Kenya

NAIROBI, Jan 9 (NNN-KBC) — Operations across the country’s airports could be grounded in the next one week after salary talks between the management of Kenya Airports Authority and Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) collapsed.

Following the move, the union has issued a one-week ultimatum to the KAA management to effect the 13 per cent salary increment agreement or they will call for major industrial action.

This came as details emerged that the workers from Kenya Airports Authority had not received a salary increment since 2016.

MOMBASA, Jan 7 (NNN-KBC) – Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, yesterday met here, with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, who was invited to visit the country.

Kenyatta asked Wang to convey his cordial greetings to President Xi Jinping. Kenyatta said, the Chinese Foreign Minister’s visit to Kenya, demonstrates the strong relationship between them.

LAMU, Kenya, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan police said Friday it has launched investigations into the killing of the four security officers after being ambushed by the bandits in the coastal Lamu region.

National Police Service Spokesperson Bruno Shioso said a team of security officers are also pursuing bandits who ambushed a security vehicle that was on patrol along Lamu-Garsen road at around 9:00 a.m. on Friday.

"Police officers who were onboard responded swiftly and managed to repulse the bandits, unfortunately there were casualties," Shioso said in a brief statement.

NAIROBI, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Kenyan police arrested a Dutch national wanted by Interpol for allegedly smuggling dozens of men, women and children to Europe.

John Habeta, 53, was allegedly involved in at least four different operations to smuggle groups of Eritrean nationals into Europe using routes from Asia.

NAIROBI, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The Ethiopian government said on Tuesday the army was clearing rebellious Tigrayan forces from the northern Amhara and Afar regions, dismissing Tigrayan statements that their forces were retreating voluntarily to create an "opening for peace".

Thousands of civilians have been killed as a result of the 13-month-old conflict while about 400,000 are facing famine conditions in Tigray and 9.4 million people need food aid across northern Ethiopia.

NAIROBI, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Tigrayan forces fighting the central government have withdrawn from neighbouring regions in Ethiopia's north, a Tigrayan spokesman said on Monday, a step towards a possible ceasefire after major territorial gains by the Ethiopian military.

The 13-month-old war in Africa's second most populous nation has destabilised an already fragile region, sent 60,000 refugees into Sudan, pulled Ethiopian soldiers away from war-ravaged Somalia and sucked in armed forces from neighbouring Eritrea.

KITUI, Kenya, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday joined citizens in mourning the death of 24 people who drowned after a bus with more than 30 passengers plunged into River Enziu at a village in Kitui County, eastern part of the country.

Kenyatta sent his condolences to the families that lost their loved ones in the unfortunate incident in Mwingi area when a bus they were traveling in plunged into River Enziu on Saturday afternoon.

NAIROBI, Nov 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is greatly concerned about Ethiopia's military escalation and called for urgent negotiations over the crisis, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said.

The comments came hours after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appeared on the frontline with the national army.

"Secretary Blinken expressed grave concern about worrying signs of military escalation in Ethiopia and emphasised the need to urgently move to negotiations," Ned Price said in a statement late on Friday.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning prime minister has gone to the battlefront, his government announced Wednesday, after the leader said martyrdom might be necessary in the yearlong war with rival fighters approaching the capital.

State media showed no images of Abiy Ahmed, a 45-year-old former soldier, and his spokeswoman Billene Seyoum dismissed a request for details on his location as “incredible.” He arrived at the front Tuesday, according to a government spokesman.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning prime minister says he will lead his country’s army “from the battlefront” beginning Tuesday, a dramatic new step in a devastating yearlong war.

“This is a time when leading a country with martyrdom is needed,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a statement posted on social media Monday night. With rival Tigray forces moving closer to the capital of Addis Ababa, his government declared a state of emergency earlier this month.