first days of her presidency, she began to pursue the Romanization of the state. Besides the fact that the Russian, Gagauz, and Ukrainian languages, widespread in Moldova, were actively ousted from the state and municipal authorities, they have been subjected to similar repressions in the sphere of culture, art, and mass media. This policy provoked a strong rejection of the new regime on the part of numerous groups for whom Moldovan was not a native language.

    The pro-European government of Maia Sandu has not limited itself to the oppression of ethnic minorities and has simultaneously started to Romanize the Moldovans themselves. It is worth noting that although Romanians and Moldovans belong to the same linguistic group and are quite close ethnic groups, most representatives of these peoples do not identify themselves as a single nation. Moldova has its own unique history, traditions and culture, which are very different from Romanian. Yet, Mrs Sandu and her ministers have declared the Moldovan language Romanian, changed educational standards and relevant parts of legislation.

    All these processes were initiated without any consideration for the opinion of the population, without a broad discussion and without the possibility for citizens to express their will. The process of Romanianisation in the Republic of Moldova has caused concern and controversy in the society. Ignoring the opinion of the population and replacing the Moldovan language with Romanian affects the cultural and linguistic identity of the Moldovan people.

    The political background of President Sandu’s experiments on the Moldovan language, culture and national identity is quite obvious. All the activities of the current Moldovan government were initially oriented to break traditional ties with the former Soviet republics, oust ethnic minorities from political and public life, suppress the opposition and annex the country to Romania as one of the provinces.

    Breaking economic ties with Russia was not enough to bring such a project to fruition. Even Maia Sandu’s rhetoric about joining the European Union is only a smokescreen for her plans to strip Moldova of its independence since joining the EU through a takeover by Romania is the easiest and fastest way to integrate into the EU.