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There are only two remaining rhinos of this species, a mother and daughter, but scientists see new hope in stem cell breakthroughs “I watch these beautiful animals walk the path toward extinction every day,” keeper James Mwenda tells me. He’s out in the Kenyan bush, swatting flies. The anti-poaching K-9 dogs bark in the background. “I’ve watched their numbers fall from seven to two...

For months, satirist Patrick Gathara has painted the US as a ‘third world’ country. Then came the storming of the CapitolFor more than two months now, I have been regularly posting quasi-satirical tweets on the US elections and their aftermath from my home in Kenya, in the style of foreign correspondents reporting on events in the “third world”.My aim has been to puncture that...

Country accounts for less than 0.1% of global emissions but suffers disproportionately from related disasters, say new reportKenya needs $62bn (£46bn) to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis in the next 10 years, according to a government document sent to the UN framework convention on climate change. It equates to almost 67% of Kenya’s GDP.The report illustrates the scale of the challenge as...

Joe Biden’s election as US president raises reproductive funding hopes – but some caution that reversing rule’s impact will not be quickNelly Munyasia breathed a huge sigh of relief when Joe Biden won the US election in November.“I am excited and I am hopeful that things are going to be better. We are going to access funding and we are going to save the...

Girls who got free sanitary products at school were pushed to desperate measures in what is being called a shadow pandemicThousands of girls in Kenya will not be going back to school when classes start again in January, because they became pregnant during the Covid 19-lockdown.The African Institute for Development Policy puts the number of teenage girls who became pregnant in the country between...

At this weekend’s meeting in Riyadh, leaders will urge action to free up resources to help stricken developing countries combat Covid-19From his house in Nairobi, banker turned financial vlogger James Mumo contemplated the state of Kenya’s post-pandemic economy. “It’s hopeless for a normal businessperson just trying to make a living for their family,” he says.The economic crisis caused by the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns...

Water biodiversity is on the brink, with dire consequences for the region known for the zebra and wildebeest migration, says WWFFish are being driven to extinction in the Mara River basin, putting the livelihoods of more than a million people in Kenya and Tanzania in jeopardy, according to WWF.A report by the wildlife NGO details how farming, deforestation, mining, illegal fishing and invasive species...

Covid closures coincided with an initiation ceremony that has put many on a path out of education and set back years of progressPhotographs by Joost BastmeijerShortly after sunrise, three boys step off their motorcycle, pat the dust off their checkered shuka cloths, and enter their family’s boma – an enclosure built from thorny acacia branches in eastern Samburu.Now that they are morans, the teenagers...

Exclusive: Liz Truss urged to sign off deals quickly to spare African states high tariffs once Brexit transition period endsThe Labour party has urged the UK trade secretary, Liz Truss, to end delays over rollover deals with Kenya and Ghana to prevent them being slapped with high tariffs when the UK leaves the EU on 1 January.Negotiations with Kenya and Ghana have yet to...

Violent enforcement of lockdown has led to legal action aiming to force police reform and accountability Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA nervous energy filled downtown Mombasa on the afternoon of 27 March. It was the first day of Kenya’s dusk-to-dawn curfew to curb the spread of Covid-19, and baton-wielding police were patrolling the streets of the coastal city as people rushed...

Almost 3,000 girls from the Kuria community have undergone female genital mutilation in recent weeks, despite crackdownKenya has seen a setback in its progress to eradicate female genital mutilation (FGM) after an open parade in defiance of the government clampdown on the practice took place this week.Almost 2,800 girls from the Kuria community in south-western Kenya have undergone FGM, which involves the removal of...

Fears for climbers who may have been in area of fire on slopes of Africa’s tallest mountain near Tanzanian border with KenyaA huge fire has broken on Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak and a key attraction for tourists in Kenya and Tanzania.According to Tanzanian national park authorities, the fire broke out on Sunday afternoon and is yet to be contained. Continue reading...

One explanation for virus not behaving as expected could be previous exposure to other infections, experts tell MPsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe coronavirus pandemic has peaked earlier than expected in many African countries, confounding early predictions, experts have told MPs.Scientists do not yet know why, but one hypothesis is the possibility of people having pre-existing immunity to Covid-19, caused by exposure...

Why should black founders jump through more hoops to earn funders’ trust?I was in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum, when I heard about the shooting of another black man, Jacob Blake, by US police. Close by is a mural of George Floyd, painted on a wall near where I grew up, a reminder that the current upheaval surrounding race in the US has global repercussions....

Environmentalists fear changing Kenya’s resolve would lead to all of Africa becoming a plastics dumping groundMajor oil companies are lobbying the United States to pressure Kenya to change its world-leading stance against plastic waste, according to environmentalists who fear the continent will be used as a dumping ground.The request from the American Chemistry Council to the Office of the United States Trade Representative came...

From panic buying to lack of freedom, the pandemic is an opportunity to understand the lives of those forced to fleeCovid-19 has transformed the world beyond imagination, affecting almost everyone in some way.Yet for me the changes have felt familiar – from movement restrictions to quarantines, every measure taken to prevent the spread of the virus reminds me of what it means to live...

Ten-year management strategy aims to combat habitat loss and dwindling wildlife in Kenya’s oldest national parkKenya’s oldest national park, which is facing threats from habitat loss, a decline in wildlife species and government infrastructure developments, is at the centre of a fresh row over its future.Created through a colonial proclamation in December 1946, the 45-square mile Nairobi national park is the only sanctuary in...

Attacks following election at centre of ‘most serious known case of human rights abuse suffered by Unilever workers’A group of 218 Kenyan tea plantation workers have filed a complaint with the UN against Unilever, alleging that the multinational violated international human rights standards by not adequately assisting its employees, who were attacked when ethnic violence broke out following a disputed election in 2007.The workers...